WordPress (the blog website I use) have issued a challenge to publish a post every day this month.  Well, I only read that email on the 2nd November, so missed one day.  But I am doing my best to publish something every day, so today I’m taking the opportunity to start a new strand and to write about my main passion – sport – which happens to also be my occupation.

My role as P.E. teacher and head of hockey is essentially a job in which I get to do a lot of stuff I enjoy: coaching players to improve their skills in a sport I love and which I have played since the age 13, as well as managing teams in regular fixtures.

But it does have its stresses and strains – such as today when I was assisting with interviewing candidates for 6th form sports scholarships, but also teaching and preparing for a big tournament tomorrow.  This involved tedious things, like making sure I had enough players (some of whom had conflicting commitments in other departments), checking shirts, change of shirts, tracksuits, hockey balls, first aid, ensuring the girls have lunches, planning to buy more to supplement the lunches….the list goes on.  Throw in a fixture today that was cancelled at the last moment, and the subsequent rearrangement of training for senior teams, and it was a another fraught day at school.

But, at the end of the day (to use a sporting cliche) Claire reminds me that it is “only games”.  Which reminded me of an ironic (or perhaps idiotic) poem I once wrote when disgruntled with the fact that a lot of girls missed sport to do music.  I would add that I enjoy a good relationship with the music department and that the following words are meant very much in jest – before someone in senior management reads this and hauls me over hot coals.  But I think anyone who has worked in P.E. and sport in schools will identify with some of the sentiments.

So, no pics today – just words.  Make up your own pictures.