For the teachers, I suppose, although anyone can join in...

[Mark P]

Have got to do a presentation on "Sport and play in the future, for the nations children"...now, I have got my own ideas, but would be interested to hear from others and their views. Not enough competitive sport these days? I know my old man would play regular competitive rugby, cricket and football at school...this didn't happen when I was at school 15 years ago...what's the situation like now? Alternatively, is competition a bad thing?...should our youngsters just be allowed to enjoy sport, without the pressure of having to win?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[Momo Is A Beast]

first and foremost, in my opinion, a child should play sport for enjoyment and for fitness. Teaching kids about competition etc is wrong. Shankly may have said 1st is 1st and 2nd is nowhere, but at such a young age you should play sport to enjoy it, at the end of the day we follow footy cos we love the game. In schools and teams, it should be all about going out and enjoying yourself. competition is something that comes naturally as you get older.

thats my twopence worth anyway

[Spy Bee]

Who are you presenting to? Do you have to follow a particular line or just give your own opinions?

[AVEEZ]

Althought I'm not a teacher I am a parent of a 10 year old girl.. and my 2p's worth would be this.. at her school they actively discourage competative sport with the thesis its not the winning that matters its the taking part! In her own time my daughter is a memeber of the junior british gynastics team.. I'm sure you can see where I am going with this..The point of sport is to win - in my opinion - there are no medals for coming last and no one remembers who came in 5th.. I see little point in taking part in any activity where the basis is not to win..

I think that kids should be encouraged to be the best that they can be. This means encouraging a competative edge.. they wont get any where in life thinking so long as they take part they are doing all they can.

I am firmly of the view that kids should be encourged to do their very best at all times - I teach my child that she wont win all the time but without the will to win she wont ever stand a chance! I also believe that they need to learn from an early stage what it is like to do their best and fail - becasue as much we protect them there will be times when they need to understand how to deal with failure!

[Remmie]

Originally Posted by Momo Is A Beast

first and foremost, in my opinion, a child should play sport for enjoyment and for fitness. Teaching kids about competition etc is wrong. Shankly may have said 1st is 1st and 2nd is nowhere, but at such a young age you should play sport to enjoy it, at the end of the day we follow footy cos we love the game. In schools and teams, it should be all about going out and enjoying yourself. competition is something that comes naturally as you get older.

thats my twopence worth anyway

It's a tough one though, because I feel we have a culture of being happy with 2nd and 3rd and thats why we are shite at so many sports. A lot of children thrive off competition also.

However, competition within school can often lead to mismatching of a high degree due to Puberty development. Ian Thorpe (Aussie swimmer) was smashing World Records at 15 (think he is considering retiring at 24 or something like that)

[Mark P]

Originally Posted by AdamS

Who are you presenting to? Do you have to follow a particular line or just give your own opinions?

Primarily my own opinions, but having input from others on here will just provide me with a better and wider understanding of parents, teachers, etc and their attitudes...anecdotal evidence, I suppose. It's for a job interview, but I have to take into account a variety of relevant people such as headteachers, LEA's, PE teachers, out-of-school clubs/managers, etc.

[Mark P]

Momo is a Beast and Aveez...polar opposite views, interesting!

[Momo Is A Beast]

Originally Posted by Remmie

It's a tough one though, because I feel we have a culture of being happy with 2nd and 3rd and thats why we are shite at so many sports. A lot of children thrive off competition also.

However, competition within school can often lead to mismatching of a high degree due to Puberty development. Ian Thorpe (Aussie swimmer) was smashing World Records at 15 (think he is considering retiring at 24 or something like that)

true, i did about 18 months of a teaching degree and you can see the competition in the kids no matter what they do whether its footy at lunch time or a times tables test. The idea is gettin a balance i think and nuturing that competetive streak so it doesn't get out of hand. It can be a useful tool in the class room tho. gives the other kids something to aim at

[Stouffer]

Originally Posted by Remmie

It's a tough one though, because I feel we have a culture of being happy with 2nd and 3rd and thats why we are shite at so many sports.

All the lazy fat kids don't help with that to be honest.

[Momo Is A Beast]

Originally Posted by NorthernRed

All the lazy fat kids don't help with that to be honest.

the video game generation.

when we were kids there'd be like 25 of us playing footy in the street. You never see that anymore

[Remmie]

Originally Posted by Momo Is A Beast

the video game generation.

when we were kids there'd be like 25 of us playing footy in the street. You never see that anymore

Good point, also I think the growing fear of strangers and paedophiles is adding to that

[Momo Is A Beast]

Originally Posted by Remmie

Good point, also I think the growing fear of strangers and paedophiles is adding to that

plus old people complaining of kids in the street and 'No Ball Games' signs everywhere.

When i was on placement during my degree, they didn't let kids play footy at break cos it was 'too dangerous'

what the fuck, footy is our national treasure, fair enough we suck balls at it but even still...

[Remmie]

Think PE got hit hard when Blair pushed the 3 Rs in the mid nineties. I think sport at school is far more important then what they eat

[AVEEZ]

Originally Posted by Remmie

Good point, also I think the growing fear of strangers and paedophiles is adding to that

I agree it doesnt help - but its safety in numbers and too many people just dont encourage their kids to play out or be in anyway active.. you dont have to play footy in the street join a swimming club, or judo or gymanstics or dance or any fucking thing jsut get off yer arse and excel at something..

As kids are not being encouraged in schools to be competative in sport why would they want to do it when they get home as they do not see the fun in winnning.. I for one am sick of the treat all kids the same - dont tell any one that they are better than anyone else at anything..Brigade.. dont encourage them to want to be the best teach them to accept mediocre..brigade..

Be the best you can be at everything you can!! Learn to accept defeat graciously or at least accept it but dont welcome it as the norm for gods sake.. its not just in sport that this applies to its every thing ..spelling tests .. maths tests..

and so it / I go on..

[Paul]

Sport at our place is really well delivered. The main curriculum is very inclusive with the emphasis on participation and enjoyment. Competition is introduced via setting (ie, more for the able kids and less for those who aren't able as they hate being reminded they're rubbish) and extra-curricular sport. My last year group were Wirral Champs three times, Merseyside Champs once and National semi-finalists once - and that's relatively indicative of the school. Girls were also Wirral Champs. We're not as strong at other sports but have kids who compete at representative level in virtually everything.

So basically, it needs a two tier approach that caters for all.

[Mark P]

Cheers for the input, ladies and gents.

[TK421]

The emphasis should be on winning. Win, win - win at all costs! Look at the Aussies, they know how it's done, play to win and do it from an early age. Then you produce a nation of winners and go on to dominate the globe in the sport of your choice. Take a leaf out of Competetive Dad's book from the Fast Show and show them that winning is everything and second is failure!

[bri]

playing sport is an integral part of my life. When I was young it was pretty much driven by competition and I think it worked in both ways. I achieved a dream by being signed by Aston Villa as an apprentice at 16. It was arguably the best and worst year of that period of my life. I wouldnt of got there if I hadn't competed but at the same time it took me a fair few years to get over being let go. The best being the obvious the worst was the very low ebb I reached when i went home after not being offered a new contract.

Traditional sports are generiacally competative but I now think that an early age sport should be taught as one enjoyment and two to knacker them out. The competative edge will always come out at a later stage. Should parents / kids want to explore more competative options like clubs etc then I don't see why not. Although I can't stand the over the top nutter screaming parent types with kids at such an early age. Often they havent a clue whats the best for the kids in the long run and are poorly qualified in the given sport their kids are involved in.

Today at 33 sport is still very important to me but in a different way. I play football for the enjoyment and the laugh with the lads, I try to keep a level of fitness as I understand that being in my 30's its easy to fall into the couch potato lifestyle. The sport I'm invloved with now kitesurfing has pretty much changed my life over the last 18 months.

Overall though I think sport is an integral part of our lives and kids should be given the opportunity to explore a variety of sports, a healthy body a healthy mind.

It can provide major learning curves in team work, individual endeavour, discipline, fair play, a sense of achievement and of course learning about how to win and lose with a dignity and respect.

Sport can take you to the top of the world and the bottom as a fan and participant. It isnt just about the traditional sports I have friends who play football, rugby, cricket, golf, who run, play squash, cycle, mountain bike, ski, snowboard, kitesurf, dive, surf, wakeboard, windsurf & ride motorbikes. They don't do it to be the best in the world they do it because it matters to them

Introducing sport into your kids life is one of the most important things you can do, it really is.