Bob’s Banter

Fewer and fewer children are playing sports.

Some of the blame falls to parents, who focus their children on one sport and chase after scholarships.

I wonder how much of a concern there is at public health level. I was in a local pharmacy a few weeks ago and saw the “Scripts to be Collected” drawers full of bags. So, I asked the pharmacist what the three major scripts were for, thinking that they would be for; colds and flu, headaches and anti-inflammatories. I was WRONG! She said, that even though those drawers were full, there were even more bags at the back to be collected. And, the three major scripts were for:

1. Diabetes

2. High Blood Pressure

3. Cholesterol

And I thought: I wonder if the doctors also prescribed: Exercise. Just 30 minutes a day!

Seventy percent of children stop sports at age 13, and the “less talented” are left behind, with poor coaching, less concern and the feeling of “we aren’t good enough”.

As Mark Hyman, a professor of sports management at George Washington University says: “We no longer value participation. We value excellence.”

And those studying the issue say they know whom to blame: parents.

“The adults have won,” said Hyman, “If we wiped the slate clean and reinvented youth sports from scratch by putting the physical and emotional needs of kids first, how different would it look? Nothing would be recognizable.”

Even I am involved at a local school, training the top athletes. They are getting that special attention from me, too!

How do we “disarm” this system?

There will be many of you who remember there was a time when sport was less competitive, less expensive and far fewer traveling teams going to Cape Town or Australia. The children played, to have fun, and, we laughed!

Look out for that parent on the side line, even that coach, shouting at the players. Encourage, cheer, don’t shout.

Is your kid looking at you for confirmation from you that he is doing “ok”? That’s not a good sign. He should be having fun, either way.

Remember, your sports dream for your son may not come true. But, if he has fun and wants to continue exercising all his life, now that would be first prize.

I think of my 92-year-old father. He walks about 5kms every day. He started running when he was 59 and completed his first Comrades Marathon at age 60, and then he ran five more! He is alert, healthy and fit. God bless him. He said to me: “Son, play sport and have fun; whatever you do!”