An interview with Coach Sappia
Congratulations coach! You had a winning season! How did you accomplish that with such varying ages and skill levels?
We had an amazing season. These kids are always ready to work together and share their knowledge. What is incredible to see is how they support each other on and off the field both skills wise and emotionally. The experienced players are always willing to step up and help the younger and or less experienced feel comfortable and grow.
What is it about the Waldorf curriculum or Waldorf experience that allows the kids to work so well together?
If you think about it, these children have been working together in varying activities since an early age. Collaboration, respect for others, and being part of the whole has been a constant in these children’s education. From Language arts, plays, music ensemble and especially Eurythmy, which really teaches the children how to work together in a defined space.
How did you instill the competitive spirit while at the same time cultivating such respectful players?
By the time the students get to us (6th grade) they’ve developed a great character foundation that they can easily apply to sportsmanship. One of the ways they’ve worked as a team and built character is through our “Chore” Program. Every child has a role to play and every child is responsible for helping to take care of our school. This starts at the very beginning. Whether it’s taking out the trash, composting, cleaning blackboards, sweeping, vacuuming, each child has a job to do and no job is more important than the other. This is exactly what it takes to be a good sports team player and these kids have been doing this for years.
They also have a lot of fun keeping up with the team statistics and they enjoy the thrill of a good game whether win, draw, or lose.
Can you give us an example of something that made you really proud during the season?
There were so many moments. One in particular was when they brought themselves back from a 2-0 score by cheering each other on from the bench, keeping their attitudes positive, not ever thinking that the game was lost at any point. THAT’s what character is all about and these kids tied it up in the last few minutes of the game. Waldorf kids are always encouraged to take a chance, to put themselves out there, to be forever curious. This really translates well in sports. Taking risks, feeling fear but trying anyway, and always having the belief in oneself that you can do it. This is what champions are made of and the reason we had a winning season.
Soccer This Spring
This year, for the first time, we will be offering an afternoon co-ed soccer clinic for the spring season!
This program is open to all students in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. The clinic will include both drills and in-house scrimmages. We will focus on building basic skills; conditioning; and improving awareness of where to be on the field. For experienced players, the clinic will be a chance to improve their game and have fun with their peers. For students who haven’t been on the pitch yet, including our 5th graders, the clinic is a great way to get a head start on the basics and enter the fall soccer season with more knowledge, skill, and confidence.
The soccer team at Waldorf School at Moraine Farm welcomes players of all abilities. Learning the basic skills of soccer, the team strives to work as a cohesive unit. Each player, an integral part of the whole, contributes to the team’s success on the field.
Coaches Sappia and Garcia-Akers.