Accessible, inclusive sports giving elementary-age phys-ed students a lesson in empathy

Among his unusual instructions on a recent school day, phys-ed teacher Jordan Adam discouraged his students from cheering on their teammates.

“I need the audience to be quiet,” he told his packed gymnasium at Beaverlodge School.

Adam wanted them to have an authentic goalball experience, after all, and that required active players — all of whom were blindfolded — to be hyperaware of the sounds around them.

Originally created for athletes who have visual impairments, the Paralympic team sport is played with a ball that has a bell inside it.

Competitors listen for ringing to determine how best to defend their large nets. They wear blackout masks and shoot underhand.

“My philosophy, what I really try to do, is give a buffet of activities and hopefully, every kid will find something they like and can enjoy for the rest of their life,” Adam said, following a midday match at his kindergarten-to-Grade 5 school in west Winnipeg.

This year, he’s launched a new inclusive sports program to expose students to lesser-known activities and spark discussion about accessibility.

 

 

The initiative was inspired by a Grade 3 student who entered the halls of Beaverlodge in a wheelchair in the fall.

She often asks, “What am I supposed to do?” during phys-ed, Adam said, noting they’ve been coming up with adaptations together throughout the year.

While they’ve found ways to adjust programming, Adam said he wanted to plan a unit that wouldn’t elicit such a question.

He reached out to Basketball Manitoba and secured a $500 provincial healthy schools grant to rent a set of wheelchairs through the organization.

Students’ widespread excitement and engagement about wheelchair basketball motivated him to introduce goalball. He’s considering sitting volleyball next.

 

 

The Pembina Trails School Division has a goalball set and adjustable nets, along with other inclusive equipment that teachers can borrow.

“Kids are being exposed to the disability community, accessible sport and inclusive initiatives that value everybody,” said Michael Baker, an inclusive support services consultant for the division.

Incorporating accessible sports creates a sense of belonging for students with disabilities and builds knowledge and understanding among others, Baker said.

Adam introduced goalball by talking to his students about terminology, including visual impairment, blindness and “person-first language.”

He said his goal, along with teaching students about strategy, fair play and fitness, is to build empathy.

 

 

There’s been a noticeable shift in schools embracing adaptive recreation over the last decade, said Jared Funk, executive director of Accessible Sport Connection Manitoba.

“It’s growing every year, which is great. The one problem we have — and it’s a good problem — is having enough equipment to share with schools,” he said.

Funk, a three-time Paralympic medalist in wheelchair rugby, has been involved in the accessible sport world for 30 years. He’s been using a wheelchair since he suffered a spinal cord injury at age 18.

“People see disability as a stopping point. Really, it’s just a starting point,” Funk said, adding that it can spark educational discussions and creative thinking surrounding adaptation.

His team has been working on multiple guides to help schools and other community-serving organizations embed adaptive sports, recreation and leisure activities, into their programming.

The non-profit organization is launching the project, dubbed Access Joy, this weekend.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca