My club was invited by a private primary school to take part in a sports hall athletics competition on a Wednesday night which allowed me to attend because it replaced a training night. The event required another coach and myself to pick a team of 8 girls and 8 boys to take part in a range of field and running activities. Then the event would be completed with 2 relays which would include the majority of both the boys and girls team. The competition itself was well run by the teacher of the school and it was really exciting as a coach seeing the athletes execute what they have been coached over numerous sessions.
With the highs of seeing the athletes succeed there were some low points in terms of picking the team, I found that I was going against my philosophy and beliefs by picking a team. I believe that every athlete should have the same opportunities to progress and gain experience which will develop them as an athlete and as a person. I found it difficult picking an athlete over another however, this had to be done. Looking back the process wasn't easy and seeing athletes asking the other coaches if they had been picked and then being told no was also distressing. Another issue arose when a talented athlete was picked to compete who would challenge the strongest runners in the county and they refused to run, this was down to nerves, he got himself worked up and started crying because of the pressures and nerves that competition brought on him. Again, I found this really distressing and felt responsible and guilty that this happened. There were another 2 athletes that expressed they were experiencing a lot of nerves and resulted in tears once again.
A lot of questions arose from the competition and these questions challenged my beliefs as a coach. One of the questions were 'Would I pick a team for a competition again and put the athletes through the pressures of competition?' The answer is simple, No! I have 80 athletes on the registers and I could only pick 20% to compete and I felt that more athletes would have benefited from the experience and really I would argue that 50-60% were good enough to compete however, I had my hands tied in terms of how many athletes I could take and use for the chosen events.
Seeing the emotions of the athletes before, during and after competition I am torn whether I promote competitoms in the same way that I would have before the competition in midweek. Competition has many benefits to the young athlete; they learn how to lose graciously with pride and sportsmanship, they also learn some valuable experience of dealing with pressure and expectation. Over the course of the next 10 years the athlete will come across many pressures from exams, parents, sports and relationships, competitons at an early age can prepare them for life's challenges and pressures. Competition can still be a hinderence for young athletes in terms of nerves and anxiety, the pressure that is put on them can take away the fun element. When the athletes are young it should be all about fun and following the long term athlete development model they shouldn't really be competing until they are a few years older.
Reflecting on this experience I will still promote competitions however, I will make sure that all the athletes have the opportunity to take part and have a go. The competitions that I want to be involved in are ones that can accommodate all of my athletes not just a handful. I will create a fun, exciting and easy going atmosphere so that the athletes will feel less pressure which will enable them to enjoy the experience that is competition.
@dannymaynard92
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting article that tells me some good stuff about you as a coach (you care and are conscientious). However, have you talked your concerns over with the athletes or parents? Working in a primary school, I know how much children love healthy competition, which leaves me with the assumption that the athlete who ended up in tears was using an avoidance strategy because of some ulterior motive, for instance, a threat unbeknown to you (maybe a parent or something).
Not suggesting this as a definite btw, just find it hard to believe that children, given the right advice and environment, would be that upset about competition. In my opinion, not competing is more damaging in the long-term than regular competition, because in reality, life is unfortunately a competition and if children aren't prepared for it then they're going to find things very tough. Children are clever and know who the best people are, and like Boris Johnson said, the spirit of envy can perhaps aid competitive striving. Taking that away may reduce effort from both the elite group and those tailing just behind.
Cheers for sharing your thoughts,
Rob
(@CODEMCR)