Applying the Sport Education Model to Basketball

W ith only seconds remaining in the postseason championship basketball game, the Blue Dragons trail by one point and have the ball. Recognizing the urgency at hand, their captain and point guard calls a play for Tammy, the team’s best scorer. The players’ competitive instincts peak as they spontaneously execute, to near perfection, the play they have repeated over and over in self-organized practices. However, as Tammy elevates toward the rim a defender closes on her to contest the shot. The piercing sound of an official’s whistle is music to Tammy’s ears as a foul is called and she will be awarded two freethrows. Emotions run high on both teams as the official calmly reports the foul to the head scorer who is seated at the scorer’s table between two statisticians. Tammy steps to the free throw-line and makes both shots as the Blue Dragons enthusiastically celebrate their championship victory. The championship game described above was played during the final week of a physical education basketball unit in which the sport education model (SEM) was applied throughout the unit. The SEM was designed in the 1980s and is credited to Daryl Siedentop, who based its creation on extensive research (Siedentop, Hastie, & van der Mars, 2004). The central features of the SEM that define institutional sport are (1) affiliation, (2) seasons, (3) record keeping, (4) formal competition, (5) culminating events, and (6) festivity (Siedentop et al.). All six features are present in the preceding paragraph’s illustration of the championship basketball game and will be highlighted in the application section of this article. The unique qualities of the SEM are also pointed out. Taking on an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, the SEM provides students with a holistic understanding of basketball as all students engage in previously established roles throughout the unit. Although course objectives are established by the instructors, it is the students who play a central role in planning, organizing, and implementing the SEM. The SEM also involves a clear commitment to teaching students about personal and shared responsibility (Penney, Kinchin, Clark, & Quill, 2005). The purpose of this article is to provide tips for the effective application of the SEM to a basketball unit. The tips are based on the actual application of the SEM to an advanced basketball class at the College at Brockport. Two items of importance should be noted here: (1) the SEM can be applied to various age and grade levels—Siedentop et al. (2004) stated that the SEM is recognized throughout the world as a viable model for physical education in third through 12th grade—as long as most students have mastered basic skill levels, and (2) the tips are not necessarily exclusive to basketball, but can be transferred across content areas at the discretion of individual instructors. Applying the SEM to Basketball As a general guide, tips for applying the SEM to a basketball unit should be completed in order. However, given the many unique teaching environments instructors find themselves in, sequential as well as content modifications can be made to best meet each instructor’s course objectives. The tips offered in this article are just that, tips. For a comprehensive guide to the SEM, consider the textbooks written by Siedentop et al. (2004) and Siedentop (1994). 1. The instructor describes the SEM to the class and explains how it will be applied throughout three seasons (seasons). The preseason takes place before the regular season and includes assessing player talents, establishing team captains, conducting a blind draft, establishing duty roles for all students, direct instruction of basketball skills and strategies, and coverage of rules. During the regular season, competitive games are scheduled and played. The postseason includes the team competition tournament, championship game, and awards ceremony. Initially, the instructor speaks to the students as a group and