Sports Programs

Success in Sports - How Global Jaya Supports Our Students 

Let us begin by celebrating Semester 1 and all we have accomplished. We look at success in our programs with two key measurable metrics: participation levels and success.

Semester 1 Participation

Participation levels are where we will start for Season One, and it is something to truly celebrate. At the primary school level, we have been running basketball and our swimming program for the whole year. At the Middle School level, we have completed the U15 Basketball season and have started the U15 Volleyball season. At the High School level, we have completed both the Varsity Soccer and Volleyball seasons and have started Varsity Basketball. 

Semester 1 Sport Numbers (% of population) 

Year-on-year growth by percentage is a key indicator of program development. We continue to grow in student numbers, and we also see growth in participation in our programs across the board. A vital element of this is our philosophy, in which we are inclusive in all our programs.

Semester 1 Success
To begin with, in Primary School, results are not officially kept. Again, this is part of our philosophy, and it is also developmentally appropriate. Students at this age should be developing a love of sport.
In our U15/Middle School teams, we had great seasons in basketball. Our girls played finals and finished 4th; our boys just missed out on finals and finished 5th. This is the first time in 6 years we have played finals girl's basketball, at any level! That shows our inclusive developmental program is starting to work. Our boys defeated SPH-LV in their seasonal basketball game - in recent history we have not defeated one of the strongest boys basketball teams in our league. 

With U15 volleyball, the season has only just started, but we must mention that the U15 boys were champions in an invitational pre-season tournament. They defeated two JIS teams, a strong BSJ team and a strong ISKL (International School of Kuala Lumpur) team. What a great start!

In our Varsity Sports, we have had the strongest start to a year of sport in Global Jaya’s history within the JAAC. We were champions in Boys and Girls Volleyball - celebrating for the first time a double championship - and champions in Boys Football. Our Girl's Football team ended up finishing in 5th place. Purely based on results, we were the best-performing school in our conference for Season 1 Varsity Sport. We are currently embarking on our Basketball season, which runs through semester 1 and into semester 2, with games starting in November and running through March.

With both participation and results, we hope to continue this trend. We want to see as many students as possible participating and feeling successful in their sport.

Global Jaya Sport Philosophy

Our philosophy is that we are an inclusive program and we will remove barriers for your child to be involved in our programs. We run seasonal sports which are shown, by research, to be developmentally appropriate for students through Primary, Middle, and High School. We will support the specialisation of students in our Varsity programs as that is the age where there are developmental benefits to focus on specific sports. 

Specifically, we can look at the program like this:
Primary Sport - Participation and engagement are key. As a school, we do not keep scores or record results. The goal is for the number of students involved to increase every year.

Middle School Sport/U15 - We look at developing sport-specific skills while still encouraging participation. Matches now keep score, and we work towards winning league banners. However, if a student tries out for a team, we will find a space for that student. We will also work to ensure students have games regardless of their level. 

High School Sport/Varsity - This program is competitive. Students are at the age where the research says that specialisation can start. We work on higher-level skills and strategies. Games are all competitive, and game time reflects upon students who are stronger at the sport. This is explained preseason to students. 

All Programs - We are inclusive. Every student is invited to the sport at their age group. If we need to create another team, we will. Our goal is for every student who wants to find a place in the sports program to find that place. Finally, sports are seasonal. We do not run programs all year round as we want to develop well-rounded athletes. 

So why do we not run sports programs all year round? We have heard my continued mantra that it is developmentally inappropriate, but I will elaborate on that further. Feel free to read this article if you want to see the science behind our program. Furthermore, one of the most successful sports programs in the world is run by the Australian Institute of Sport, and their website outlines some more of the points that guide our philosophy.

The article referenced earlier shows that, for most sports, early diversification leads to more success. That also means, amongst higher-level athletes, having diversified earlier leads to an easier acquisition of higher-level skills in their chosen sport. The key here is that early diversification leads to more enjoyment, fewer injuries, and more extended participation at a higher level. 

So why do we see so many clubs driving year-long sports? Well, it has extremely short-term gains for those clubs/coaches but no long-term gains for their athletes. The research shows that year-round sport leads to the following:

1. Burnout in the athlete

2. Getting bored of the sport at a much earlier age

3. At the extreme, walking out of sport all together.

I have seen this in my career, and it is why major sporting organisations and national agencies do not support it. We may see increased participation rates and a short-term skill boost, but if that student stops playing sports in 5 years time, then it has not accomplished its goal.

We can, however, encourage them to join a club if a student does show an interest or a particular aptitude in a sport. Clubs are where further development happens with people of equal levels of skill or higher levels than what you may find in high school teams. As we have to remember, school teams are, in the end, inclusive while still being competitive.

Finally, this is the approach of major international schools, not just in Asia but worldwide. This is supported by sports science and by leading pediatrician recommendations. We welcome families to get involved and share their passion for sports with our community. At Global Jaya School, we have a shared vision for enjoyment, development, and success for all of our students.