Why are we systematically taking the competition out of sport?
It seems that in NSW all codes are moving to no finals/competition til U13s. The reason given is to try save participation numbers.
Are finals what keeps kids out of sport? I can think of a million other reasons kids stop playing sport - a final season doesn’t seem to be high on that list.
What are your thoughts Mums?
32 Replies
It's probably not finals stopping kids but the absences might make finals too hard to keep up with. When more and more parents are working its harder to get kids to and from where they need to be, add to that covid and the flu getting around pretty terribly this year, then the cost of living as well with mortgages and everything else going up so many people doing it tough right now.
Edit- I just looked it up and found an article that says they have banned competitions for under 13's to focus on learning and so parents don't put too much pressure on their kids. Sad it came to that.
Interesting 🤔 surely the parents who put pressure on their kids are the minority, and unlikely occurring in grades B and below.
They might be the minority but they can ruin a whole game especially when they're mouthing off at umpires, other kids and parents.
Very true. Sadly these parents will do this regardless of finals though.
So true
It’s the parents. When it’s competitive it’s too much pressure on the kids; it’s a kid sport- not a World Cup and you wouldn’t know it with the parents.
Honestly; watch any U12 game then go watch the U16s….
The way some parents speak to their children when it’s a completion is just appalling, so to boost childrens spirit- take the completion out of it and it stops the pressure places by the parents
Yes! Exactly this!
I don't want my 6 year son playing NRL yet because I know that some parents are arseholes and can't understand that these young kids are playing for fun.
Case in point a group of people have just this last couple of weeks been banned from junior NRL matches (some up to 15 years) because one of the fathers took it upon themselves to go on the field and attack one of the young players, which caused others run on the field.
How scary would that be for any children ages 13 and up, let alone under 13s
Sport is to win, I don’t believe in participation awards
No, sport is sport. You're thinking of competition.
So interesting! It feels good to win. And get trophies. It also feels good to play hard and go home tired and happy and do it again next time, that’s sport.
My kids participate in karate. Not every sport aims for winners and losers 🤷♀️ my kids played footy and I have to say, the camaraderie, mateship and coaching there has exceeded any of the competitive sports we've ever tried
My son does boxing and it's great the way they are taught to boost each other up and to take on constructive criticism. Only a few do competitive boxing, most of them just do it because they love it.
Totally get this! My kid loves sparring at karate and it looks full on. But if you actually watch and listen, you hear the kids supporting each other!! It's so awesome to watch. The discipline and respect for their instructors is immense and they are taught from early on that your partner is the most important person on the mats - look after them.
Our club doesn't do comps and you know what? We have 500+ kids across various levels keeping fit, training 2-4 times a week.
I just saw a good article saying how contest fundamentally is not play. Contest fundamentally changes everything, not just a few stage parents. I like that kids are playing.
To make finals you need to win. To win you need to have your best team on the court/field/oval. That leaves the kids that aren’t as strong sitting on the sidelines, so absolutely it’s about improving participation because no one likes to be benched every week.
I agree, its more than just the parents it can be the coach as well. Friends of ours moved to a small town that only had one footy club and they played nearby towns. Their 10 year old son was turned away because he had never played before. That shouldn't be an issue with 10 year olds, they should be able to learn and have fun.
I don’t think this will necessarily mean that coaches don’t try to win games any less. In theory maybe.
Have you been involved in kids sport? At a committee or coaching level?
Why?
Because it is through that involvement that you can gain a better understanding of how sports are run, the pressures placed on coaches and kids, how parents that make the most complaints are usually the ones that have the least volunteering involvement and why certain practices and policies are in place
My comment was the one with the friend whose son was turned away, so how would being involved or volunteering have helped them when they were turned away at first contact? What practices or policies are in place to support that coach in his decision to turn away a 10 year old?
It may have been that they are full having too bigger squad also means significantly less game time for all children!
Registrations close when teams are at capacity regardless of what the coach wants
I don’t think having even game time is actually making play fair. Regardless of competition.
I think game time should be awarded with effort. I don’t care about skill but sheer grit and determination. It doesn’t even need to be successful but if you watch a child do everything in their skill set to chase down a ball or play that should be rewarded. The kid who watched it happen should come off. The kid who gave up should come off.
Participation should only be rewarded if they are actually participating.
Their are children standing on fields not contributing to the game. They are not attempting offensive play, they are not contributing to defensive play basically rendering a team a player down while they are on. This puts more pressure on the other players. But the parents will scream blue murder about lack of game time!
Also players who are selfish - less time. It is not ok to cherry pick when you get involved because you want to score but not get back and help defend when your team needs you.
Players who talk back to umpires/refs, the other team or their team mates. Bring them off.
Players who play dirty - or with intent to harm the other team. Bring them off!
We need to go back to teaching true sportsmanship!
Man of the match should not be a turn taking scenario. It should be based on merit. It has no meaning if a player who made no attempt to play wins it because it is his turn.
Sport is not for everyone. And that is ok. Sport is for the kids who put in effort, who strive, who listen and who are respectful and who are team players! If your lazy you shouldn’t be rewarded for that.
I left out that I believe this for 10 - 12 and over.
10 and under everyone is trying to find their niche’s.
Why not save the competitiveness for teenagers? Why not let kids build their confidence? Grit and determination comes from confidence which is killed everytime a kid is put on the bench for making a mistake, so it's not a bad idea to focus on confidence, is it? You need to remember they are children and any number of things could be happening for that child you have labelled as lazy. I think its great they have banned it, our family isn't even into footy but I can see the toxicity in it, if the radio station has to blurt out messages to parents on how to behave at football then I don'tthink its something we want to be surrounded by. I'm not sure what you mean by saying 'sport is not for everyone', do you mean footy is not for everyone? That makes more sense. There are many different kinds of sports and yes there pretty much is one for everyone.
I actually said that I don’t mean they are punished for mistakes at all. If they attempt but are unsuccessful the attempt should be positively rewarded and mentioned.
I
As I said it isn’t about skill but willingness to play and effort.
Sport isn’t for everyone not all kids enjoy sport. And that’s ok. They maybe more creative, more academic. Parents often push kids into sport for their own ego.
I don’t believe confidence and effort are mutually exclusive.
I don’t just mean footy - but yes if you don’t like contact it’s hard to play you evenly in a team where tackling is required. But in soccer or basketball or netball if you don’t get involved the team suffer.
I have had one son try league and I must say the parents on the sideline where much worse at basketball and soccer than they were at league.
Poor sideline behaviour isn’t restricted to one sport.
What about kids who do put in the effort, but this is missed because they don't have the physical strength or co-ordination? My son desperately wants to do team sport. He tried out for the school soccer team and came home in tears because the other kids ridiculed and laughed at him. Or the friend's child who refused to go to dance concert rehearsal because she's apparently better than everyone else (parent actually said this to me) & doesn't need to practice - missing the point entirely that the entire team is needed to choreograph properly.
We should be teaching sportsmanship, not competitiveness. More kids might find sport is for them if they're included for having a go, rather than goals.
That is literally what I meant. Your arguing for the sake of arguing.
Effort is individually measured not based on skill or strength or speed. Most coaches should know their kid’s capability. Stop!
Sorry, I wasn't arguing but agreeing. I can see it wasn't well written to say that.
I was trying, badly, to say that we should be teaching sportsmanship and team support, rather than competition. I was shocked at how horrible my son's classmates were, or how my daughter's dance is still so competitive.
We live in a world of cotton wool, and entidald children who can't accept losing, or being left out. A ribbon for participation is annoying. It's pisses me off. We should be teaching children that losing isn't a bad thing, as long as you did your beat and gave it a go. How else will kids learn how the real world works
🙄 so let's grind them down and turn them away from sports...and then complain how kids are on their devices instead.
Those derided participation ribbons actually mean something to children like my eldest son, who will never get anything more than that despite putting in 100%.
The real world isn't just about winners and losers - it's so much more than that. It's about humility, effort, patience and loyalty. It's about doing your best and perseverance. And most of all, it's about love and mateship. Something that's not defined by a ribbon.
How's that turning out for you Casey?
Raising well-rounded, compassionate and respectful kids lol?
This explains so much....