I have been fond of playing table tennis since I was 6 years old and I have been training professionally for the past 5 years. I have played many tournaments on the district and state level but this was my chance to play against one of the best table tennis players of IB schools across India. This helped me a lot to improve my game as I was able to comprehend my mistakes and was able develop or improve my skills.
LO1 :Â Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
Since I have been playing Table tennis from so long I have a great amount of knowledge on the sport and using that knowledge and strengths, I participated in the ISSO national games and was able to secure third position. During the tournament while playing against professional tt players, I developed many new skills and moves which helped me improve my game. Also observing the game and the tactics of other players helped me a lot to understand what game type I have to develop in order to win against them.
LO2 :Â Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
As this was my first time participating in a national tournament, I had no clue of the culture which was followed at that particular place and how things were supposed to be done, but to my benefit I had my coach who guided me through the whole process. During this I developed social skills (as I had to meet many new people), communication skills (as I had to keep good communication with my team for better results) and self management skills(as there was no one who was going to take care of me or my belongings).
LO5 :Â Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
At the tournament we did not only have individual events but also team events and doubles. In order to win those events we had to keep great communication skills and social skills so that we were working cleverly and collaboratively by using smart tactics.
LO7 :Â Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
Being the team captain I had to make quick and crucial choices, actions and decision which were the best for the team. This would include substituting someone for some other player and sometimes this could have lowered down the confidence of the players but it had to be done for getting the possible best result in the tournament. It could have happened that because of my poor decision making we would have lost the tournament so considering the ethics of choices and actions was really important.
Learner Profile attributes:
Thinker: Using critical and creative thinking to create tactics which would help the me and my team to win.
Principled: Having great sportsmanship and integrity.
Open minded: Respecting the culture followed at that place.
Caring: Showing empathy, compassion and respect towards the players and my teammates.
Risk – taker: Taking hard and complex decisions and choices at crucial moments.
Balanced: Having a balance over mental and physical well being.
Reflective: Reflecting upon the mistakes and improving upon them.
All in all it was a great experience playing at the ISSO national games. I developed many new skills and it helped me improve my game. I also made many new friends and became much closer to my team which is really helpful considering that I have to play in tournaments with them in future.
