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Original poster

Why are we turning so many kids off sport?

26 replies

AttilaTheMeerkat · 24/04/2007 07:26

I would have to place the blame also on the sporty (or so he thinks) shouting from the sidelines Dad who wants his child to win at all costs. Any player whom he does not think fits the bill should be out of the team never to return.

OP posts:

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Blandmum · 24/04/2007 07:35

I have been pondering this for a while, so thank you for raising the issue

Dd is not quite good enough to get into the school tea,s for hockey and netball. She gets in if someone else is off sick.

While I wouldn't want to se e the return of 'non-competative' school sports. There must be some way of involving all the kids, and not just the sporting elite.

I teach any number of kids who are not that good at science. But I don't only give the practicals to the kids who are good at science.

frances5 · 24/04/2007 13:11

I think its a matter of having a balance between competition and not humilating the child.

Personally I prefer my child to do sport through clubs that have nothing to do with the school. Unlike teachers a private club knows that they are dependent on fees. They know that if they upset the non sporty kids then they will go out of business.

My son's gymnastics club as some of the best gymnastists in the country. However it caters for all ablities. It even runs a groups for children with varying levels of disablity as well as training Olympic hopefuls. My son also does swimming where the children are grouped by ablity.

Maybe schools should group children by sporting ablity rather like what is done in science. In science less able children still get to practicals, but the lesson is aimed to be assessible to them.

Loshad · 25/04/2007 11:29

some parents are barking mad though - one chap was telling DS4's rugby coach (this is an U7's team ffs) that he should select a team because he didn't want his son playing for a team that didn't win (they do win sometimes, just not all the time - perfect imo). He was most cheesed off when I told him that the clubs whoile ehtos was that every child who turned up got to play .
At school all the boys play in house matches, and in junior school they do try really hard to involve all the children if at all possible - to the extent of sometimes putting out 6 rugby teams for the Y4 and 5's.
They do stream sport as well, which I think is really useful for not putting off the less sporty or competent children - they are not then always competing against the superstar and losing the ball, or never getting to score.

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frances5 · 25/04/2007 11:42

My son's gymnastics club has the view that ablity is relative. ie. the child who appears to be a super star at five is a small fish in a big pond. There is probably a five year old somewhere in the world who is more talented.

However a child who works really hard can over take a more talented child. In the 1980s Jane Torvil came to my primary school. (She had recently won a gold medel for figure skating with Christopher Dean) She told my school that at six years old she wasn't the best skater in the world or even in the UK. However she was the hardest working.

My son is not athletic at all inspite of having an extremely athletic father. (He got to a very good standard in table tennis and when he was younger he was one of the best in the county) However my husband loves his son for who he is.

confusedandignorant · 25/04/2007 11:47

DS got put off sport at primary school because of an over enthusiastic parent helper at the football club, his son made good tackles while other kids just fouled his son all the time (he was a great one for rolling on the floor in agony) Fortunately things were much better at secondary school with a wider choice of sports

RubberDuck · 25/04/2007 11:51

I think wider variety of sports on offer with mix of non-competitive and competitive.

I actually started to ENJOY physical activity once I got to sixth form and we could choose badminton and aerobics as activities. Before that we were stuck with lacrosse (argh... hockey balls at head height... lethal, I hated it) or netball with rounders and swimming in the summer (which was actually quite fun - liked rounders). Oh we also had gym which was vile as we were expected to shower in communal showers afterwards (but never after lacrosse or anything equally as sweaty?! Bizarre) - somehow I managed to avoid those showers for my entire school career.

motherinferior · 25/04/2007 11:58

School sport is vile, IRCC, unless it has changed absolutely dramatically. I was quite terrible at it, flobbing around with my huge thighs on display and making an arse of myself. Ritual humiliation in navy knickers. Shudderama.

Whereas now, unmptytumpty years later, I regularly hammer 60 lengths out of our local pool, and do a weekly stint of Pilates.

expatinscotland · 25/04/2007 11:59

I would have to agree with your OP, Attila.

School sport is also crap, IMO.

No variety, no proper showering/changing facilities, no allowance for people who don't like competitive or team sport.

Furball · 25/04/2007 12:01

Our 'showers' used to be drop your towel and run as fast as you could through the jets! it really wasn't much better than no shower at all.

motherinferior · 25/04/2007 12:02

It's such a good way to get self-conscious teenagers active, I find, making them prance around naked in front of each other and then go out into the cold wearing skimpy clothes. Ooooooooooohyes.

NuttyMuffins · 25/04/2007 12:09

Because if you are not absolutly fantastic at sport then you are practically ignored, even if you give it your best shot.

Dd1 (9), is doing tennis this term, and the school have actually brought in a tennis coach. Dd said the coach spends nearly the whole lesson with a lad who already has tennis lessons twice a week, and hardley does anything with everyone else.

Dd1 hates tennis, she cried before the last lesson as her co ordination isn't great and so she just can't seem to hit the ball, but instead of helping her she gets ignored and told to keep trying.

expatinscotland · 25/04/2007 12:19

I don't see why PE is compulsory in schools at all.

Why not be like Europe?

More people participate in sport there, but it tends to be in leisure centres/city or town leagues.

That way, they get to pick and chose what they'd like.

motherinferior · 25/04/2007 12:27

I do think I am a bit of an example of the fact that you can be a total sloth in your teens, and not learn to cook either, and be a really quite good cook who does a fair bit of exercise later in life.

Not saying this is right, of course, given that I also spent several decades fighting the conviction I was the fattest and most repulsive woman in the world, but for that I blame my (anti-sport) parents.

Marne · 25/04/2007 12:37

I hated sport when i was at school but out of school i liked to ride my bike, play basketball and loved swimming. I think because i was no good at sport i hated looking stupid infront of my school friends.

Now i have kids and step kids i think sport is not played enough in schools, Dsd told me a (few weeks ago) that they only play sport once a week .I think it should bo played alot more and made alot more fun. My step daughter is overweight due to lack of excersise and poor eating habbits, it realy upsets me that nothing is done at school to help her.

expatinscotland · 25/04/2007 12:41

But how is this the school's domain?

Isn't school supposed to be just that, where you learn to read, write, science, etc.

I guess I just have a sort of different approach to this, but to me, getting fit is what gyms, leisure centres, local team leagues, swim clubs, etc. are for.

School is for learning.

KathyMCMLXXII · 25/04/2007 12:44

Another person here who was utter crap at school sport, esp anything involving a ball, but did lots of tree-climbing and bike riding as a kid and actually does a reasonable amount as an adult (or did before having 2 children under 2 but that's another issue).

The best thing that ever happened to me in school sport was when the PE teacher turned round to me and my equally crap friend in a tennis lesson and said 'You know what, you two are never going to be any good at this and with you on the same courts as everyone else you keep getting in everyone's way. Why not take the short tennis racquets and a sponge ball and go and hit it against a wall at the end of the field?'
Tennis was utter heaven after that - we had a lovely time just attempting to hit the sponge ball and making up our own rules, completely unsupervised. And oh the relief to be told 'you're never going to be any good.'
I bet it breaks lots of rules about how to teach, though....

Marne · 25/04/2007 12:53

But sport is learning is'nt it?
Its about learning how to stay fit, healthy and looking after your body.

I think it also helps with team work skills.

Maybe if i took part in more sport i would'nt be so lazy and fat now

expatinscotland · 25/04/2007 12:57

Sport is sport.

And team sport is not the only option.

Since facilities can't accommodate anything else, I don't see the point in offering it.

It's a school, not a gym or leisure centre.

School sport did FA for me.

Thankfully, after age 11, I was exempted from it because I took so much ballet during non-school time.

RubberDuck · 25/04/2007 12:58

My best sports lessons were when I had cartillege problems in my knee and was signed off sport for a whole term.

Okay, the game teacher's solution to this was make us walk around the field while the others played or tidy out the games cupboard, but mostly it involved chatting to someone else and not actually having to participate - was fab!

nailpolish · 25/04/2007 12:58

i think it is completely up to the parents to encourage their child to do sports

i wouldnt rely on the school for this one jot

Mum2FunkyDude · 25/04/2007 13:03

So if you were bad at sport do you automatilcally think it is okay for your children not to try?

If you were or are good at sport do you automatically think your children should try?

nailpolish · 25/04/2007 13:04

if you were bad at sport then you must have tried at some point

there are so many sports, it would take forever to try them all

RubberDuck · 25/04/2007 13:07

Nope - I'm really pleased ds1 loves sport at the moment (but he's only in primary) - takes extra football club at the weekend. Goes swimming in the week (but isn't that keen - will let him drop that as soon as he can swim across the length of the learner pool).

I love being active now - regularly exercise on an exercise bike, we go off on long walks and go camping in the summer. They spend most days with good weather outside playing with neighbourhood kids. I certainly don't think that he should not bother with sport just because I hated it at school! If school sport ever stops doing it for him, then I'll make sure he gets the chance to do something active he enjoys OUTSIDE of school.

NKF · 25/04/2007 13:09

Are we turning kids off sport?

Marne · 25/04/2007 13:09

I was bad at sport, i expect my kids to try, would like it if they take part but i don't mind if they are not good at it.
If i could find a sport that they like and are good at, thats a bonus.
I would'nt force them to play a sport they hate as long as they have tried it.

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