If you walked into a room full of adults playing games from their days on the playground, would it even occur to you that serious training was in progress? When Playworks San Francisco needs to train its coaches for the upcoming year, we do so with games and interactive workshops. You might think that all you need to know to be a Playworks coach revolves around how to play kickball and four square. The coaches learned how incorrect this assumption is. Within the first hour of pre-service, the coaches realized they were about to learn much more than simply the basic rules of playground games.
Pre-service includes discussions and training that revolve around effective group management, how to plan for class game time, diffusing conflicts using preemptive measures like rock-paper-scissors, and of course, lots of games.
This playful environment gives Playworks coaches the foundation they will need in order to bring the power of play to each elementary school that they work at. This training is more than just a way for Playworks coaches to understand the job they are undertaking. It’s also about getting to know one another, create friendships, forming bonds that will help support them throughout the rest of the year.
When pre-service is over, the coaches will be ready to take on the recess yard. Playbook in hand, they will shift the climate at our 24 schools in San Francisco, Marin, and the peninsula, giving every child they work with a chance to play in a safe and inclusive way, everyday.
