For more than 25 years Reg Leidl has been working to ensure all kids get a chance to participate in physical activity, regardless of their ability level.
“I decided at a very young age that if I ever got a chance to be a coach or was in a leadership role, I was going to make sure everybody had a chance to play,” said Leidl, the current principal of P.J. Gillen School in Esterhazy. Leidl admits that many coaches disagree with his philosophy but he doesn’t mind. “I believe that schools can’t cut kids from sports because extracurricular activities are part of school. You don’t cut kids from math class so why would you cut them from a sport.”
Many people have tried to argue with Leidl by stating that there just isn’t enough funding, coaches or facilities to include everyone but his response is, “This is public education, we have to work for things; stop telling me what you can’t do and tell me what you can do to improve the situation.”
Advocating for his kids - Leidl spends much of his free time trying to improve the situation by applying for additional funding through grants and by building relationships with sponsors in the community. “I’m paid to be an advocate for my students and staff. I’m paid not to give up on kids and to give them the opportunity to succeed in every subject and applying for funding is one of the ways I do that,” explained Leidl. Through his experiences, Leidl knows that we all have a role to play in making physical activity the easy choice for our kids.
By developing relationships with community members, Leidl has opened doors for the P.J. Gillen students to be active in the community. These relationships make it much easier for all 300 school students to receive 30 minutes of quality daily physical education every day. “We can pretty much use any physical activity venue in Esterhazy for minimal cost. Our students go skating, curling, swimming, bowling, etc. And we also use hallways, spare classrooms and storage rooms when the gym is being used.” Leidl added that students often return to the bowling alley or the swimming pool once they’ve been there with their class.
P.J. Gillen School students and staff are also enjoying brand new play ground equipment that will help them meet their 30 minutes of quality daily physical education. “This equipment is kind of like an outdoor fitness center that can be used all year round. It has about 30 stations and several activities that can be done to meet outcomes in the curriculum,” said Leidl.
Another way that Leidl encourages physical activity at P.J. Gillen School is by providing his teachers with a free 30 minute wellness period, in addition to their preparation time, in every six day cycle. The teachers can then use this time to participate in any type of activity that enhances their wellness and many people choose physical activity. “Some people use that time for yoga, some people read a book and some people get together to exercise,” commented Leidl. The staff also discusses their wellness time at staff meetings so everyone can share ideas or make plans to do some physical activity together.
When thinking about how to improve the fact that less than 15% of Saskatchewan children and youth are active enough for health benefits, Leidl believes it starts with people’s attitudes. According to Leidl, in order to be impactful, teachers, parents and community leaders need to demonstrate an attitude of enjoyment and enthusiasm towards physical activity when working with youth. “I think the attitude teachers bring to the class is really critical and how you relate your joy to the students affects how they view physical education,” said Leidl.
Leidl has extensive experience enhancing physical activity opportunities for children and youth. He believes that all kids deserve to achieve the required 60 minutes of daily physical activity, and more is better. Among his numerous accomplishments as an educator and administrator, Leidl is also:
- the head coach of the high school football team
- the Saskatchewan representative on the Physical Health Education (PHE) Canada board of directors
- a liaison between the PHE Canada board of directors and the Quality Daily Physical Education committee
- Named PHE Canada’s Principal of the Year in 2010-2011
- a past president of Saskatchewan Physical Education Association (SPEA) from 1993 to 1996
- PHE Canada’s current representative on the SPEA board of directors