educating for the journey

One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it.
- Knute Rockne (1888 - 1931)

Annikke is the Athletic Director here at CMS but after witnessing first hand the show that she put on here over the weekend i wonder how long it will be before tournaments the world over are contracting her expertise. The tournament ran smoothly and efficiently; through both rain and scorching heat - she was ready for it all. The coaches had a great time the students had a blast and the games were more exciting then you could believe. Both of the men’s soccer semi-finals went into extra time, then into penalty kicks and one went into extra penalty kicks! Not to be outdone women’s basketball had the vast majority of their games decided by less then five points, it was great to see.

What surprised me the most was the intense passion that the athletes showed for their school. I don’t know why but i have always thought that athletics overseas were not on par with what i experienced in my high school years. The row of hugs in place of handshakes, the screaming ISPS soccer team supporting their girls, the coaches on the edge of their seats were all topped by the open tears that were being shed by exhausted players after three days of cultural exchange and fierce, fair competition.  One quick story:

in the opening Tribes activity the coaches shared a little about themselves and their favorite sport.  A school head said that he was here as an extra supervisor and when asked for his favorite sport his reply was simple: “actually i don’t like sports.”  Fast forward three days.  The same person is wrapped in the flag of his country screaming, jumping up and down, leading cheers to support his atheletes in the quest for CAISSA gold.  Who says energy and spirit are contagious?

These players, coaches, school heads and non-playing CMS students who attended many of the games over the weekened were all passionate, motivated and giving absolutely everything they had.

Today i got a note from an athletics teacher at Shanghai American School; he stumbled on the CAISSA site and is now looking to build something in a similar vein for their tournaments…yes, our site has lots of room for improvement; but i am really proud of the five advanced tech students who built the entire site.  Their “client” was happy with the work that was done, and with each success like this less schools will be unwilling to participate in such initiatives.