VCE VM 

Two classes from the Year 8 cohort of Northcote High school participated in a 4-week soccer program, ran by Year 11 VCE VM students. 

During the program, kids were taught and practiced fundamental soccer skills like dribbling, shooting, passing and teamwork skills like maintaining formations and positions.  

The intent of the program was to encourage younger students to participate in activities that will improve physical, social and emotional health. This program also teaches basic principles of important life skills like team work, leadership, a commitment to learning and leadership. 

To build these skills and boost student wellbeing, Year 11 students were required to develop engaging, active and inclusive drills that can be accessible to all skill levels. With 3 groups of around 16 children, VM students were also required to display leadership and problem-solving abilities. This ties in with the baseline principles of the VCE VM course, intended to teach students essential skills for employment like communication and self-management. 

In the fourth and final week of the program, the entire group of students, coaches and teachers head down to Sumner Park for a full-scale soccer match. With 3 groups, 2 groups competed while one group answered a survey designed by the VM students to grasp the year 8 student’s enjoyment of the program and fulfillment of the VM success criteria. Majority of students voted on the program being a success, with improvements in physical and social health. 

Overall, the Program was enjoyed by all cohorts and was a great opportunity for the younger students to interact and meet older year levels, further developing the school's connectedness and sense of community. 

-Rafael Pitruzello-Carr 11K 

The aim for this soccer unit was to improve the health and wellbeing for the year 8

 students through student led coaching, a part of the year 11 VCE-VM class, in groups, we designed three lesson plans, one lesson plan per Friday afternoon, and on the fourth day, all three groups versed each other in a big friendly match of soccer at Sumner Park. 

This taught them key skills not only for soccer, but also in active listening and following through with instructions given to them by our VM class. Due to my lack of soccer knowledge, my primary role was assisting my team with the setting up and demonstrations, showing that everyone had a part to play. 

Playing soccer improved the year 8’s physical health and wellbeing by collaborating as a class to pass the ball and play the activities created by us, with communication being a key skill used in our soccer drills when passing the ball, score, shoot, and socialising with us year 11’s.  

The year 8’s showed great levels of excitement and joy through their levels of participation, and although some needed extra motivation at times, overall, the soccer drills positively improved their emotional health and wellbeing. One challenge our group faced was the planning, as we overestimated the time allocated to each activity and realised most lessons had to major soccer drills when we should have had multiple smaller drills, because the year 8’s often disliked playing one activity for a long period of time. We addressed this issue by veering off from our lesson plan and switching the games up more frequently based on how the students were reacting to them.  

Roughly 10 students were surveyed afterward, and most said that they enjoyed our drills, and that they noticed and improvement in their skills. This tells me that, although there were still improvements to be made to our coaching and activities, overall, the year 8’s enjoyed our lessons while improving their physical, social, and emotional health, and next time, we should plan out a more simplified lesson plan focusing on a variety of skills delivered in smaller and quicker activities.   

-Minnie Ender 11H