Bien dans mes baskets : Sports as a Tool for Prevention and Intervention
Wednesday, 3:45 p.m.
A group of 36 boys and 28 girls is gathered in the gym of the Centre Gédéon-Ouimet, a high school in Montréal. They are listening attentively to Sébastien, their coach, as he shows them the running pass drill. They then break off into groups of two and practise the move over and over.
This inspiring coach is actually a social worker in the Bien dans mes baskets program, a CIUSSS initiation that uses sports as an intervention tool. The goal? To promote physical and mental health, academic perseverance, and young people’s social integration.
By building trusting relationships with participants and offering them a safe, inclusive environment, Sébastien is breaking down the taboos associated with social intervention and managing to reach youth who would otherwise fall through the cracks.
Throughout the program, participants learn about healthy lifestyle habits, self-respect and the respect of others, conflict resolution, and managing their emotions.
During each training session, Sébastien observes participants and intervenes quickly when he notices that one of them gets too close to the edge of the precipice. Anxiety, violence, food insecurity, and difficulties with social adaptation and integration are some of the topics frequently addressed, both as a group and one on one, so that each participant can find the support they need in the program.
Bien dans mes baskets’ intervention model has also been proven to impact academic success. As the program contributes to well-being and facilitates access to resources, participants—many of them at risk of dropping out—are more motivated and do better in school, several going on to higher education, a key element in improving their health and future success.
Mental health and academic perseverance go hand in hand. In fact, mental health is an important determinant of academic perseverance. In return, educational success has a proven impact on mental health, civic engagement, and young people’s social integration, in addition to offering them better career opportunities.