OFC Just Play technical coordinator Emmie Sope ran the workshop, which was attended by eight teachers from six local primary schools as well as FFAS club members who have been involved in the association’s Just Play activities, at Pago Park.
FFAS CEO Tavita Taumua says it was great to have the American Samoa Department of Education on board and allowing teachers to take part in the course.
“It’s not only about soccer skills, because they are not kicking the ball all the time in sessions,” he says. “Some of the sessions touch on other sports such as basketball and volleyball too, so I hope everyone will get as much out of this course as they can.”
The Just Play instructors were handed manuals and guides as well as two equipment bags filled with bibs, cones, markers and balls, by coordinator Sope.
“For the teachers the main thing is organising and setting up the activities for the kids,” she says. “Tavita is right, it’s not only about football skills, as skills for other sports are involved as well.”
Following talks with the FFAS Technical Department, Sope says the pilot programme will begin in three schools, running for six weeks, with all 11 sessions in the Just Play guide to be organised and conducted by the teachers.
At the end of the six-week period after the submission of an overall report, a review and discussion will be held on the improvements needed for the programme.
“But it doesn’t mean after the six weeks you stop,” Sope says. “You can still carry on and continue running it at your school. American Samoa has a lot of great potential with the programme and we are looking forward to seeing the progress reports and results by the end.”
Afonotele Elementary launched its Just Play programme in January after the first workshop and have restarted it at the beginning of the school year.
“We are using Just Play in conjunction with the Department of Public Health’s fight against obesity,” says Afonotele principal Laborday Atanoa. “I sent two of our teachers to the first workshop and then had them train all our teachers in helping out with the sessions at our school. The kids love the programme and look forward to it every week.”
Taumua says the plan, once the pilot schools have completed the six-week programme, is to try and push Just Play through to as many schools as possible.
“If a small school such as Afonotele elementary can embrace the programme like a child would a favorite toy, then Emmie has it right that Just Play in American Samoa has a lot of potential,” Taumua says.
OFC has worked closely with UEFA, the Australian Government – through its agencies the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) – and Football Federation Australia to implement the programme across the Pacific over a three-year period between 2009 and 2012. It was launched in Tonga and is now also running in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu.
The confederation has also been working in New Zealand with Special Olympics on a Just Play programme for people with mental disabilities and has launched the same initiative in Samoa and Fiji.
Just Play has reached over 100,000 children – 43 per cent of whom are female – across the Pacific and trained over 2,000 teachers and volunteers.
For more on American Samoa football go to www.ffas.as

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