Isti Nurbani, seorang guru di SLB Swasta Kabupaten Garut, tertarik bergabung menjadi relawan pelatih young athletes yang dibuka oleh SOIna Kabupaten Garut untuk anak-anak dengan dan tanpa disabilitas intelektual. Baginya, ini merupakan pengalaman baru dalam menangani anak ID secara langsung, meskipun sebelumnya ia sudah aktif dalam POTADS di Bandung.
Awalnya, ia ikut berpartisipasi pelatihan pelatih program young athletes dan aktif melatih tiap sabtu di SOR Adiwidjaya Garut. Melalui program ini, ia menyadari bahwa anak-anak ID bisa dilatih secara bertahap dan berulang untuk mencapai kemajuan nyata. “Ternyata anak bisa dilepas begitu saja tanpa kita bombardir dengan berbagai jenis olahraga apabila si anak secara berulang dan disiplin mengikuti program latihan. Jika anak diberi media dan variasi olahraga yang beragam, mereka akan tertarik, apalagi kalau dilakukan secara rutin,” ungkapnya.
Salah satu perkembangan yang paling mencolok terlihat pada aspek interaksi sosial. Anak-anak yang awalnya menarik diri dan hanya mau dekat dengan orang tua mulai menunjukkan kemandirian. Awalnya ada yang hanya tiduran di mana-mana, perlahan mulai mengajak teman-temannya untuk latihan bersama. Bahkan anak-anak yang biasanya hanya mau didampingi orang tua, bisa menerima kehadiran coach secara langsung.
Dalam proses ini, keterlibatan orang tua juga sangat penting. “Terkadang jumlah pelatih yang hadir tidak seimbang dengan jumlah anak di beberapa kali pertemuan, jadi kami meminta bantuan orang tua untuk mendampingi anak-anak saat latihan,” jelas Isti. Hal ini menciptakan bonding antara anak, pelatih, dan orang tua, sekaligus menunjukkan pentingnya dukungan keluarga dalam proses latihan.
Pengalaman ini juga mengubah mindset Isti sebagai guru SLB. Ia menyadari bahwa anak-anak dengan Down Syndrome atau ID bukan tidak bisa, tetapi membutuhkan latihan berulang dan konsisten. Anak-anak yang awalnya menolak atau menutup diri ternyata mampu berkembang dan menunjukkan kemandirian, disiplin, serta kemampuan bersosialisasi.
Isti berharap ke depan anak-anak lebih memahami rutinitas latihan dan disiplin, sementara program ini juga bisa lebih banyak dikenal oleh masyarakat dan orang tua anak-anak dengan ID. “Kalau anak mulai dilatih sejak dini, mereka akan terbiasa dengan rutinitas dan siap menghadapi tantangan di sekolah maupun kehidupan sehari-hari,” ujarnya.
Melalui pengalaman ini, Isti tidak hanya mendapatkan wawasan baru sebagai pelatih, tetapi juga melihat dampak nyata latihan olahraga bagi perkembangan anak-anak dengan ID: mereka bisa lebih mandiri, percaya diri, dan terlibat aktif dalam interaksi sosial.
Isti Nurbani, a teacher at a private special needs school in Garut, became interested in joining as a volunteer coach for the Young Athletes program organized by SOIna Garut Regency, which caters to children with and without intellectual disabilities. For her, it was a new experience to work directly with children with ID, even though she had previously been active with POTADS in Bandung.
She initially participated in the coach training for the Young Athletes program and has been actively coaching every Saturday at SOR Adiwidjaya Garut. Through this program, she realized that children with ID can be trained gradually and repeatedly to achieve real progress. “Children can be engaged without overwhelming them with multiple types of sports if they follow the program consistently and with discipline. When given diverse sports activities and proper materials, they become interested, especially if done regularly,” she explained.
One of the most noticeable improvements was in social interaction. Children who initially kept to themselves and only wanted to be close to their parents began to show independence. Some who initially just lay around gradually started inviting their friends to join the training. Even children who usually needed constant parental support were able to engage directly with the coach.
Parental involvement was also very important in this process. “Sometimes the number of coaches present is not enough compared to the number of children in certain sessions, so we ask parents to accompany and assist their children during training,” Isti noted. This created strong bonding between children, coaches, and parents, while highlighting the importance of family support in the training process.
This experience also changed Isti’s mindset as a special education teacher. She realized that children with Down Syndrome or ID are not incapable—they just require consistent and repeated training. Children who initially resisted or withdrew were able to develop independence, discipline, and social skills.
Isti hopes that in the future, children will better understand training routines and develop discipline, while the program becomes more widely known among parents and the community. “If children are trained from an early age, they become accustomed to routines and are better prepared to face challenges at school and in daily life,” she said.
Through this experience, Isti not only gained new insights as a coach but also witnessed the tangible impact of sports training on children with ID: they become more independent, confident, and socially engaged.