Erik Fry has always been an active person throughout his life.
Along with his wife and little ones, they moved back to Indonesia for Erik to become the Sports Program Coordinator at Sekolah Pelita Harapan Lippo Village (SPH LV).
Erik breakdowns the school’s thorough sports programs, motivation for students feeling put off from physical activity, the impact of online learning, and more!
Hi, Erik! How did you find yourself in Indonesia?
Hello. I grew up in a small coastal town called Pacific Beach in Washington, USA – about a 2.5-hour drive from the city of Seattle. After graduating from high school, I attended Corban University in Salem, Oregon, USA, where I met my wife, Amanda. It was during our time there when we discovered SPH, a Christian international school in Jakarta. The prospect of embarking on an exciting adventure, discovering a new culture, and exploring the world together was intriguing for us; not to mention serving God in our teaching roles at a Christian school.
Tell us more about the school’s sports programs.
The SPH LV Eagles sports program has a rich history and strong tradition. As members of the Jakarta Area Athletics Conference (JAAC), our student-athletes compete against some of the area’s best competition. Our developmentally appropriate programs start in grades 1 to 12, giving our student-athletes time to develop their character, work ethic, and physical abilities. We aim to expose our younger students to a wide variety of sports and physical activities, allowing them to discover which sports they enjoy and their strengths and areas for growth are.
As students are in middle school, they’re able to focus on the sports they enjoy and excel at, while still being encouraged to participate in multiple sports teams. Once our reaching high school, they participate at the highest level of competitions in Jakarta and in other areas, to expose top-level athletes to as much rigorous competition as possible – something we plan on continuing once it’s safe to do so.
Our expansive sports facilities enable us to offer a wide variety of sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, swimming, and track and field. We’re also moving toward officially adding tennis and ultimate frisbee. While teaching skills, techniques, and tactics for each of these sports, we emphasise character building, teamwork, work ethic, discipline, and, most importantly, FUN!
With the diverse set of sports programs, do you use special training styles?
To get the very best out of our student-athletes, each sport and every age level requires a different style of coaching. We find age- and sport-appropriate methods and approaches to ensure that our athletes are being challenged to be their very best, to grow and develop.
We use a holistic approach to not only be well-rounded as athletes but also as people. Athletes are encouraged to be involved in multiple sports, use cross-training to develop the whole athlete, and utilise the fully-equipped fitness centre to enhance speed, strength, and conditioning training.
Despite the different styles of training, one thing all of our coaches have in common is their deep, genuine care for the youth that are entrusted to them. Our coaches employ “3D” coaching; coaching the body, mind, and spirit. They base the value of each student-athlete on who they are, not what they can do.
How are the sports teams doing since online learning began?
The world of sports and athletics has been immensely hit. Not being able to gather physically has forced athletes and coaches to come up with very creative ways to stay connected. Last school year, the “LV Eagles Sports Community” was launched, an online platform for coaches and athletes to stay connected from afar. Coaches would post drills, workouts, daily or weekly challenges then student-athletes would chat and post videos of themselves carrying out these activities for their coaches and teammates to see.
Which sports event would you say has been memorable so far and why?
Each school year, our sports and PE department puts on numerous memorable events for the entire student body. These events are an Athletics – Track and Field – Day, a Soccer Carnival, and a Swimming Carnival. Students compete for their house team and, at the end of the school year, a house team champion is declared.
For our after-school sports teams, we host hundreds of friendly matches and tournaments each year which are highlighted by our SPH Cup tournaments. For a week, other school teams in the Greater Jakarta area compete and ends with a trophy ceremony where all participating schools gather to recognise the teams and individuals who excelled in the tournament. We also host multiple JAAC championship tournaments each year.
How are the annual Sports Awards normally celebrated?
After all of our sports seasons end, we host the annual LV Eagles Sports Awards program, a formal ceremony where we gather as a community to recognise the many achievements of our sports teams and individual outstanding student-athletes.
Coaches from each team hand out awards such as Most Inspirational, Most Improved, MVP, Scholar-athlete award, Athletic Achievement award, Sports Service award, and the most prestigious award, Athlete of the Year. This is given to the one male and one female student-athlete who has best exemplified and embodied a fantastic SPH LV Eagles athlete.
Unfortunately, we were unable to hold the Sports Awards considering traditional sports seasons were cancelled last year. We did, however, give out 3-year awards to students who would have earned those last year for participating on a sports team for three consecutive years.
How do you motivate students when they don’t feel like staying active?
First of all, every student is different. What motivates one may not motivate another. However, there are some tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way.
Be relational. Find what makes each student tick, their interests and hobbies, and what brings them joy and excitement. If you can get “in” with a student, they’ll run through walls for you. Next is to get students to “buy-in” to a team concept. If they’re working for something greater than themselves and they have teammates coming alongside them to encourage them, it’s much easier for them to stay motivated.
I firmly believe that the best motivation comes from within. Intrinsic motivation far outweighs any external motivators. I encourage my students to set goals and then chase after them with all they have; to be resilient and resolute on why staying active is beneficial in the long run.
We’d love to know more about your story, Erik.
My wife and I moved to Indonesia shortly after graduating from college in 2011 and we actually started at SPH Kemang Village campus. My wife, Amanda, taught kindy and grade 1 while I taught PE and developed the PE and sports program there. Originally, we thought we’d only stay in Indonesia for two years; but after falling in love with the people, the culture, the SPH community, and of course the food, we signed on for the third year. We felt that God wasn’t quite done using us in Indonesia.
We made the tough decision of moving back to Salem after our third year at SPH KV and welcomed three children. I received an offer at SPH Lippo Village and we moved in October 2018. God made it clear that this was an offer too good to refuse!
Have you always been an active person?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved being physically active. Growing up, you could always find me in the front yard playing baseball, in the backyard playing basketball, or running around town with my friends playing kick the can. In middle and high school, I focussed on basketball, baseball, American football, and track and field. I continued my love for sports and activity, where I played baseball for Corban University.
I love to stay active with outdoor activities like fishing, kayaking, and hiking. Now that kiddos, it’s very easy to stay active because they never run out of energy!
Mention a fun fact about yourself.
I’m one of seven children! I have an older sister, an older brother, and four younger brothers. I think this is part of the reason I love being so active. There was always someone around to play with and with five brothers, things got very competitive. Our house was always very full; I think my parents actually forced us to go outside and play so they could have a little bit of sanity inside the house.
How can our readers get in touch with you and SPH LV?
I would love to hear from you and help answer any questions you may have about our school or specifically our PE and sports program. Please email me at [email protected].
If you’re interested to enrol your children at SPH, you can also contact our admissions office through email, phone, or WhatsApp:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: +62215460233/34 (07:00 AM – 03.00 PM)
- WhatsApp: +6288215460234
Thank you, Erik. Stay safe and healthy!