Aseltine’s Sports Program is more than just play time – it is the first, and often only, chance for our students to compete in organized sports and experience the pride of being part of a team. The Program teaches students to master healthy behaviors and demonstrate discipline in a non-classroom setting while building a sense of community and unity among students.
The Sports Program offers students special opportunities to develop social and ethical skills along with physical ones. Success is not simply measured in points scored or which team wins, but in each student’s individual improvement in displaying appropriate behavior. All students are recognized for a job well done, giving them a sense of accomplishment that often transfers to the classroom in the form of enhanced and improved academic work. The sports program improves students’ self-esteem, peer relations, and, most importantly, self-control. Their new sense of pride and self worth helps to transform them into confident, capable young people who understand their value as partners in a community – and who begin to see that they can accomplish their goals.
Students participate in an intermural sports league with other schools in the California Association of Private Special Education Schools (CAPSES). Aseltine currently offers students the opportunity to play on football, basketball, and softball teams. At the end of each sport’s season, our student athletes receive medals and personalized awards for their athletic efforts and sportsmanship during the season at a special banquet honoring their hard work and dedication.