It has been over a month since the whole country was put under complete lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation. Schools were closed even before that, which means most of the kids have not been out of their homes at all and endured it more than us.
The lockdown may end next month (hopefully the situation improves), albeit with restrictions and safety measures. It might even get extended, regardless, we have to start looking at the inevitable question of how do we manage after the lockdown?
“we have to start looking at the inevitable question of how do we manage after the lockdown?”
To simplify it, let me rephrase the question in a more context-specific manner. How do we get the kids back into the game, into the classroom, and into the routine/training mode?
This period has been unnatural, uncomfortable, and unprecedented for everyone. Not many kids go under such long periods of isolation. That too without any contact with their friends, extended family, classroom, and the ground. As adults, most of us have our work to keep us distracted and busy from that drudgery and existential crisis from creeping in. Some of us even have coping mechanisms to deal with it. Some even thrive better in isolation. But for the kids, it’s not the same.
Take a few moments to try and imagine how hard it is to be a kid in this situation. They are accustomed to spending every single day at the school, following a regimen. Their day begins with creating that chaos in the classroom (I can see class teachers chuckling at this), fighting and making up with friends, going to tuition/extra classes, taking care of younger siblings/or being bossed around by elder siblings, going to the ground to play, and ends with completing homework or helping out at home.
Remember when we were kids, we used to eagerly and anxiously wait for vacations to happen so we could get out of school and get rid of the homework? Then when the vacations went a bit longer than a month; our family and that environment became insufferable and the same feeling of eagerness and anxiety came over, only now it was to get back to the school.
“the same feeling of eagerness and anxiety came over, only now it was to get back to the school.”
Now, imagine you are on a vacation from school — but you can’t go out, can’t meet friends, can’t visit your grandparents whose food and love you’ve been longing and can’t play outside with your building/society friends. On top of all that, you are now attending classes online or doing workouts and drills at home. So, you have the worst of both the worlds — if you look at it from a child’s point of view.
I want to take a moment and share one of my greatest learning in the short time I have been an educator. One of my coaching certificate instructors told us that one of the most important things a modern coach has to learn is to anticipate the future — not just with regards to the evolution of the game but also with the dynamic and ever changing cultural and social environment.
As an educator (yes, all coaches are and should be educators first, coaches later), it becomes imperative that we think of how we can ease the kids back into routine. They’ve been under online peer pressure (to post workout and skill videos), been doing daily assignments and homework, and they rarely get any me-time and in some cases even the privacy to do their own thing.
Our priority should be to give them that social support in the post lockdown environment. Coming back after not being in touch with the classroom benches and chalks and boards or the cleats and the training kit is not going to be easy.
The worst thing to do at this point is give them more instructions and start the sessions and classes as we would normally. Some may argue that by going back to routine is the best way to ease them back to routine. However, what we don’t understand sometimes is that kids enjoy freedom over everything else and we have to bring back that sense of freedom by giving them control over the first few days.
One of the most important things that anyone in this position — as an educator / class teacher / workplace manager can do is to create an autonomy-supportive climate and that is only truly possible by giving real autonomy and not a veiled one. Kids, especially, have super strong bulls@#t detectors, it’s almost like a superpower.
Kids, especially, have super strong bulls#@t detectors, it’s almost like a superpower.
One of the ways to go about this is by asking them what they would like to do. Let them decide what the first few classroom periods and/or training sessions should be like. Ask their opinion, make them feel that their opinion matters because it really will.
We’ve not been trained to handle this kind of situation and by collaborating and communicating with each other is how we can better cope with similar future situations. Let your first 3 to 4 training sessions be what they want to do — whether it’s playing fun games or simply playing matches — let them come up with their ideas. This does two things — one, it gives them this opportunity to connect with each other and discuss what they would like to do and two — it begins this synaptic connection between you and them.
Let your first 3 to 4 training sessions be what they want to do — whether it’s playing fun games or simply playing matches — let them come up with their ideas.
Act as a facilitator and observer. Let them take over for a while. Give them that freedom and slowly ease them back into their development. You may be an educator but your classroom or training ground is nothing without them. Let the chaos begin and serve them.
Don’t forget to ask for support for yourself. This is new to all of us. By engaging in meaningful discussion and sharing our ideas we can all come together to find solutions. Let’s take it one day at a time.
