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A blend of life skills and sport can be a magic recipe for young people, and is the reason that two PE teachers set up Ethos Academy of Sport, four years ago.
Co-founder and lead coach, Jamie Williamson, says his school years on the Hibiscus Coast involved a lot of sport – he lists basketball, rugby, league and touch, “among others”.
He says he got a lot more out of it than physical activity.
“Sport helped me become the person I am today,” he says. “You learn things like how to work as a team, build new relationships, respect for team mates and the opposition.”
He says he and co-founder Peter Hurst, both “massive advocates of sport”, decided to start Ethos to fill a gap in terms of what sport can be used for.
“We use it as a tool to develop life skills and build positive characteristics in young people,” he says.
The programme runs on the North Shore and Hobsonville Point and a couple of years ago, Ethos began offering its school holiday programme for 8-13-year-olds at Whangaparāoa College – the latest one ran last week.
A range of sports are available, and with each there is associated teaching about values – Jamie says the Ethos core values are respect, integrity, fortitude and loyalty.
“We talk about what those values are, what they look like in sport, or in the classroom,” Jamie says. “Teaching moments might come up in the games too.”
He says awareness of the programme is slowly growing on the Hibiscus Coast, something that takes time.
“We get great feedback and parents spread the word about it,” he says. “From my perspective, it’s great to be back up on the Coast, delivering a service I am truly passionate about.”
Info: www.ethosacademy.co.nz/
