I agree with you OP! My kids are not naturally sporty but both do sports 4x plus a week. Sport has so much benefit for everyone, from the most able to the least.
we have had to fight this battle in both primary and secondary schools - both state. And change has happened as a result. By secondary, I think it’s ok to choose the best players for tournaments etc, and nothing wrong with celebrating those who are naturally good at sport, but for after school clubs, they need to be inclusive. All kids should be encouraged to exercise more and be involved in team sports, and making the less able feel shit does not achieve that. It makes them opt out.
often the sporty kids are not the academic kids or arty or musical kids so they should be celebrated too, but my argument to school was this: my kids are great at English, but you wouldn’t say ‘right, Isla, Jane and Freya, you’re brilliant at English so we’re going to give you more attention, get you a special kit, give you the best teachers, so you get better’ so we shouldn’t do that with general after school activities either which should be open to all.
but I maintain that choosing the kids who are ‘best’ for some (not all) tournaments is ok. And that rules my kids out. They are good at other stuff and will be celebrated there.
to the poster who said ‘you can’t be good at basketball and football’ there are kids/people who are just naturally gifted at sport. One of my daughter’s mates started a sport she has played for years. After a single session she was better. She has great hand eye coordination and knowledge of game play - spacing for example - is the same in most team sport. We helped our daughter to see how great it was for her friend to be so naturally talented. And we point out that she has many talents her friend does not. Vive La difference!
but at primary, I think it should be based on inclusion and opportunity, not who is ‘best’, so everyone gets a turn and a chance to discover a talent or a love for sport.