School Resource Officer Richard Knecht engages with students through bowling

Physical education is often associated with timed runs, calisthenics drills and uncomfortable uniforms. Miriam Sokol and Chris Cence, the PE teachers of Cherokee Bend Elementary, have taken a different approach to gym class, which includes, rugby, dance and even bowling.

The kids get to bowl throughout the week, but also often get surprised with a “Cosmic Bowl” on Fridays. There is disco music and lights to accompany the class, which Sokol said that the kids go crazy for.

“[Bowling] is something that is a lifestyle sport,” Sokol said. “We try to give [the kids] things they can do all their lives, so that they can stay healthy and fit.”

Sokol and Cence set up the gym with 12 lanes, each identified by a piece of paper taped on the wall behind every set of pins. When students come into the gym they separate into teams and each student takes a turn bowling, keeping score and collecting and returning the bowling ball.

Richard Knecht, school resource officer (SRO) to Cherokee Bend Elementary, Mountain Brook High School and Brookwood Forest Elementary, had the opportunity to come in and bowl with the kids. 

“I’ve been a police officer for 18 years,” Knecht said. “I took over this year as the school resource officer, and [this] is the best job in the world.”

Knecht said that he tries to be involved with each school as much as possible, and he said that one of the best ways to interact with the kids is through sports.

“When the school invites the SRO to participate, the kids are comfortable around the police,” Knecht said. “You know you’ve heard parents say, ‘You better be good or else the cops will get you.’ Well, that just scares them.”

Knecht said that he thinks that integrating a SRO into a learning environment allows for the kids to be more comfortable around police officers.

“When we get to interact with the kids, they see the police smiling,” Knecht said. “They're relaxed when we come into the room.”

Knecht greeted all of the kids as they entered the gymnasium, and he was quickly asked by students to join a team. He got to participate in every role, and he cheered for all of the students, even when their ball missed the pins by two lanes.

“[A girl] told me at the beginning that she was the worst bowler on the team, and then she got a strike,” Knecht said. “We were all high-fiving.”

In addition to the kids learning good sportsmanship and a fun, lifelong exercise, Sokol and Cence have incorporated an element of academics by teaching the kids how to properly score each game.

“It’s easy math, but they have to know when to do what math,” Sokol said. “We walk through and make sure that they’re scoring right. We look it over and highlight things that are wrong so that they can get it right for the next class.”

Sokol and Cence said that they find ways to include higher learning with every aspect of gym class, from math to conflict resolution.

“I'm fairly certain that when I did PE there was no mathematics going on,” Knecht said. “They're incorporating learning into fun activities. The kids don’t even realize that they’re learning.” 

Programs like the Cosmic Bowl are what Knecht said gives him pride in the Mountain Brook School System.

“The kids are so bright, and they’re taking off,” Knecht said. “I get to see them at the last level, the high school level.”

Knecht said that he sees how much the Mountain Brook High School students can accomplish, even with juggling academics and extracurriculars.

“I couldn’t even imagine the pressure that they’re under, and they still succeed,”Knecht said. “It all starts right here in the elementary school. That’s where it begins.”