SSAL Sports League, Pioneering the Way for Montessori Sports
DAVIE, Fla. (PRWEB) May 28, 2018 -- Two years ago, Shawn Bernhardt of the Summit-Questa Montessori School in Davie, FL saw a need in his region. At the time, there was a very small offering for competitive school sports in the elementary to middle school age groups. By working with several other local schools, Bernhardt was able to help develop a sports program to fill that need. Together with Bethany Christian School, Partridge Christian, and a few other private schools in the area, they have formed the Small School Athletic League, or SSAL.
During the creation of the SSAL, this cooperative league of schools faced countless hurdles. The first difficulties which were faced came in the form of simply fielding teams. Some schools, due to having no previous interest in sports were unable to put together the numbers for basic teams. Most students were already involved in other extra-curricular activities such as band or scouts. However, by continually marketing the team along side strong parental involvement, the league is now poised to host track, basketball, flag football, volleyball, and cross country. As time has gone on, more children from younger grades have advanced, leading to further support from all grade levels.
There were initial growing pains experienced by parents and students who weren’t used to certain schedules or what to do in the eventuality of a switched practice field, a cancelled or re-scheduled practice, etc. In that situation, the office would sometimes be flooded with phone calls. A solution had to be found. To bridge this communication gap, Summit-Questa used technology: by utilizing the Whatsapp social media messaging app, they were able to create an organized space for instant communication with all students and parents. Now, any change in plans or special notification reach everyone involved.
To give each child an equal opportunity to participate, manager positions were offered, providing a way for all students to remain involved. Also, regular camps are held to improve performance. They have seen great success with the students who have been involved with these camps, as several have gone on to be top performers in later seasons.
All of these investments in the SSAL program are certainly paying off, as Summit Questa is proud to be the undefeated basketball champions for the region in 2017! The region is now moving forward into the next season of SSAL league play, Winter Two. They are proud to be putting forth girls soccer, boys basketball, and elementary track and field. When it comes to the Davie Florida region, the SSAL leadership is poised to solve any opportunities which arise along the way, and their young athletes are ready to get out there and have fun!
Summit-Questa Montessori
5451 Davie Rd
Davie, FL 33314
(954) 584-3466
http://www.summit-questa.com
Joshua Repensek, Summmit-Questa, http://www.summitquesta.com, +1 786-282-8611, [email protected]
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