Many parents encourage their children to maintain a balanced life by dedicating some time to studying while also taking out the time to play with their friends and take part in other activities they enjoy. But as we grow up and the pressure of studies start to increase, hence, playing sports, which can help maintain overall physical fitness for student gets compromised. This scenario is specifically true in a country like India where, after a certain point, the academic pressure increases. As a result, our parents will often tell us that we should start focusing on our studies more and let sports take a backseat.
As sports is considered a major part of the school curriculum these days, many schools have updated their sports infrastructure. Still, it comes last in the list of priorities for many students. Such being the case, many young athletes who want to pursue their sports career, get deprived of the proper physical training and have to indulge their interest in academics against their will.
The concept of sports school is fast evolving in India, to make sure these young athletes get their dream fulfilled while receiving a balanced sport-, and academic-centred education. However, a sports school is different in many ways from a regular school. In this article, we will discuss the difference between studying in a residential sports school and a regular school.
Academic Curriculum
The academic curriculum is the most important part of a student’s life and our academic studies generally start from our home as a child. In a traditional school, the main focus is always on developing the academic skills of the student and any form of sports normally takes a backseat in this situation. Focusing on the educational development of a child is always prioritised in a regular school. That is justifiable in instances where students want to pursue an academic career and only need to play to stay fit.
But in a sports school, special focus is given on sports infrastructure and introducing the students to various games. A sports school is perfect for young budding athletes and students are not told to stick to a fixed academic routine and they can learn according to their schedule and interest.
Quality Sports Education
Between regular and sports schools there is a difference in the quality of sports education. In a regular school aerobics or sports classes are hardly scheduled for twice or thrice a week and also the sports infrastructure and facilities are not that advanced. Whereas, in a sports school the authorities focus more on the sports infrastructure and emphasis is given to active sports with flexible academic hours.
Experienced Trainers and Coaches
In a regular school, more emphasis is given to finding a good academic teacher with superior educational background and achievement. Hardly one or two teachers are recruited for sports who have specific qualifications but have to teach all kinds of sports to many students at the same time.
But in the case of sports schools, we can see that the focus is more on hiring experienced coaches and trainers. Also, coaches are hired for individual types of sports in which they are experienced and often have garnered significant achievements. For example, you can get a separate trainer for a particular game like football, tennis or cricket just like we get a separate teacher for a specific subject in regular schools.
Infrastructure
When it comes to comparing the infrastructure that a regular school gets over a sports school, the differences are very obvious. For a regular school, quality infrastructure means keeping the labs well-stocked and providing the student with a spacious and fully-stocked library. Or it can be a well-equipped smart classroom with an audio-visual system.
But the definition of good infrastructure for a sports school is different. In a sports school, we can find a bigger playground, a separate practice room for different sports and well-stocked equipment to play a particular sport. The academic infrastructure is given less priority in a sports school but is good enough to serve the basic academic requirement for every student.
Also, just like there boarding schools for children to learn in a disciplined curriculum environment, there are residential sports schools with all kinds of sports facilities, so that young athletes can have a strict and disciplined sports curriculum without any distraction.
All in all, regular and sports schools have several differences but in the basic essence, they are quite similar too. As a student, choosing between both these types of school largely depend on what you are seeking from your student life.
