Fro“Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality” Abraham Lincoln

How does commitment, particularly to sport and/or co-curricular activities affect and help us to be resilient in later life?  What can our students learn about their personal commitments?  

Making a commitment to something or being committed isn’t always easy.  Actually, it can be really difficult, but the benefits can be immense and immeasurable.  Sometimes making a commitment will mean attaining future goals early or reaching personal bests by making sacrifices along the way.  At St Augustine’s College we lead by example by offering a comprehensive Sport and Co-curricular Program led by a team of highly qualified teachers and staff.  As students choose their path of travel through the program, we are fortunate to witness those that benefit directly from their commitment.  For example, but not limited to, students who are selected in State and Australian representative teams, who act and star in block buster movies, businessmen highly successful in their own right, and those that play instruments on the world stage.   

Making the commitment to a co-curricular activity or sport gives students the opportunity to learn something about themselves - their strengths, weaknesses, tendencies and traits.  Students who aimlessly move from activity to activity or team to team might be looking for what’s easy, what’s comfortable and miss this opportunity to learn.  Commitment was evident recently with a senior student whose family car broke down one Saturday morning.  The student didn’t call his mates to let them know he couldn’t get to the game and he didn’t just ‘not show’ with what may have been considered a valid excuse.  He caught a bus and a train and made his way to Strathfield.  He didn’t allow himself to think of other options – his commitment was to his school, his team and to his coaching staff.  When things sometimes get difficult in later life, that’s the kind of person you want by your side, one who has learnt through his commitment to sport to be resilient and resourceful.  

The self-awareness that can be gleaned by students through making a commitment to a group of people means that they develop traits that make them less selfish.  They learn quickly that they have a place and a roll in the group, and when they stay committed (even when they may not want to), it shows that they are learning to think outside of their own needs and more about the needs of others.  It’s self-fulfilling, as the ability to build and maintain relationships by being committed enhances their place within the group or team.  We must however, as parents and educators, allow students with the right guidance and encouragement, the opportunity to be committed.  These opportunities must be consistent over time and not just a ‘one off’.  

Staying committed brings rewards.  However, rewards are not always extrinsic such as winning or making a representative group.  Understanding the benefit and recognising intrinsic rewards such as the feeling of knowing you didn’t cave in and walk away when you were not given the role or position you wanted or being that player who braved the torrential rain to give the team a full playing roster to start the game.  The feeling is a sense of achievement and the accumulative resilient skills learnt continuously over time will pay off and manifest as strength of character.   

With the Winter Sports Program coming to an end, Summer Sports and Activities are now gearing up.  It’s now that students can make their personal commitment to their school and mates, see where it takes them and the sense of achievement they can learn outside of the classroom.   

John Papahatzis
Assistant Principal – Sport and Co-curricular