There are still many parents or teachers, especially teachers of Physical Education subjects who do not realize that sports activities should not only focus on physical development but must also work on other aspects namely psychological, social, and spiritual.
"The existence of Physical Education subjects is expected to be able to build mentally and physically children so that they are ready to face any situation, such as natural disasters, namely floods, tsunamis, landslides, earthquakes and non-natural disasters such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. or social disasters such as Domestic Violence and bullying in schools”, said Prof. Soni Nopembri, M.Pd., Ph.D, when he was inaugurated as Professor of Physical Education of Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta at UNY Auditorium, Saturday (19/6).
"For example, when a natural disaster occurs, a child who has been physically and mentally trained will certainly not panic, be able to find a way out and after the incident will not experience trauma," he said.
There is also another example, when a child suddenly slips on the floor, a child who is used to physical exercise will be stronger to withstand the pain so that he will not sulk or cry.
According to him, physical education is not only limited to sports activities, but many other physical activities that children can do and are like fun games so that children are not bored but have a positive impact on children.
There are various types of traditional games that will be interesting for children such as Gobak Sodor, jump rope, hide and seek, and several other games. In the Gobak Sodor game, children are trained to be agile to see opportunities to enter the layered guard created by the theme as well as jump rope, children are trained to be able to practice high jumps which of course require strong physicality.
There are also games that are psychosocial in nature, which teach children to learn to work together like the “ant and frog” game, where one child becomes a frog and the other becomes an ant. When the ant lies weak defeated or almost eaten by the frog, then the other ants will flock to save his helpless friend. The meaning contained in the game is the importance of cooperation in life.
Some physical activities in the form of sports such as football, badminton, tennis, and other sports, besides being able to create a strong soul, can also create a competitive spirit for children so they are willing to work hard and train to win.
With a child's routine physical exercise, his body will be strong and healthy, and finally able to be grateful for the health blessings that God has given, this is where one of the souls of spirituality is awakened.
In the future, Professor Soni hopes that teachers, especially teachers of physical education subjects, will be more active in designing programs and implementing their knowledge for the physical and mental development of children who are obtained through various activities, be it sports or other physical activities.
