COVID-19 has caused major limitations to the athletics at Kingswood Oxford as the teams are required to be smaller and there are many rules to abide by. Despite these harsh limitations, Kingswood Oxford has worked around this challenge and created a new program of instructional sports. The instructional sports teams at KO include volleyball, boys soccer, and girls soccer.
The instructional programs were made to give all athletes an opportunity to play and compete in sports after school. They allow for kids to play competitively just as varsity teams do, but instead they go up against their own classmates. “Despite not having inter-school competition, it’s important to give all of our students an opportunity to still get out and compete, even with COVID-19 restrictions and protocols,” boys instructional soccer Head Coach John Hissick said. “The physical and mental releases gained by getting out and playing a game are important to the students.”
So far, the instructional programs that have been created have been very successful. Students have been able to go outside after the school day to have fun and get some exercise. “Getting through the first few weeks was a challenge, but we have settled in, and the guys are playing daily and having fun” Coach Hissick said.
Coach Hissick described his soccer practices as very similar to past JV practices. “Instructional practices only last an hour each day,” he said. “In the first half of practice, we take a lap, dynamic stretch, five vs two’s and then skills.” He went on to say that the rest of practices included games such as thunderdome, ultimate soccer, and relays.
Students love the new instructional programs. The programs allow for students to get outside and play a competitive game but also allow for lots of time for school work as they are only one hour and there are no practices on Wednesday.
“I love how we just get to focus on our individual skills,” senior instructional volleyball player Risha Ranjan said. “As a senior, it’s not beneficial, but for freshman just starting out, it is a great way to build fundamentals without the distraction of games. Plus I love having Wednesdays off, as it helps me to balance out my work.”
Instructional sports were a great addition to athletics at Kingswood Oxford. Instructional volleyball, boys soccer, and girls soccer have been very successful programs so far, and the student athletes have really enjoyed them. Hopefully in the future for our winter and spring sports, we will see more of the sport programs at KO add an instructional program so more KO athletes will have the opportunity to compete.
