Black Kites: What is happening behind the Wall of Achievements?

By Ryan Tang

Being RCHK’s Sports Team, everybody knows that Black Kites are a large part of RCHK’s community, but recently, some Year 7 students were wondering about the system behind the variety of sports. In this article, we will cover not only the answer to the question, but also a peek at Black Kites’ behind-the-scenes.

In Black Kites, the variety of sports offered varies depending on what people want and their levels of fitness. “We try to create a diversity of sports, opportunities for all ages, fitness levels, abilities, and genders,” stated Mr Sheriff Smith, the Black Kites and Athletics director. Black Kites also have a four-tier system that categorizes the different sports. “Our Tier 1 sports are the sports that are played at an elite level in school, all the way down to our Tier 4 sports that are not directly supported by RCHK,” said PHE teacher Mr Burns.

Black Kites have quite a wide variety of sports, though some people have some suggestions for our team. Year 7 student Caleb Blackman stated, “I think we should add games like chess into our Black Kites curriculum since I know many people consider chess a sport.” These games could be a future part of our Black Kites program and may be a road to an expansion for our community.

Black Kites are part of a federation called the ISSFHK (International School Sports Federation of Hong Kong). “There are 33 schools, and we often have big meetings that decide the schedule for the upcoming week,” said Mr. Sheriff-Smith. Black Kites also have training sessions that provide other opportunities for players to improve and demonstrate their abilities.

Some students have questioned the effectiveness of these training sessions. “Since there is only one training per week, we only get seven trainings each season, which I think is insufficient,” said Year 7 student Alden Kwok.

Some students also question the frequency of the matches. “I think Black Kites could have more games since we sometimes get one match per week, but sometimes not,” said Caleb Blackman. These could be limited due to the number of facilities, space, and the 6tight schedules of other activities, so our teams don’t always get the right amount of training. Referring back, these limitations can also affect the choice of sports. “There are always limitations on the variety of sports and the schedules, especially regarding the school's space and facilities,” stated Mr. Sheriff-Smith.

In order to have a sports team, there needs to be a coach who can spread tactics, improve their player’s skill, and teach well. In Black Kites, they hire coaches who reflect our team values. However, what does the student community want from their coaches? “I would ask for tips and what I could improve on in-game,” said Caleb Blackman. Unsurprisingly, those are the most frequently asked questions for their coach, and adding to this, the coaches are really helpful. “Our coach in badminton answers our questions clearly,” said Alden Kwok.

Though most students use their Black Kites training to improve, some students think of it as a checkpoint for their skills.” I would go outside of school to train my Badminton skills and come back to Black Kites training to get feedback,” said Year 7 student Yan Ho Oshri.

But what do the coaches want in return? Some coaches want to see teamwork in their teams:” I want to see a team sport, going through the highs and lows together, and communicating,” said Mr Sheriff-Smith

Some other coaches want to see effort put into training and the players’ full potential. “Sports in not just for winning, we want the players to show themselves, challenge themselves, and improve,” said Mr. Burns.

Students often notice that coaches pay more attention to the people who have improved and given a lot of effort. “The reason why the coach is impressed by us is because of our effort in improving, not our talent,” said Alden Kwok.

Black Kites give us opportunities to be part of a team and improve in our sports, but many people use it as a time to socialize with friends and experience places outside of RCHK. “I would urge the upcoming Year 7s to join Black Kites so they can experience ACAMIS,” said Year 7 student Ibrahim Khan. Others want this time to be more open to the world of sports. “You can also spend a lot of time with friends and try new sports,” said Caleb Blackman.
Though Black Kites and Sports are one of the parts that make up our present RCHK community, but we can’t thinkof it as the heart of RCHK. RCHK is not just about sports; our students should prioritize learning over sports. “Some parents want their children to prioritize learning over sports, and we should,” said Mr. Burns. This is a problem in school now; students are getting distracted, and parents are worried. Our next step is to neutralize this problem in RCHK.