Final Entry: Reflection on my Experiences & Learning

Over the past four months that I have spent in Australia, I have learned a lot about sport and learning in Australian culture. On only my second day in this country – coming off of twenty-five hours of traveling – my orientation program took us surfing, boogie boarding and paddle boarding to get a taste of what life is like in Australia. I was therefore exposed to the value of sport in Australian culture from the very beginning, as it was one of the first things I experienced in this country. Over the course of the semester, I continued to try different sports and to attend different sporting events whenever I had the chance, which further revealed to me how integral sports are in the lives of all Australians. I learned about the influence and nature of sport in the lives of Australians from a professional to a youth level through my adventures, adventures that helped me learn about a culture unlike any other.

Watching professional sports in Australia not only allowed me to see how incredibly talented Australian athletes are but also showed me how important the games are to both the spectators and to the players. At the Rugby League game, the AFL game and the cricket games I watched on television I noticed that all of the fans were incredibly into the matches and showed clear signs of excitement when their team played well. When their team made an error, the fans also displayed visible disappointment and anger, which began to uncover for me the obsession with winning that infiltrates Australian sport. From class lectures, tutorials and readings I had learned about the excessive desire to win particularly evident in Australian sport but I did not expect to see it so clearly during my sport experiences. The athletes, along with the spectators at the professional level also displayed an extreme desire to win, which could be seen in their unyielding effort and their reactions to the way in which they performed. By observing both the spectators and the players, I realized that almost everyone valued winning above all else, thereby supporting the obsession I learned about in class.

While the youth programs modified sport to make it more accessible to children, the professional level of competition and desire to win that defines Australian sport was evident even at a very young age. Out of all of the junior sporting events I watched over the past four months, I noticed that the eight-year-old boys playing in the junior rugby league were especially focused on winning and displayed this focus through aggression. Coaches perpetuated this aggression by screaming at the children when they made an error; thereby instilling within them the belief that winning is the most important factor in sports participation. While the nippers, life guarding and junior netball were more relaxed than the junior rugby league, all of the children still played their hardest and the coaches continuously encouraged them to aim for victory. Although it is important to teach children to set their aspirations high, my experience with sport in Australia has shown me that the obsession with winning can prevent youth from getting the invaluable experience participating in a sport has to offer.

Playing sports beginning at a very young age allows children to learn personal and social skills essential to child development, skills that I have had the chance to observe first-hand in youth sport in Australia. By playing a sport, children learn how to challenge themselves and how to give something their all, both of which are crucial personal developments that will help children succeed in all domains of their lives. Learning how to try one’s hardest was evident in all of the youth sporting events I attended this semester because I did not see one child who appeared to be giving the sport less than his or her all. Playing a sport also forces children to develop physically, and helps children understand their body’s strengths and weaknesses. On top of growing on a personal and a physical level, children playing sports must also learn how to interact with others in a socially appropriate manner as both an individual and as a team player. More specifically, children must talk to people of various different backgrounds and learn to play as part of a community in order to participate in a sport. From the nippers to the junior rugby league, all of the youth sports I observed in Australia had an incredibly strong sense of community. In order to play, children were therefore forced to learn how to socialize within a team and a community setting, talking not only to diverse children of their own age but also learning how to interact with adults. These interactions teach children to be respectful and to value diversity at a very young age, social skills which are crucial to positive child development. Because sports are so central to Australian culture, all of the parents that I spoke to during my youth sport field trips told me that they would never consider not enrolling their child in sport. Children all over Australia therefore have the opportunity to grow and develop personally, physically and socially by participating in sport.

While I am an advent Boston sports fan, my exploration of sport in Australia has been unique in comparison to my experiences with sport in America. Never before have I experienced a place where sport played such an integral role in a universal manner. Although sports are certainly valued in American culture, it is likely for children to grow up participating in extracurricular activities other than sport, a path very rarely taken by Australian youth. Because sports largely define Australian culture, taking this course has been a great way for me to learn about Australia and to truly immerse myself in this country as an abroad student. I am studying to become an elementary school teacher and my experiences with sport in Australia have also therefore been incredibly applicable to my future profession by opening my eyes to the value of sport in child learning and development. My adventures with Australian sport have not only been important learning experiences but have also been incredibly fun experiences that I will never forget!

Sydney Swans AFL Game

Today I watched the Sydney Swans play against Tasmania’s Hawthorn AFL club at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Compared to the rugby league games I have watched I found the AFL game much more exciting. It took me a little while to catch on to the rules, but once I did I was much more interested in the game than any other sports I have watched so far in Australia. Not only did I think that the game moved a lot faster than the rugby games and therefore better captivated my attention, I also thought that the atmosphere was much more energetic. Almost everyone in the crowd wore their team’s colors and continuously cheered their team on. Because it was a Sunday afternoon, there were a lot of young children at the game as well. The kids sitting directly in front of me, all of whom looked under ten years of age, were very into the game and seemed to understand all of the rules. One of the boys got so excited when the Swans scored he started hitting himself on the head with his noisemaker. Watching these children and the rest of the fans, I was again reminded of how integral sports are in Australian culture. The rules of the AFL game were unlike any sports I have ever seen in America. As I watched, however, I was reminded of both football and of soccer. The fan-base reminded me a lot of watching the New England Patriots of the NFL but the incredible shape the players were in reminded me more of watching my high school soccer team. Out of all the sports I have seen in Australia, the NFL was definitely my favorite and I hope that I will be able to attend another one of the Swans’ games in the future!

Sydney Half-Marathon

Today I ran the Sydney half-marathon with a few of my friends that I met here in Australia. Although I played many sports growing up and in high school, I have never been a runner and have therefore never before participated in a competitive race. When I arrived at 5:30 this morning, it was quite intimidating to see all of the other runners who appeared to be incredibly athletic and in extremely good shape. Running beside such athletes inspired me to push myself further, and while I originally only had the intention to finish the half-marathon I soon adapted the goal of completing the race with walking as little as possible and only in increments of ten seconds. Because the course looped around at certain points, I was able to observe the runners in the top fifty running the other direction from the way I ran. I was amazed at their speed and strength, and also moved by the handicapped participants who were in the top tier. As I crossed the finish line hundreds of spectators cheered me on, all holding up signs and screaming for me to push through the end. It was a truly incredible event, and I was so happy I was able to finish the race! While I have never before run a marathon, I do always watch the Boston marathon, which runs past Boston College – my home university. From my observations, the two marathons were incredibly similar. Both have thousands of participants, many of whom run to compete while many others run for a cause. The level of competition was therefore comparable to that in America, which surprised me because the level of competition has been higher in almost all of the other sports I have observed in Australia. Although running is not a distinctly Australian sport, those I ran with all seemed to be just as dedicated to the sport as any other Australian athlete and the spectators seemed to support and appreciate the sport just as much as all the others.

Junior Netball

After watching the junior rugby league games this morning I observed twelve-year-old girls play a game of netball. Coming from watching the boys play, there was a notable difference in the atmosphere and level of aggression. The coaches of the netball teams seemed much more relaxed and provided more positive feedback instead of loud encouragement. Because netball is not a contact sport, there was no physical aggression between the girls and I also did not overhear any verbal aggression take place during the game. While the girls were not as aggressive as the boys, they were just as competitive and played just as hard. They continuously cheered one another on and never slowed down on the court. The parents at the netball game also behaved similarly to the parents I observed at the rugby games in that they cheered their children on but focused more on socializing and did not seem obsessed with winning at all. The players themselves did not seem concerned with winning either, and they did not show any signs of disappointment when the opposing team scored a goal or when they missed a goal when they had a chance to score one. Watching netball reminded me of my club volleyball tournaments in high school because I played in an all girls league and they took place in a relaxed atmosphere that focused more on developing skills than on the competition. One aspect of the netball I watched that I found unique was that the games lasted all day beginning with girls younger in age and ending with adults. I think that planning the tournament this way creates a great sense of community and also allows young children to watch higher-level players, which inspires them to become better players themselves. From what I saw, the netball club seemed like an enjoyable way to both learn and to play the sport with the support of parents and players of all ages.

Junior Rugby League

At our field trip this morning I walked around and observed various different junior rugby league games. The first game I watched was one where eight-year-old boys were playing, all of whom were extremely competitive. Even on the sidelines I overheard one boy yelling about how his team was going to “smash” their opponents, and the boy on the other team responded to his comment by tackling him. Their competitive attitudes pushed them to play their hardest, and it was clear by their facial expressions how much effort they put into the game at every moment. I also noticed that the coaches encouraged them to work hard and helped them through each play by standing on the field and teaching them as they went. This reminded me a lot of the soccer league I played in when I was younger because the coaches were always allowed to coach on the field when they taught a team of young children and the referees were always older teenagers who played the sport themselves. Watching the rugby games also reminded me of soccer because of how many games took place at once and how many parents stood around socializing with one another. While the parents at times encouraged their children to play well, they did not seem to be overly concerned about winning which was also the case for the soccer league I played in on Saturdays growing up. Some of the coaches I saw, however, seemed incredibly competitive and I heard one coach yelling at his team to “shut up and play harder.” The boys seemed to respond well to this style of coaching, and immediately paid attention to what the coach was saying and began to put all of their effort and focus into the game. Watching the boys play, I was very surprised at how aggressive the boys were at such a young age because in America children learn to play contact sports beginning with “touching” instead of “tackling.” Despite the aggression, I did not see one boy complain about being hurt and did not see one boy who did not appear to be enjoying himself. The junior rugby league seemed like a great sport for a young boy to be involved in that not only helps children learn to play through continuous coaching but also teaches them in a social environment that seemed to create an incredibly supportive and positive community.

Lifeguarding Course in Airlie Beach

After traveling to Fraser Island I went to the Whitsundays where I observed an hour-long lifeguarding class. The class took place at a massive lagoon in Airlie Beach on a Saturday morning. After watching the instructors remind the children how to properly enter the water and analyzing each child as he or she got in, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the girl’s mothers. She explained to me that children can begin the course as early as seven years old, and they sometimes let children begin earlier as long as they are able to pass a swimming test that measures a variety of skills. Because the sport originally seemed very similar to the nippers to me, I asked the mother if it was in fact the same but she explained that the children in this class were strictly training to be lifeguards and were not competing against one another. I also noticed that the instructors were paid and certified lifeguards instead of parent volunteers, which revealed another difference between the two sports. While the twelve-week class did cost money, she explained to me that signing your children up for a lifeguarding class costs much less than enrolling your children in athletic courses in Australian’s equivalent to the American YMCA. I found this incredibly interesting because in America lifeguarding is not nearly as popular and is therefore quite an expensive sport to pursue. Because Australia is surrounded by beaches, the mother I spoke with explained to me that the majority of Australian children are involved in either the nippers or a lifeguarding course mainly because it is essential for children to learn how to swim safely in the water. In America, on the other hand, the people who become lifeguards are usually those who swam competitively beginning at a young age but the majority of children instead take swim lessons only if their parents want them to learn how to swim. From my own experience teaching and working at camps in the summer, I have noticed that a lot of young children in America are extremely afraid of the water and cry hysterically when I encourage them to go in deeper than their knees. Just like the nippers, however, the Australian kids seemed to really enjoy the lifeguarding class and were happy to jump right into the water at anytime, thereby further revealing the differences in Australian and American sports culture.

Sandboarding in Fraser Island

Over Easter Holidays I traveled to Fraser Island and to the Great Barrier Reef. In Fraser Island, our tour guide gave us the opportunity to sandboard at a location called Lake Wabby; where large sand dunes fall into a freshwater lake. Although we did not have access to a real sandboard, our group used a boogie board to have a try at the sport. Sandboarding at Lake Wabby was a lot of fun when we were able to get the board to slide, but had a lot of trouble making our way down the hill once the board was soaked in the lake water. We tried conquering the dunes sitting on the boogie board, laying down on it and even standing on it – which always resulted in us falling onto the sand and watching the board slide down the hill. While our tourist group attempted sandboarding we saw a family nearby with a real sandboard sliding down the hills. They all sat on the board, often having numerous people go down the dunes at once. Both the parents and children who varied in age from around five to the teenage years seemed to love the sport. From observing this family, it became clear to me that sandboarding is a sport of leisure and one that seems to be based much more around personal enjoyment than on competition like many of the other sports I have seen so far in Australia. I really enjoyed attempting to sandboard and watching the nearby Australian family successful ride the sand dunes because sandboarding is a sport that I have never before seen in America, mainly because of the difference in terrain. I hope that I will have the opportunity to try sandboarding with a real board before I leave Sydney so I can successfully pursue this uniquely Australian sport!

Netball Tournament - Age 10

This week I was able to watch the end of a netball tournament played by one of the girls I babysit for who is ten years of age. As I observed the last few minutes of the young girls playing, I noticed that netball had a much more relaxed atmosphere than many of the other sports I have seen so far in Australia. While at the nippers and rugby sporting events the parents I observed not only seemed incredibly involved but were also constantly pushing their children to play well, at the netball tournament the majority of adults seemed to be calmly enjoying themselves, removed from the tournament, as they watched the girls play. Most of the parents were casually talking on the sidelines, or positively encouraging their daughters as they played. When I talked with the parents of the family I babysit for, they told me that netball was an excellent sport to be involved in for young girls, one that is a lot of fun but also very challenging and competitive. Watching the girls play, I certainly noticed that they were having a good time and also noticed that they were all incredibly driven. Even though the girls had been playing for hours when I arrived, they still continued to play their hardest. After finishing the last game, the ten-year-old I babysit for told me that it was her first time ever playing netball and that even though she lost the majority of her games that day, she was very excited to continue playing for the rest of the season. She also told me how along with netball, she and her two siblings participate in a track and field-like sport once a week and play soccer as well. From observing the end of the netball tournament and talking with the family about their involvement in sport, I could clearly see that sport played an undeniably important role in both their individual and family lives – a powerful reflection of Australian culture in a young Australian-American family.

Cricket at Sydney Olympic Park & on Television

This past Saturday I went to the Sydney Olympic Park and observed countless families playing cricket on the open grassy areas. I watched one game in particular where parents or older children threw the ball to younger children who then made their best attempts at swinging to hit the ball as far as they could. While some played cricket, others cooked and talked as they either ate barbeque or picnic foods. Watching this, I was reminded of barbeques in America where many families gather to talk, eat and play a game of wiffleball – a game strikingly similar to baseball but the bat and ball used are both made of plastic. From my experience at Sydney Olympic Park, I realized that sport in Australia is not only practiced in a competitive and professional setting but also in a family and leisurely context, one that is very similar to American recreational sport. Over the past two months, I have also watched cricket numerous times in both restaurants and bars. Viewing cricket matches on television reminded me a lot of watching professional golf because both games are very slow-moving and highly based on skills. Tatz (2011) explains how cricket was once used as “a civilizing force in some colonies” (Tatz, 2011, p. 139) in Imperial Britian by encouraging positive behavior and is now a sport most often played by the elite. Similarly, golf is a game with a written code of etiquette which demands good behavior and golf is most often played by wealthy individuals who work in the business world. Although I do not yet understand all of the rules of cricket, from my experience seeing cricket recreationally at Sydney Olympic Park and professionally on television I can tell that it is comparable to both baseball and golf in America. I hope that while I am in Australia I will be able to see a professional cricket game live, and learn more about the Australian cricket culture!

Roosters vs. West Tigers Rugby Game

This Sunday afternoon I went to the Roosters vs. West Tigers game at the Sydney Football Stadium. After navigating through a sea of red, navy and white, I found seats near the Roosters’ goal post. I was surrounded by families and was shocked by how many young children I saw watching the rugby game. All of the children seemed to know exactly what was going on in the game, standing up to cheer for their team at the right times and expressing distress when the opposing team nearly scored. One child about four years of age sitting two seats away from me stood up on his seat and yelled, “Boo Tigers!” as he shook his thumb downwards at another fan walking by.

Not only was this quite hysterical to witness, but it also showed me how important sport is in Australian culture and how children are exposed to sport at a very young age. Being amidst the crowd of families reminded me of attending an afternoon Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston where many Bostonians like to bring their families to relax and enjoy some ballpark food while cheering the Sox on. Looking across to the other side of the stadium at the rugby game, however, the fans appeared to be incredibly rowdy, all of them dressed in their team’s colors waving flags in the air and chanting very loudly. Seeing this fan section reminded me more of watching the Patriots play at Gillette Stadium where young and old adults gather to drink beer and excitedly – and at times rudely – cheer on the Patriots. Although the stadium was not full, I could clearly see that the Rugby League has an incredibly loyal fan base beginning at a very young age and ending at a very old age. I was very happy to be able to attend a Rugby League game which was not only an extremely fun but also an incredibly cultural experience!

Newtown Public Primary Physical Education Class

This week I observed a gym class at the primary school I volunteer at every week called Newtown Public. Because of the integral role sport plays in the lives of Australians I expected the class to be much different from the gym classes I partook in during elementary school in America. The class I observed had a session on gymnastics in which the kids were required to do handstands and walk on balance beams. In my schooling experience gymnastics was not a part of the physical education curriculum but only a sport practiced outside of school by those who had enough money to participate. I found it incredibly interesting that gymnastics are practiced in Australian physical education classes not only because it has never been a part of American physical education but also because it is not one of the sports Australians pride themselves on. Another difference I noted between Australian and American physical education by talking with the teacher after class was that Newtown Public School does not have a separate physical educator but instead the classroom teachers run physical education for their individual classes, a trend becoming common in Australian schools. Light (2011) emphasizes this point by stating that “there had been a significant decline in the content and quality of physical education and sport in schools linked to a reduction in the number of specialist physical education teachers” (Light, 2011, p. 61) in the late 1980s. In this article Light (2011) further describes how physical education has become less effective in the past few generations because it is now packed into a stacked curriculum that emphasizes academics. This same problem has recently occurred in the United States, as limited budgets have cut back on physical education and at times cut physical education out of the curriculum entirely. I believe that physical education proves crucial to child development and helps combat childhood obesity, and therefore think that both Australia and the United States need to maintain strong physical education programs in all elementary schools.

Surf Lessons in Australia

During my first week in Australia I had the opportunity to partake in a surfing lesson through my program’s orientation. I heard so much about how popular surfing is in Australia before traveling to Sydney and was therefore very excited to see what it was like. When we arrived at the beach we were welcomed by surfing instructors of all ages, both male and female. I was surprised at the diversity of the instructors because surfers are stereotypically portrayed in the media as young men in excellent physical shape. All of the instructors expressed their love for surfing before beginning our lesson, and from my time spent with them I could tell that they had formed a close-knit community around the sport. In just two-and-half hours I learned to boogie board, paddle board and surf. Each of the sports required similar skills and physical strengths, but the instructors explained to us that there are many differences between the sports as well. We were told that boogie boarding is more recreational, that surfing is much more popular and competitive and that paddle boarding is a relatively new sport recently taken up by American celebrities that is also growing increasingly competitive. Before this lesson, I had taken one surfing lesson in Costa Rica, but I found it very different from my experience in Australia. In Costa Rica my family had one instructor teach us how to surf and when we arrived at the beach there were no other surf instructors around and not a surfer in sight. This instructor also focused solely on the skills associated with learning to surf, and did not address the culture of surfing in Costa Rica. Comparing these two experiences, it is clear to me how sport truly is an integral part of Australian culture. Unlike my experience in Costa Rica, I could tell from only a few hours that the instructors who taught me in Australia made up a passionate community dedicated to the sports that they love.

The Nippers at Maroubra Beach

Today we traveled to Maroubra Beach where I had the opportunity to observe children ages six and seven participate in the Nippers. I saw these children race both in the sand and in the water, as parents encouraged them by clapping and cheering on the outskirts. I noticed that there was one man running the races by yelling out instructions and blowing his whistle to signal the start of each event. From lecture I had learned that the Nippers was a community sport run by volunteers, and saw this play out at Maroubra as I observed the man running the races asking for parent volunteers to stand at both the start and finish lines. I also spoke to one of the parents who explained to me that at this age the children were not competing but were only training to get use to the water and participating for fun. He told me that the kids really enjoyed it, and that the parents had fun serving as volunteers within the Nippers community as well. As I continued to watch the children and speak with parents, I thought of how much the Nippers community reminded me of my junior softball league in the United States. In this little league almost all of the coaches were parents of children on the teams and the assistant coaches were always parent volunteers. Parents also came to every game to cheer their children on and rotated bringing snacks for the players to eat after the game. Parents and children participate in this league because of their love for the sport, for their own enjoyment and for their community participation, all of which fuel the volunteer-based Nippers in Australia. Despite these similarities, the Nippers is also very different from any sport I have seen in America because learning water safety is not as crucial and water sports are not as common due to differences in geography and climate. I loved watching the kids have fun learning about water safety and observing the liveliness of the Nippers community and look forward to my future Australian sport endeavors!

Welcome!

Hello everybody! My name is Heather Kozin and I am currently studying abroad at the University of Sydney in Australia. I am from Boston, Massachusetts and attend Boston College where I study Elementary Education and Human Development. I am a very big sports fan in the States, and love both Boston sports and Boston College sports. Growing up I participated in soccer, gymnastics, dance, softball and volleyball. Because of my love for sports, I decided to take a class about Sport and Learning in Australian Culture to get a taste of what sports are like around the world and how they differ from sports played in the United States. I have created this blog to keep track of my experiences with sport in Australia and will be posting something new every week. Welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy reading it!