Graham Hart on a sports pack that would fit in any school’s team kit

I come from a family that loves playing games at Christmas time, and there’s been much complaining recently about the number of old favourites which have been boxed up and sold at high prices. We played Pictionary and Taboo (we knew them as Peggy’s Game and Riddles) with just a pencil and paper long before their recent reincarnations. In some respects Squadrafile School Team Organisers could also be accused of making the simple and cheap more complicated and expensive, but there may be advantages.

In essence the the pack is an aid to planning and recording a year’s fixtures for a particular sports team. At present you can buy them for football and netball; hockey, cricket and rugby packs are set to follow. Each one comprises a hardback book (the “organiser”) and a supply of award certificates.

There are pages devoted to a record of each match (team information, match details, coach’s and players’ assessments and a match report) as well as summary pages (results and goal scorers).

A key point is that students can, and probably should, get involved. They are encouraged to write match reports, measure team performance and vote for a player of the year and so on. A team captain or elected representative could keep the organiser and this might spread one essential lesson of team games: taking responsibility.

A product like this also adds value to team sport, something that can be lacking today. And it can make a busy teacher’s life a little easier.

* The Squadrafile Company, PO Box 1313, Coventry CV2 3YN