On December 19, the Pao Middle School's Girls Volleyball Team won a remarkable victory in the Girls U15 Shanghai Schools Sports Association Volleyball League final, concluding what has been for them a truly outstanding season. The team is now poised to advance with determination into the upcoming U19 league, with matches beginning in the next semester.
Pao School aims to develop the whole person. This means that rather than focusing only on academic achievement, it also fosters enriching experiences through co-curricular activities such as music, the arts, and sports. In addition to regular PE classes, the middle school offers a variety of competitive sports, with teams for both boys and girls, including basketball, badminton, football, floorball, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and swimming.
Among these many teams, the Pao Middle School Girls Volleyball Team has been especially successful. It comprises players from Y6 to Y8, with a balanced distribution across these three grades. Most, if not all, of the team members have been playing the game since primary school.
The Girl’s Volleyball Team practices twice a week for two hours each session. According to Philibert Vandersleyen, the Middle School Head of Physical Education, sports bring balance to academic life and teach students valuable lessons in teamwork and sportsmanship. “Being polite, being diplomatic, and showing sportsmanship are inherent to sports and PE classes.”
Jordan, Alison, and Alicia are all members of the team and have been playing since Y1 at Pao Primary School. Jordan’s passion for the sport was ignited by her father, a former college player, who introduced her to the game; she ultimately rose to the position of team captain during her time at Pao Primary School and currently at Pao Middle School. Meanwhile, Alison, now in Year 6, and Alicia, in Year 7, found their inspiration when they watched others playing.
Ensuring sufficient training is crucial for success in sports, but as players transition to middle school, they face increasing academic demands that make balancing their studies with training a new challenge. Alicia, Alison, and Jordan all emphasized the importance of time management skills, noting that the school had placed great importance on these since the primary school. They shared their time management strategies, including focused study sessions, reviewing results during training breaks, and adapting their schedules around exams to maximize the balance between sports training and academics.
Being part of a sports team presents both challenges and rewards. Within the sport itself, Alicia currently plays as the setter, but she was more experienced as a hitter and had to learn how to set so that she could best help her teammates. Alison is displaying similar flexibility. After playing as a middle player, she too is now learning to be a setter. Yet despite such challenges, among innumerable others, the three teammates agree that nothing is more rewarding than the friendships they build and nurture on the court.
A special thank you to the Middle School PE department for their contribution to this article.
