AT least three school coaches are contending that the COVID-19-influenced learning loss spans far beyond academics.

The coaches say it should be noted that the increasing calls for the resumption of in-person learning come September are also a part of an effort to get student athletes back into training mode, especially those who depend on sports scholarships.

Jevonnie Codlin, football coach at Denham Town High School told the Jamaica Observer that all training has been cancelled since March 2020.

Despite the pandemic, he said, he had to resort to having afternoon training sessions with his students on the school compound. However, he has seen the number of students showing up for training gone from 35 to about 20.

“Many parents have excluded their children from attending practice as they are cautious of COVID-19. We, as coaches and as an institution, are attentive to the COVID measures that have been put in place by the Government. We have less players in training. We as coaches try to motivate them to continue despite the difficulties but we know it’s a hard challenge. And, with no face-to-face school, many inner-city student athletes seem to have given up on school,” he said.

“Some players lose interest in the sport while others have migrated. The halt on sports last year has dented local footballers as many stopped training for a while, as a team and individually. I train students between the ages 12 to 19. It’s just here and there where a few players try and practice,” Codlin added.

Aquatics Coach Teddy Hayes at Immaculate Conception Preparatory School and Immaculate Conception High School said his students face similar, if not the same, challenges. Hayes, who also instructs high schoolers at the Kingston Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), said that virtual lessons are ineffective.

“What I was teaching the students is to practise the actual movements of the strokes on their bed. That’s dryland swimming and even Olympic swimmers do that. You just tell them to go in front the mirror and practise and watch their shadow on the ground, and not the more advanced stuff,” said Hayes.

He said the students have been at a standstill as far as training is concerned.

“They are not really doing the actual activities, so you don’t know if they are going to really swim. They get the theories but we are not sure if they are going to be able to do the practical thing when they actually hit the water. If that was the case, and if swimming was like that where you tell a person the theory and they go in the water and do it, everybody would just learn to swim. That’s almost impossible.”

Hayes added that this has also been a concern for many parents.

“Parents were concerned. They say they need them to go in the water. They actually want the face-to-face lessons and that’s several parents.”

Hayes related that during the last academic year, only one of his students was able to learn the skill. He added, however, that the girl also benefited from in-person training outside of regular school hours.

“She had the online classes and then she came with me on a Saturday morning to YMCA and she learned to swim. She learned mostly by just listening online. But that’s not for most people. Majority not going to just get it like that. First, they are going to be afraid to go in the water and put their face down, because they have never swum before. They first have to be acclimatised. That’s why that particular girl came to YMCA. The mother wanted her daughter to actually go into the water and experience actual swimming,” he said.

Meanwhile, track and field coach at St Hugh’s High School Devento Lewis said many students who are from poor backgrounds are missing out on the opportunity to pursue higher education through scholarships derived from sporting participation.

“Not all students will make it through life with academics. Some have to be highly dependent on their talent to get a free education because most of the athletes come from a poor background. This affects the student athletes. People wouldn’t take note that it affects most of them psychologically because of training with high expectations and not being able to compete due the cancellation or postponed competition,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Added Lewis: “It affects the school’s sport department and sport teams financially. The high expenses that would have been spent on camping, paying of coaches, travelling, for example, and then sports would have been put on hold or cancelled. And the pandemic also affects students who are antisocial. Participating in sports allow antisocial students to become more sociable and accepted among peers.”

In addition, Lewis said there is a negative impact on coaches as well.

“You are unable to deliver the lesson as effectively online as you would face-to-face and you are unable to properly analyse students’ performances. Some students learn by force while some are glad to, and the weaker ones cannot be reached by the teachers while they are in your class.”

Meanwhile, Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Jasford Gabriel said the importance of engaging students in training and competition in sports cannot be underestimated.

“We cannot forget that academic learning and sports education complement each other. If sports education is carried out accompanied with the academic curriculum, the overall personality of the student is increased to quite an extent. The qualities of leadership, sharing, team spirit, tolerance, and etcetera are learned from sports,” he said.

Gabriel added that students who participate in sporting activities may also yield better results in terms of academics and their mental well-being.

“Participation in sporting activities and games that students love not only builds self-confidence and self-worth, but releases feel-good endomorphine, which elevates the mood. A good mood is conducive to performing well in other fields because there is peace of mind that allows greater concentration.

“Sports act as a great outlet for frustration of any kind and so we must factor the learning loss that is taking place and the extent to which our athletes have been disconnected from engaging in what they dearly love to do,” he ended.