Winning in Sports and Character Development

Miss Lim Fong Yee, teacher-coach of the Tenpin Bowling team in Yishun Junior College, constantly reminds her students that above all, integrity triumphs over getting strikes and spares in any bowling competition.

Her bowlers are constantly reminded to declare all wrong calls to the lane marshal. For example, stepping beyond the foul line after a delivery, or if the ball bounces off the gutter and hits the corner pin. The lane marshal might not be able to spot all these during a competition, so it is up to the player’s integrity to report such fouls, even at the expense of losing the competition.

In every training session and pre-competition talk, Miss Lim emphasises that winning is not everything, as sportsmanship is all about honour and fair play.

‘I want to emphasise the importance of integrity in the sport. My students are constantly reminded that we only win the competition when we nail each game graciously,’ said the dedicated coach.

Nurturing Champions of Character through Sports

To Miss Lim, a true champion does not merely excel in the sport, he or she must also display exemplary character. This important principle might be forgotten in the heat of competition, so Miss Lim has put in place various strategies to ensure that her students understand the importance of both values.

Integrating character development through her coaching, the CCA subject head of Yishun Junior College guides her athletes to be reflective learners by noting their learning points during evaluation sessions.

Integrating character development through her coaching, the CCA subject head guides her athletes to be reflective learners by noting their performance and take-away points during their personal evaluation at the end of every training session. Unlike other training sessions, Miss Lim does not stop at teaching her athletes specific skills. After every training session, she gets her athletes to think through how each shot was executed and what was done correctly or incorrectly. Her students would also pen down short reflections on key learning points and how they can apply these lessons to their everyday lives.

A bowling coach for eight years now, Miss Lim says that ‘her bowlers have to be well-disciplined and mentally strong as they need to repeat the same shots for hours.’ The key takeaway, Miss Lim feels, is the ability for students to manage stress and stay confident. The focus, perseverance and confidence that her students develop through bowling will help them tide through difficult times in life.

This year, Miss Lim will lead 24 student athletes from her school to compete in the A-Division Tenpin Bowling as part of the National School Games (NSG) 2013.

This year, Miss Lim will lead 24 student athletes from her school to compete in the A-Division Tenpin Bowling as part of the National School Games (NSG) 2013. In every training session and pre-competition talk, Miss Lim never fails to emphasise to her student athletes that winning is not everything, as sportsmanship is all about honour and fair play.

Organised by the Singapore Primary Schools Sports Council and the Singapore Schools Sports Council, the annual NSG provides opportunities for student-athletes to develop resilience, sportsmanship and fair play through training and competitions. Over 55,000 students will participate in inter-school competitions across 29 sports from January to August 2013.