Hi Reader,

At this point in the year, teaching PE can start to feel different than it did earlier on.

Lessons are running. Routines are established. Students generally know what’s expected. Things are working, and that is good.

And yet, for many PE teachers, the end of the day now comes with a quiet, familiar thought.

“Phew. I got through that.”

It is often paired with feeling more tired and sore than they remember earlier in the year.

This is not because classes are falling apart or because teaching has suddenly become harder overnight. It is something that creeps in slowly, until one day it becomes clear that teaching PE in late January and early February feels more tiring than it should.

That feeling is worth paying attention to.

Where Energy Tends to Go in a PE Class

As PE teachers, we know that at any given moment in class, there are many things competing for our attention. At times, it can feel like a game of whack a mole. One thing gets addressed, another pops up, and our focus keeps shifting.

A cue here.

A redirection there.

A skill breakdown, a behaviour, a teachable moment.

Each one matters. Trying to respond to all of them at the same level, all the time, is what stretches both the lesson and our energy thin.

Our lessons can still be effective. Students can be engaged. Learning can still be happening. And yet, the effort it takes to get through a class can feel heavier than it used to, or disproportionate to what the lesson itself seemed to require.

This is part of the dynamic nature of teaching PE. It does not mean something is wrong with your teaching. It is simply a reality that can quietly wear on us over time, especially at this point in the year.

The good news is that noticing this now makes it easier to move past it, rather than waking up one day feeling exhausted and counting down the days to the weekend or the next break.

One Approach That Can Help Right Now

One approach that can help, while keeping expectations high, is to deliberately decide where your attention and energy will go in a given class.

One thing.

One focus.

Ok. But what does that actually look like on a Tuesday?

To make this more concrete, here is an approach I have used in my own teaching and have helped many other PE teachers use effectively.

Determine ahead of time what you will focus on in your PE class. This becomes your main focus as students are engaging in the lesson. Establish it clearly and commit to it.

Once you clarify what your focus will be, establish simple criteria to guide what you are looking for. These criteria help keep your attention anchored and make it easier to give feedback that actually matches your focus.

You are still open to noticing other things happening in your class.

Students not fully changed.

Effort levels that are scattered.

Other things that are not quite where you want them to be.

These things matter, but they do not need the same level of attention as what you intentionally chose to focus on.

If this is a new approach for you, start small.

Take a portion of your PE class rather than the whole lesson.

The warm up.

The main learning activity.

Another part of the class where you feel more comfortable starting.

We know that teaching PE is unlike most other subject areas. There are many competing interests for our attention at all times. During periods where teaching feels busier and more tiring than usual, like this time of year, it can be helpful to take a step back, slow things down, and focus on fewer things rather than continuing to respond to everything.

This isn’t a one-off feeling. It’s a pattern I’m hearing again and again in conversations with PE teachers. Teaching isn’t broken. Classes are running and learning is happening. But for many, the work is starting to take more energy than it should, especially during busy and tiring stretches of the year.

Having worked through this myself and alongside many PE teachers, I’m leading a live session to share practical ways to make teaching PE feel clearer and easier during busy, tiring times of the year.

Live session: 3 Practical Shifts That Make Teaching PE Feel Lighter Right Now

To make it easier to attend, I’m running the same live session on two different dates.

1) Sunday, February 8 at 8:00 am PST

2) Wednesday, February 11 at 5:00 pm PST