Matthew’s on a winner with kids

By Shaun Inguanzo
SPRINGVALE teacher Matthew Ware is kicking goals in his quest to change community attitudes towards sport.
So much so that the State Government early this year named the 32-year-old as Victoria’s most outstanding primary school sports teacher.
Mr Ware has been teaching physical education at Spring Valley Primary School for the past seven years with the goal of eliminating childhood obesity caused by lack of exercise.
His challenges have included working with Springvale’s Asian community, where sport often ranks behind the cultural emphasis of work and study.
But the dedicated teacher’s school-based programs have taken kids from never kicking a footy, to becoming back-to-back interschool football premiers over the past two years.
With the help of other teachers he has also established a nutritional program at school and told Star that results on the sporting field were paying off in the classroom.
“We’ve noticed that the levels of obesity are on the decline and that the children’s academic results are improving,” he said.
“So we work under the philosophy of ‘healthy bodies, healthy minds’.”
Mr Ware will now focus on taking Spring Valley Primary School to new heights through a groundbreaking attempt to have the school enter teams in local junior football leagues.
“It will be a lot of work but a few of us here are prepared to see it through to the end. It will be hard in terms of getting parents on board – the Asian demographic doesn’t always see sport as a high priority,” Mr Ware said.
“Family, studying and working come first and a lot of children go to English and maths schools on Saturday and even Sunday which leaves little time for sport.
“But we do believe (the trend) is changing.”
Mr Ware has been involved with the Melbourne Football Club as a volunteer and this week the school welcomed footballers Jarred River and Simon Godfrey who helped further the students’ interests in Aussie Rules football.