Local company gives schoolboy footballers academic help

While many of the island's schoolboy football players were busy winning matches in the respective competitions this season, there is a company that has been helping them become winners in the classroom by enabling them to stay atop their lessons.

One-On-One, a company that provides personalised educational services and e-learning solutions to secondary school students has been offering modules in Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Physics and Biology - online for the footballers, an initiative that has been welcomed and wholly endorsed by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA).

One-On-One began in 2008 offering extra classes primarily in Mathematics and the Sciences and almost immediately experienced great success with a high number of students taking those classes getting Grade One passes at their external examinations.

Given the huge sacrifice high school football players make to be able to train, travel and play matches, partnering with ISSA was a natural fit. The offerings began last September.

excellent way

"ISSA was a natural partner for us because there are so many students participating in competition and we thought it was an excellent way to reach the students and get the information to them," said Kimberly Forbes-Martin, Director of Sales at One-On-One.

"That is really how the idea was born and that is how we approached ISSA and they were very receptive and very open from the very beginning and we able to take it from there and make it a reality."

St Elizabeth Technical High in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth has been among the most successful schoolboy teams in rural Jamaica over the past decade and the school's principal, Keith Wellington, would be very aware of the challenges his young players have keeping up with their schoolwork.

Wellington, a vice president of ISSA, said the organisation that governs high school sports in Jamaica welcomes One-On-One's innovation.

"This is something that I think is really a great idea and all the principals, when we spoke, they were very receptive of the suggestion. We (ISSA) feel compelled to do what we can to help our student athletes to ensure that the student part of it is emphasized," he said."