With
youth sport becoming more and more competitive, in both the quality
and quantity of tournaments, many competitors are now finding that
traditional schooling is hampering their ability to train and compete
to the extent that they need to develop to their full potential. And
now with Mind Sports such as e-Sports and others growing hugely in
popularity and offering lucrative professional careers, the same kind
of challenges are becoming apparent in this space too.
Home
schooling has until now been the only viable option for these elite
youth competitors, with added strain being put on parents to manage
(or not) the education of their future star. The result has been far
too many of these youngsters not finishing their high school
education, banking on their sporting success continuing into the
professional ranks.
To
fill this gap and to provide a solution to these challenges,
Balderstone Sports Institute (BSI), based in Johannesburg, has
developed a tailor-made education solution for sports-focused high
school students, called the BSI Sports Study Centre.
The
BSI Sports Study Centre uses the ‘distance learning’ model, that
brings greater flexibility of schedule for training and competing,
and envelopes it with a fully managed, structured and disciplined
environment to ensure that the education component of a youth
athlete’s life is given the importance that it needs.
Each student’s
education is tailor-made, with 3 different curricula choices
including two international options, plus an individualised work plan
based around their competitive sports schedule. One of the key
philosophies of BSI is ‘Whole Person Development’, and included
in the structure is a life skills and personal development programme,
particularly geared around the specific demands of being an athlete
such as media readiness, brand building and social media use.
An
integral part of the daily programme is an ‘Energising Session’
to kick off the day before academics start. These physical sessions
build long-term physical literacy, as well as preparing the students
for optimum concentration for the day ahead. BSI boasts South
African national squad members across 3 different sporting
disciplines, and demand is coming from many other sports, including
e-Sports. BSI Founder Michael Balderstone commented; “For many
years golf was not seen as an athletic sport, but now an entire
industry has grow around golf-specific fitness, and all of the top
players have fitness and health regimes. e-Sports will go the same
way, as improvements in physical literacy, fitness and nutrition have
significant benefits for hand-eye coordination and concentration. We
look forward to welcoming e-Sport competitors to our family and
helping to grow the competitive professionalism around the sport.”
BSI
is hosting an Open Evening on Wednesday 13thJune for parents and students who wish to find out more information.
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