Youth and Sports: Educating Beyond Academics

Youth and Sports: Educating Beyond Academics Youth and Sports: Educating Beyond Academics My father used to share memories of the times he attended school, some four decades ago. While academics were important part of the education system he attended, physical education sessions were considered compulsory and part of the education curriculum. There were also interclass and inter-school tournaments organized by the school’s sports clubs and anyone could join the types of sport they enjoyed playing most. At the end of the day, there were different teams for different sports – all consisted of diverse group of people united for their mission to win a game– they were a TEAM. My fathers’ school memory touches my heart in many ways because I keep questioning – where did it all go? Why our generation of young talented minds have to think twice before joining a sport club (if they are any) or playing cricket over the weekend. When I joined Habib Public School under the AKU-EB system, I was introduced to completely new ways of learning, challenging myself to work hard. I realized that I had to know facts beyond the academic books, question perspectives and be well read to form an opinion of my own. Over time, I developed interest in Accounting and Finance and hope to pursue the field in the coming future. However, while academic life under the AKU-EB system keeps evolving and challenging our intellectual curiosity, I developed passion for hockey joining the Habib Public School’s hockey team. and became a vice captain for three years. I was a vice-captain of Habib Public School hockey team for three years before becoming a captain from 2018 to 2020. In 2017, Habib Public School team got the opportunity to play internationally and we qualified to play in countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka winning series of games. Recently, I was selected to play along with the Pakistan Education Boards Hockey Team in Baku, Azerbaijan. In December 2019, I was invited to play hockey joining the team in Saudi Arabia. On the one hand, it is an immense joy to participate in international tournaments and on the other hand, it is sad that our education system in Pakistan seem to not give much importance to physical education-youth engagement in sports beyond classroom. Our schools could produce and cultivate strong players to go beyond borders and show their talents nationally and internationally. However, as a student, I see many impeding factors that keep our youth away from physical activities. Firstly, it is a social pressure, including parents’ pressure on their children to perform well at school. Secondly, it’s the peer pressure. I see my friends busy most of the time attending or giving tuitions after school, preparing for examinations or tests; engaged in conversations around best grades requirements for best universities and so on. There seem to be no time and space for mental and emotional development. With the majority of population being youth in Pakistan, it is important that we are equally engaged in extra-curricular activities beyond school. Playing sports surely contributes to better academic performance. In the coming future, I would like to create the AKU-EB hockey team consisting of best hockey players from all schools under the AKU-EB system and train them to play nationally and internationally. It is important to convince our society and system that sports should be compulsory part of our education in Pakistan. Sport can teach us how to live with one another, cooperate and complete. Meeting you fellow on the playground opens space for conversation and friendship. Sports remove all barriers between diverse groups of people. It keeps you away from ‘bad’; it changes perceptions. Ali Iqbal Habib Public School Karachi "With the majority of population being youth in Pakistan, it is important that we are equally engaged in extra-curricular activities beyond school."