Commentary

Keith Noel, Contributor

Last weekend, Jamaica won the silver medal in the CAC Games rugby competition. There will not be a fanfare over this, as rugby is not a very popular sport in Jamaica. But it deserves mention because of a unique quality it seems to have. I discovered this while I was vice-principal at Calabar High and introduced the game to the boys there.

A significant percentage of those who were in that squad were boys who had been labelled as miscreants, unfocused or even incorrigible. I felt that if I included them in the group who were learning the game, or had them training with the team when they learnt the game, I could develop an informal relationship with them and so get to know what 'made them tick', and be able to influence them into effecting a positive change in their attitudes and their behaviour.

I was told that, in a couple of cases, I was taking a chance because rugby is fairly 'rough' sport with a great deal of physical contact. These boys, it was felt, would have an excuse to express their violent selves.

Amazing results

I continue to be amazed at the results. By the end of the first season one could not tell who were the 'bad eggs' and who were the regulars. They had been woven, in general, into a disciplined group and had even started to get some good results in their games. This trend continued for years, with the older players sometimes recommending to me that I draft a boy because they felt he would benefit from the programme. But it was not a programme! I just taught them the game and selected them when they were good enough to make one of the three ( age group) teams. I am convinced that there was something in the nature of the sport - maybe its 'roughness' itself - or maybe the camaraderie rugby players seem to develop, even across teams, that helped to effect the changes I saw.

And the changes were deep. All of these boys graduated, having performed to the best of their ability. Some had very good grades and went on to sixth form; some became prefects. They all now hold very good jobs and are young leaders in their communities. Some are married.

There are people who will say that they have seen this type of result with youngsters in other sports. In fact, there are teachers of drama who will tell you similar stories, and I know that the claim can be made for music and dance.

Teachers, recognising this, have made group work a part of their teaching, but it is no replacement for what happens in those clubs/teams/casts, when a group of youngsters work voluntarily with a teacher/coach/director/conductor and succeed at (or even don't quite achieve) their goal.

Or maybe I am extrapolating too much. Maybe, after all, rugby is a 'special' sport.

Keith Noel is an educator. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.