(no subject)
To be honest, I didn't have the highest of expectations for the indoor camp these 3 days at St. Hilda's Primary - my friend who had just gone for the Live! Ops outdoor camp raved incessantly about how tiring but fulfilling the program was, on the other hand complaining about how boring indoor camps were.
But looking back, being a coach for the past 3 days has been nothing short of a great learning experience. I was allocated to the GEP classes for the first day, and Amin's style of training didn't really appeal to me - too militaristic/dictatorial, and one boy even cried! But after I moved over to the sports hall group with the mainstream and foundation classes, I found the atmosphere much more lively, engaging and light-hearted - not so burdened with expectations (and intellect O.o) YY and Freddy were strict but entertaining trainers, so things were never really boring. Throughout the camp, it was like stepping back in time - I could almost see myself back in my pinafore, tense with anticipation of the PSLE looming ahead.
Overall, what I really took back from this assignment were moments of interactions with the kids - they were rude, naughty, interactive, amusing, endearing, cunning, clever, stupid and slappable all at the same time. I was literally bombarded with questions during the 'set your life plan' segment - some of their ambitions were hilariously incredulous/impressive (depending on perspective) - like the boy who wanted to score 289 for PSLE, be a supreme judge and get rich from stock investment. One boy was particularly memorable - he wanted to be rich and donate his savings to help children in Africa (incidentally, the same kid who wanted to take a photo with us at the end of the session).
The second day of the afternoon saw a powerful session - learning to forgive, let go, and own up to mistakes - that caused many of the students to cry. On the last day, Freddy made the students go up on the stage for confessionals - and my eyes smarted a little when the first boy stammered into the microphone - and to my utter astonishment, some students with the toughest of exteriors (by that I mean ahbeng-style) broke into the tears and had to be escorted to the toilet.
When I was walking out of the school, it was heartwarming to receive smiles, personal goodbyes ('Bye Coach!') and even a 'I'll miss you!'
:)