Journalist Jen Hogan wrote a piece this week in 'The Irish Times' about how some behaviours in underage team sports have left families and their children distraught.
What happens when winning is more important to coaches than making sure every child has fun?
The article shone a light on how some coaches believe winning matches is far more important than including children of all abilities and, importantly, also showed how damaging that attitude can be to those left on the sidelines.
The piece got a massive reaction and Jen joined Weekend Breakfast to tell Alison Curtis why it resonated so much and the solutions that can be found.
You can follow Jen here on Insta: @jenhoganjourno
After broadcast on Weekend Breakfast the show got a huge response from listeners. Here is a selection:
Alison, as a coach it is difficult to play someone who is not interested or has the aptitude for the game ahead of someone who does. Leaving can often allow the player the time and focus on an activity that suits them better. Chris (Ennis)
Hey Alison. This is what I’ve been doing while listening to your piece. I coach U13 soccer and use an app to make sure I don’t forget who has played and for how long. The app times all my players. I also try to make sure starting subs are different each week. If they don’t get full allocation one game they get it next. Its a really hard balancing act but its about how you approach it and being prepared as much as possible before a match. If parents are onboard with you as a coach then that’s the definition of a team.
Child development...The policies are already there, it's some coaches & parents ( not to make light of it) go all D'unbelievables on it!!
I agree with everything about equal game time and participation before winning total agree ... but as a coach all I hear is coach bashing… I would ask parents have you offered to volunteer?!
Alison my husband left coaching because of the hassle he got from parents. He believed that every child who trained should get a turn playing a match but some of the parents thought it was just about winning and not the players. The best day he had as a coach was when an autistic child who had played for several other teams but never played a match until he moved to our club, scored his first goal. His reaction and that of his family were what team sports should be about.
This has been an issue at our club end of season with finals and under 12s been brought up to under 14s. Under 14s not played. Anyway, because parents are speaking up coaches are threatening to leave using the no one is grateful even though the other parents are involved in coaching too
I am a coach of 4 underage GAA teams on Dublin & completely agree that inclusion & keeping the kids engaged & happy on training & games is the key to success. One issue not helping is that referees, who are also at the centre of discussion at the moment, are calling fouls that aren't fouls. The kids are asking what they've done wrong more & more & the kids are saying they're fed up with this. Obviously abuse of referees is totally unacceptable, but being able to question them would help all parties....John, dublin
