The Peer:Pair Model Makes the Good Sport Nation Prime Time Games Work

One challenge in creating a free-flowing basketball game that combines special needs athletes and non-special needs athletes is the wide range of playing ability. Some Athletes bring great experience and skills and others enter with more limited abilities (but still energy!).

To address this we use a Peer: Pair model that was pioneered at Team Prime Time (Prime Time Games). Amongst other things the Peer:Pair model is set up to allow each Athlete to play up to his/her level of ability. It also simplifies training by keeping it centered on the on-court coaching and guidance (from Peer Coaches). Athletes focus on drills, skill and then games — less on rules and setup.

Autism Awareness Month

In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, here is a great article for understanding autism.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/lens/visualizing-life-with-autism.html

David

When the athletes were shooting around for the first time I immediately noticed a kid making every shot from far out of three point range.  His name is David Cruz.

After watching his sharp-shooting, I decided to challenge myself and play a one on one game with him. Not surprisingly he beat me, and throughout the game he made tough shots.  He wasn’t any easier on other defenders.

He played every week of the Good Sport Nation program. We share the love of sports and competing — and many Athletes and Peer Coaches do — and now we’re close friends.

Peer Coaches!

Peer Coaches pair with special needs athletes to ensure that games are fluid and that every participant at any level (novice to expert) is participating to their maximum capability. Peer Coaches are specially trained for the custom rules that we use, and which were developed by our partner Team Prime Time. (and then customized by us).

At the start of training, we met many new Good Sport Nation participants, and like most new programs we spent time getting to know eachother an talking about our core goal: “Everyone Plays.” Those new faces soon became fully trained Peer Coaches who understood the rules of our games and how to work with a range of game situations.

We are grateful to our partner, Prime Time commissioner Pete Straus. We practiced in game scenarios as well as passing and shooting drills. I noticed how much excitement there was within the Peer Coaches to get out there and compete alongside the athletes.

It was great to bond with the other peer coaches and get to know the people who would be my teammates in the coming weeks!

Earning Trust in the Special Needs community

One of the things I’ve learned: special needs families are committed, generous and ask great questions. They deserve to be skeptical about programs — especially if they are new and free — and it has been important to work with groups that are already trusted.

I’ve been talking to schools and youth sports organizations, mostly around New York City and they have been nice enough to invite me into their programs and to set up conversations.

Good Sport Nation has to earn trust and it will — it is. We are working with proven programs with real results. We raised enough money to program our programs for free. We have been grilled by lots of partners with it has made our answers and direction better.

What is the Source of Mentorship?

Mentors help you to become your best self. They can share new paths and ideas, inspire confidence, and share their experience so you can get the most out of yours.

The idea of mentorship is at the center of Good Sport Nation. Peer Coaches act as mentors in many ways to Special Needs Athletes. The Special Needs Athletes are also mentors to eachother and their Peer Coaches. We say “Everyone Plays” but it’s also true that “Everyone learns.”

I have several mentors and I’m grateful to each one for being generous and thoughtful.

I’ve had opportunities to become a mentor several times and I really enjoy it. One that comes to mind is at my camp, Mah-Kee-Nac, where I participated in a program called “Mini Camp.” At Mini Comp, I and a few other peers were the counselors for new campers who were under the age of nine, meaning they needed extra care and attention.

Taking care of these kids every hour of the day not only taught me patience but helped me to become a better leader. I had to be a good mentor for each of them at all time, and also lead and teach them how to be not only good campers but to be respectful and considerate. It’s a different type of training and practice.

I incorporated some of the Mini Camp approaches into the way we conduct Training and Good Sport Nation. It’s theory and training, followed by lots of practice. This makes our Peer Coaching better.

We are planning to expand our Peer Coaching to at risk coaches who will act as mentors. We have a lot to learn and teach eachother, and a lot to be thankful for on the way to becoming better leaders, teammates and mentors.