Awardee: Sohn Chan Yoo
Chadwick International School Song Do

Chanyoo Sohn is an ardent sports fan and enjoys playing sports. He is actively involved as an athlete at Chadwick International School, and has had several successful seasons. However, his main interest has always been sports-related jobs and the sports industry rather than playing sports himself. He is particularly interested in the management of sports teams, and his interest led him to become a member of the school’s Athletic Council. This was a perfect opportunity for him to experience managing athletic programs and organizing projects related to athletics.

As a member of the Athletic Council, Chanyoo has faced a number of issues with the school’s athletic programs. One of the deficiencies of the school athletic program that Chanyoo noticed was that it is unable to fulfil the aspirations of every student athlete in the community. There were numerous students who gave up playing sports that they truly enjoy due to various reasons, including academics, scheduling conflicts, obligations to play other sports, and lack of ability. The school athletic program requires students to display a high degree of skills and responsibility. In order to provide opportunities to play sports for students, Chanyoo came up with the idea of founding a futsal team. This would enable students who are interested to freely enjoy their spare time playing a sport they like without having to bear the huge burdens of the primary school athletics program. Futsal is very similar to soccer, but has a smaller team, which is ideal since the team consists of casual players who are unfamiliar with playing in a large field.

The purpose of the foundation was to provide opportunities to enjoy games for students who are unable to participate in the main school athletic program. In order to make the project actually happen, he had to create a detailed management plan, arranging matches with other teams and consistent training sessions. By doing so, he was able to keep the players in the team motivated while also avoiding the intense competition and pressure of the actual school athletic program. It was important for him to budget carefully, including the purchase of uniforms using membership fees. From this experience, Chanyoo learned how to carefully plan expenditures, devise schedules, and manage a sports team.

Chanyoo plans to expand the organisation so that more people can join the team and enjoy playing futsal with others. Chanyoo plans to expand the services of the organization beyond futsal. He also plans to partner with an ecological service club in the school to get more students engaged with nature and healthy athletics. He believes the management lessons he has learned from this experience will aid him in his study of business and economics in university and his future career.