So why are we not very good at sport in this country any more? VOTE

[richardquinn]

children are now taught in schools that they are not allowed to be competitive and that it is only th participating which counts, this is one of the biggest reasons. it is down to the government and the national curriculum which states that they are not allowed to be competitive in school and it is also preaced in out of school clubs, i.e local football clubs

[ANVIL]

if you look at football, the opposite is often true - at a young age it's the winning that counts - boot it up field and get the ball in the back of the net - large sized pitches - there's no focus on technique, skill and learning - only winning

[richardquinn]

i agree with you anvil but now the governing bodies and teachers must emphasise the fact that it is the participation that takes place rather than the wining, it was one of the topics which i covered during my degree this year in which i am studying to be a teacher

[ANVIL]

hmm, well, IMO, the emphasis in all learning environments should be on the learning, not the participation or the winning. to draw a parallel with BJJ (which i know from some of your other posts that you're now doing), i personally have rolled with several people who have used brute strength to wrench my arm away from me and subsequently armlock me - so they've got the 'win', but what have they learned? all they know is that they can use brute strength against against a smaller, weaker 'opponent' - but they knew this before. when it comes to rolling with a bigger, stronger 'opponent', they'll find this method ineffective, because they were focused on the 'winning' and not learning.

 

P.S. good luck with the degree - i'm studying for one myself and it's bloody hard work!

[frankief]

I think you have to consider the Bling lifestyle that many of our top sportsmen enjoy (especially soccer players). Their ambition is to drive the best car, pull the best WAG, wear the best wristwatch and earring and get paid the most (that way they get respect from their peers). They are basically young kids scared of leaving the gang.

Compare that to the attitude of Coe, Cram, Ovett, Holmes, Gunnell,Charlton, Redgrave etc etc....they were not interested in the financial side. C'mon - an Olympic gold medal or a new Bentley...no choice to be made there!

[ANVIL]

yes, i would guess that money and status are factors also - along with a lot of other things. i'm not a tennis player, but a former colleague of mine was and he described how sheffield city council invested heavily in graves tennis centre, but to the detriemnt of local parks tennis. as such, if you want quality facilities, you now need to travel rather than find it locally, which for youngsters isn't always easy to do.

 

i also think that although children these days certainly don't have it easy, materially they're much better off and it's all too easy to be a good 'sportsman' on the xbox, ps2/ps3 etc. rather than go out and put the effort into the real thing (and i think there are several reasons for this also).

 

all in all i think it's a very complex issue which has many contributing factors (as most things do).

[richardquinn]

i totaly agree with you anvil, what/where are you studying?

[ANVIL]

i'm studying with the Hull School of the Lincoln University - it's a Employment based Social Work Degree (Distance learning), although fortunately i'm not employed as a social worker per se, rather as a children's rights and advocacy worker, but my employer requires a Social Work Degree for me to be fully paid in this role. Once i've completed that i intend to move into counselling as it's where i'd rather be.

 

how far into your degree are you? and what are you intending to teach?

[richardquinn]

wow that sounds harsh, im studying to be a design and technology teacher (wood work metal work, etc), i am in my second year at sheffield hallam uni, i have one year left nd then i will be a fully qualified teacher.

[ttparsons]

It seems to me that the most "talented" people in any field start young. They need the right genes but also the opportunity to identify their talents and develop the skills.

The government of this country has never in my middle-aged experience sought out youngsters with potential and offered special development opportunities. Indeed it has probably got worse with the non-competitive philosophy and health and safety concerns.

A lot of it is therefore down to opportunities provided by parents, and that favours families with sufficient income to pay for club membership, coaching, travel, equipment etc.

Incidentally, it is something of an irony that our children should have only to co-operate rather than compete when all aspects of public service are now subject to competitive league tables.

And of course in adult life we all have to compete, for example to get a job, so is competition not a life skill that should be taught? Team sports have it both ways - by co-operating the team can compete more effectively - and that is what we should be teaching our youngsters.