Boing, from Eve’s point of view

Hey there,

Welcome to the latest addition to the Boing Blog! 👋

My name is Eve and I run the operations side of things here at Boing. I am a Sport, Coaching and Physical Education student at Oxford Brookes University. I have  been fortunate enough to have experienced lots of Boing during my degree whilst working with Kit and Ben!  
 
As someone who is just starting on the road to becoming a PE teacher, I am very grateful to work alongside this amazing team who are BURSTING with Boing knowledge that I can take with me on my teaching and coaching journey. In light of this, I’ve come across one element that really fascinates me. This being just how much the power of creativity can affect the learning of children within play!
 
A creative coach, teacher or practitioner is the first step to unlocking the imagination of children during physical activity. When leading activities, a practitioner has the opportunity to tell a story and grasp the minds of those in front of them. Take our game Bears in the Woods for example, there is a ‘hunter’ trying to catch the ‘bears’ and the bears need to make it safely back to their ‘cave’. In reality, a simple game of tag with an added safe zone has just been developed into an elaborative creative adventure! Then we add ‘food’, such as bean bags, that the bears have to get to their caves without being caught by the hunter. Now, there is a group of children invested in this story so much so that when different constraints are added or changed within the game to challenge how they move , they are simply excited for the story to take a new turn because they’re having fun.
 
Using creative imagery within a story to captivate the learners will allow coaches to develop everything from coordination and balance to engaging in a whole repertoire of movements. There is always an opportunity to implement creativity into a coaching session, you just need to unlock your own imagination. Capture the flag can become a game about retrieving the crown jewels back from the thieves who stole it or then teaching a hockey sweep it can be described as slicing through a whole pizza in one go with a long, powerful stroke. Creativity really can be applied to anything! The potentials are limitless. 
 
It’s well worth checking out the  resources we have to help you on your Boing journey. The Boing PlayTank is a free resource full of creative games and ideas to get children learning through the power of play. Or why not jump into a PlayVenture? Dive into the Boing principles and philosophies which can be applied in all coaching contexts whether it’s activity camps, PE lessons or sports clubs to give you an understanding of how to become a Boinger. I would love to share more information with you and give you an even bigger insight into the Boing world. Just contact me through the support email and I’ll show you how you can get involved!

Eve