Schools bond through sports
Two Hamilton schools are putting the spotlight on their sporting curriculum.
St John’s College in Hillcrest and its sister school Sacred Heart College in Hamilton East have pooled together the prowess of two PhD students.
American couple Lesley Sommerfield and Andrew Bichardo are studying towards their PhDs at the Auckland University of Technology. They are completing their research at the two Hamilton schools.
Two positions were created to help develop and promote sport at Sacred Heart at the start of the year.
Clarissa Maxwell, former Black Stick, was brought in as the Sports Development Manager, while Sommerfield was given the role of Athletic Development Coach.
Her partner Andrew Bichardo was given a similar position at St John’s College a year earlier.
His speciality lies within athletic development, while Sommerfield’s expertise is in injury prevention and youth.
‘‘Over here, they are doing a lot more research in athletic development, especially in youth, whereas a lot of the funded research in the States is around obesity, diabetes, that kind of thing,’’ Sommerfield said.
‘‘It’s proven that if you do have an injury, especially at this age, you’re less likely to continue in a sport. If I can help one less person be injured, then that’s good for me.’’
‘‘...If you do have an injury, you're less likely to continue in a sport.’’
Next year, Sommerfield will run a number of programmes as part of the curriculum, allowing students to become accustomed to proper training techniques.
At St John’s College, Bichardo works with top sporting students in Year 9 and 10, for his research in the effects of different resistance training programmes.
Both he and Sommerfield believe teaching students in their early-teens is ideal for prolonged athletic development.
Maxwell hopes the research positions will help build a solid relationship between Sacred Heart and St John’s.
Sacred Heart principal Catherine Gunn said the school was excited to be part Sommerfield’s research.
‘‘We have many young sports women who are performing at a very high level in their sport and Lesley’s work with individuals and teams has strengthened these provisions for the development of the athlete,’’ she said.
‘‘We know that young people tend to do better when there is a significant adult who shows a special interest in them as a person.’’ of