Kristin Sheehan, PLACT Program Director, reports from Uganda:
Play Like A Champion Today®’s
delegation began today with the roosters crowing gloriously outside our windows
as the sun rose. We boarded our transport and traveled back for our second day
at St. Peter’s Primary School. Upon arrival, we gathered with the children in
prayer and assembly explaining our “Sports Day” together. We unpacked our
equipment and set up the biggest field day you can imagine. 400 Primary 6th
grade children were broken up into groups to play netball and to learn American
Football, softball, lacrosse, and baseball. The excitement was palpable
as the children selected their game of choice and ran off to learn, to play, to
have fun and to grow in ability and in spirit.
Our Notre Dame student/athletes
acted as coaches, served as referees and most importantly became mentors throughout
the clinic period. Then came the culmination of a large football (American
soccer) competition. Boys from the four 6th grade classes each
competed to earn a spot in the final soccer competition while the girls
competed in a netball championship. The action was not contained to the playing
field as spectators joined in on the fun, shaking Irish green Kelly Care’s
Foundation pom-poms and leading their favorite team in cheers. Green happens to
be the school color for St. Peter’s School, so all the Green Pom-poms where
left with the school children –much to their thrill.
The final soccer match went
down to a shootout with P6 Blue ending in Victory. However, every St. Peter’s
child was a Champion today in sport. After presenting the victorious team
with a trophy and the entire school with two nets for their soccer posts, as
well as many, many sport balls, the children sang songs for us while the
school’s brass band (the oldest band in Uganda) played march music. It was a
start to finish sport extravaganza.
The group completed the day
listening to traditional Ugandan percussion music again at the National Theatre
put on by the Percussion Discussion. We all enjoyed some traditional dancing
and everyone even got to participate in helping keep the rhythm through beating
the drums.
Tomorrow, Kevin, Clark and
Kristin with join with the Ugandan Catholic Secretariat and discuss the
resounding potential of sport for holistic youth development. We will present
our Player Handbook while the Notre Dame students return to St. Peter’s Primary
to complete the classroom lessons in the Player Handbook with every P6 student,
these lessons discuss what it means to be a Champion in sport and in life,
particularly focused upon virtue development through the sport experience.
Then, we will travel to the village of Kkindu near the town of Masaka. Excited
for more great things!
