Touch Rugby & the ISY Learner Attributes
Last weekend, our Girls Touch Rugby team competed in their regional South East Asia Student Athletics Conference (SEASAC) tournament in Bangkok. Touch Rugby is a relatively new sport for ISY students and our team came up against teams with a lot more experience. Many of our players had never played touch rugby before this season ans it was a tough tournament for our girls on the scoreboard.
At ISY, following our Mission and Vision, success is developing lifelong learners, agents for positive change, and compassionate global citizens. These are our Student Learner Outcomes. To achieve these outcomes we nurture the ISY Learner Attributes of Compassion, Collaboration, Communication, Courage, Creativity, Critical Thinking and Reflection.
The team earned the respect of the other teams and their coaches through their application of these attributes and were awarded the coveted sportsmanship award at the prize giving ceremony.
We spoke with the team’s captain, Pinky who will graduate this year, about how focusing on the ISY Learner Attributes made them such a success on and off the field.
Compassion
Pinky: I have known most of these girls for a long time and we have a lot of compassion and respect each other. Touch strengthened our bond. We were all quite new to touch so we had to help one another. The coaches helped us get to know the game. We all had to have a lot of patience for each other with regards to our different skill levels. We all felt that making mistakes was ok. We didn’t blame each other, instead supported each other to get better. Everyone was kind to each other even when we disagreed. The coaches modeled that patience. The players had a lot of compassion towards the coaches and the coaches towards the players. This was also reflected in the way we presented ourselves around the field. The whole team demonstrated good sportsmanship and this was noticed and appreciated by everyone – we won the sportsmanship award which was a big deal for us!
ISY Touch Rugby
Here is the team after receiving the Sportsmanship Award.
Communication
Pinky: In sports, miscommunication can throw off the team balance. In any group there are disagreements, especially when there is pressure like there is in a competitive sport. Communication is super important! We didn’t take things personally and any disagreements on the field didn’t get personal. We were always able to share ideas or give advice to help our teammates. We communicated to help and support each other.
Collaboration
Pinky: Touch is such a collaborative game. We worked together to organize the uniform and make up plays. No one was left out. All of us were respectful of each other’s strengths, challenges and experience. Based on this, we created roles around that on and off the field. For example, the idea of an A and B team was a positive for us (in some teams that would cause tension and problems). Everyone knew their role and felt they were contributing. We always cheered each other on.
Courage
Pinky: This was almost everyone’s first SEASAC experience. Learning a new game takes a lot of courage. It takes even more courage to participate in competitive sport – especially when you’re losing. With the guidance of the coaches and our support for each other, we kept the focus on getting better. We were all very nervous in our first game, but we got more comfortable as the tournament went on.
Critical Thinking and Creativity
Pinky: We had to think critically and creatively to develop our plays. This required adapting to the other team’s plays, strengths and weaknesses. But we also had to analyze our weaknesses and play to our strengths. We were strong at “driving up the field”, so we focused on that. When we played a better team, we knew we had to focus more on defense so we practiced defense before those games. When our plans didn’t work, we had to think of new ways and new plays. Touch rugby required us to think on the spot a lot!
Reflection
Pinky: We were good at taking feedback. By watching other games and reflecting on our games and the things we learned, we were able to improve our game. We learned a lot!
Extra-curricular activities like sporting competitions are a great way for our students to develop the ISY Learner Attributes. They can then apply these attributes to different situations and challenges – now and in the future. We would like to thank Pinky and her team for representing our school and setting such fine examples of our ISY Learner Attributes in action.
The International School Yangon
20 Shwe Taungyar Street
Bahan Township
Yangon, Myanmar
+95 (0) 9 880 441 040