Sports Teach Teens Invaluable Lessons

At the end of a long day of learning at on State Street in Boerum Hill students gather their belongings. Some head home, some head to after school programs and approximately 25 middle schoolers report to the gym room for C.H.A.M.P.S.

C.H.A.M.P.S., or Cooperative, Healthy, Active, Motivated, Positive Students, is a New York City Department of Education sponsored program for middle school age students. The program teaches athletics and healthy behavior to students from all levels of athletic ability.

At 369, (as the school is referred to by faculty), the students play flag football and soccer. But first—warm-up's.

"One, two, three, four…" shouted Physical Education teacher and C.H.A.M.P.S. coach Johnnie Drew, 34, as the students sat on the floor and did sit up's, push up's and stretches.

The program just began in October, said Drew, who is over six-feet-tall, but already the kids are learning.

"Not just about sports," he said. "But how to take responsibility."

369 is a K-12 school for students with all kinds of disabilities, ranging from autism to cognitive delays to behavioral difficulties. 369 is a Special Education District 75 school, which provides educational, vocational, and behavior support programs.

The after-school sports program not only gives the students a place to go after school, said Assistant Principal Susie Gournelos, but also provides students with difficulties in the classroom a way to feel good about themselves.

"When you're playing sports you're on a more level playing field," she said.

Zion Coleson-Reyes, 12, is in 7^th grade and a standout athlete. During football he caught the ball multiple times despite his short stature and even came close to scoring a touchdown, before his flag was pulled off.

"It's fun to play football," he said. "I like the free time to exercise."

Winning is not the point of 369's C.H.A.M.P.S. program (not yet -- the school hopes to play other C.H.A.M.P.S. schools in the spring). Drew teaches the students good sportsmanship and the rules of the field. When one player defied his captain's game play, Drew called him out.

"He said pass it back, you pass it back!" he said. "He's the captain!"

Following direction is, of course, a valuable skill to learn for on and off the field.

For 8^th grader Sean Martin, 14, the after-school sports program is teaching him personal skills, too.

"I'm learning not to get upset if I lose," he said. "I just say 'good job.'"

For Gournelos, these kinds of lessons are the ones that will help the students grow as people and not just students.

"The skills the kids learn are important," said Gournelos. "They learn how to play together, as a team."