VERO BEACH — The opportunity to catch some gridiron action on St. Ed’s campus didn’t necessarily end with the highly successful varsity football season.
Admittedly, the term gridiron conjures up images that probably won’t materialize when about a dozen fourthand fifth-grade boys from the lower school head out to the field to play flag football after their last class of the day.
And not to leave the girls behind, that’s not the only after-school sport available at the lower school through the end of the year. At family gatherings over the holidays, fourth- and fifth-grade girls will be able to tell how they learned some of the basic skills required in lacrosse.
These sporting activities and others are generally scheduled on a oneday- per-week basis throughout the year as part of the physical education and intramural sports programs at the lower school under the guidance of Athletic Director Don Balch. The goals of intramurals include developing individual skills, cultivating team play, promoting sportsmanship and, of course, having fun.
“Introducing the athletic concept to kids at the elementary school level is a fine line,” Balch explained. “Too many adults feel kids should be playing competitive sports from the time they learn to walk.
“My vision has more to do with fine tuning motor skills and having kids learn about the rules of the game for sports they might decide to play in middle school and beyond. We want to be inclusionary and have the kids try a variety of sports to get the information and skills they need to be successful and comfortable. It’s not a Darwinian approach to athletics.
“Getting kids to try something new is the hardest part. Sometimes we keep score, sometimes we don’t.”
St. Ed’s emphasizes participation in sports as part of a comprehensive educational philosophy. It is also widely known that the size of the student body essentially demands multi-sport athletes if any given sport is to be viable, let alone successful.
With that in mind, one of the practical functions of lower school intramural sports comes into sharper focus.
“We offer intramurals to give kids an opportunity to try a sport and learn about it at a slightly higher level that would be possible in PE class,” Balch said. Soccer, swimming, basketball, volleyball and baseball are also offered – some co-ed, others gender specific.
“I’m personally not a proponent of steering kids in any one direction at this point,” said Balch. “Soccer is the most popular because many kids play it at an early age. The registration has always been good for the traditional sports – football, basketball, baseball. Actually it’s been pretty consistent across the board, with one exception.
“Lacrosse is relatively new and the numbers have been down. Obviously, I’ll be encouraging more lower school girls to participate.”
Balch says his youngsters are generally aware of the value of fitness and good nutrition. “We try to make sure we have about 60 minutes-a-day of moderate to vigorous physical activity. We talk about nutrition. They hear about it in the classroom and in PE class.”
Head of Lower School Barbara Mohler proffered the administrative perspective on the critical role of physical activity in the educational process.
“There is an abundance of research that correlates the value of movement and exercise with optimal learning.
“Saint Edward’s Lower School physical education curriculum is designed to introduce and develop motor skills as well as shape a positive self-image in each child. Students truly value their opportunities for physical activity every day.”
