It's quite instructive to ask pupils what they like most about taking part in school sport. The Learning Objectives determined for them by the National Curriculum (acquiring and applying skill, understanding health and fitness) are predictably unimportant to teenagers. What do they value about team games? Why do they devote their leisure time to practices and matches, and why do many adults regard school sport as a lifetime highlight?
The answer lies predominantly in "mateship". The simple enjoyment of companionable activity, of striving together towards a common goal. The world of adult sport shares these values. It is a small proportion of sport that is driven by the aspirations of the gladiatorial professional game to hone ultimate degrees of skill and fitness. And seek edges of advantage through ascetic lifestyle, self denial, dietary supplements and hydration plans. The massive majority are driven by the fun of sport. And that fun comes from the joy of movement, the satisfaction of mastery, the long remembered moments of magic - and the mateship of team games.
In the statistical majority of adult sports teams, the pursuit of skill and fitness through attendance at training is not valued. Training attendances in community sport across the country testify to this. It is mateship that brings people together on a Saturday, to share an endeavour on the field, but then keeps them together in a social setting for a lifetime afterwards.
School sport was founded on the honour and exclusivity implied in the term "selection". Schools had few teams (originally only one), and the honour of selection could be assumed. However, in these days of multiple teams in every age group, of rival demands on leisure time, and in a climate where the autocratic right of a school to demand the willing attendance of its pupils is no longer unquestioned, such commitment is no longer automatic. It is a rare school which does not have the odd Friday of scratching round trying to assemble a full complement for its Saturday match programme. For some unfortunates it is a weekly occurrence.
So, how can coaching assist with this? What can team coaches do? Here are some possibilities:
- Foster a culture that values and rewards commitment. Commitment is an unfashionable commodity. It can no longer be assumed, or demanded. Its value needs to be explained, the interdependence of players on each other must be promoted. When commitment is shown it should be acknowledged, celebrated and rewarded.
- Make the experience fun. People make time for things they want to do. For 150 years, English schools compelled pupils to play games removing the pressure to make them fun. As that compulsion dilutes, and parent power increases, pupils' own desire to be involved in something good will become more important.
- Give players some ownership. Build the sense of "their" team, through inviting contribution to playing and practice plans and priorities, social events and team rituals.
- Create a team identity. Actively promote the sense of shared endeavour and the fun of working together to be the best that the team can be. Build tokens and rituals that players value, and that bind them together into a unique community
- Value all players. The strength of a squad is the ability to keep the fringe players keen and motivated. Being aware of this allows a school to come up with plans and policies to value and acknowledge everyone. Involvement in practice, game time, number of starts, level of encouragement and individual coaching all contribute to this
- Focus on benefits, not punishments. It is easy to create pressure of compulsion and school expectation. And punish people who detract from this. But that emotional energy might be better spent working on promoting the benefits of being in the team, rather than increasingly elaborate punishments for failing to commit.
- Work on the peer leaders. Where the pupil leaders share the coaches' values, most other pupils will follow. Time spent enhancing their understanding of the issues of teamship and recognising their importance both as exemplars, and in demanding commitment from their team mates will contribute to this
- Set an example of commitment. Children respond to the example of significant adults. Demanding commitment from players implies the right example from coaches.
- Create pride in the team and the school. Emphasise high standards, and encourage players to take a pride in them. Reinforce them constantly and establish and promote cultural values that players (and parents) believe in
Many schools, and coaches, promote these values well. But in a changing educational landscape, the honour of selection will not always be sufficient to command unthinking loyalty. Selflessness is an unfashionable quality amongst the young, and team games can be a vehicle for developing this desirable commodity. This is too important an issue to be left to the whim of individual teachers. It is a question of culture, and quality control. And both of those are the leadership concerns of the Director of Sport
