IS JUNIOR FOOTBALL BECOMING TOO PRECIOUS? BY - JACKSON CLARK The NTFL will not publish goal-kickers or best players in the U12 competitions this season. This also spells the end of the Atkinson and Deslandes Medal for the competition’s best and fairest player and also the leading goal-kicker trophies. This is certainly not a gripe at the NTFL, or any individual, because they are simply following guidelines set out by the AFL. At the start of the year the AFL, in conjunction with Deakin University research, developed new guidelines for junior football, with a philosophy of promoting participation rather than competition. But under-age football is becoming too precious and the AFL’s new code for junior footballers is an act of political correctness gone mad. Some U12 leagues down south are even banned from keeping the score and this is condescending, perhaps even insulting, to the thousands of junior footballers who live and breathe the game. We cannot shield children from the realities of life – such as disappointment or failure – and we should not remove the competition aspect from junior football. AFL national development manager Josh Vanderloo said, “our research shows that kids play the game to have fun and not just to win.” That may be true, to an extent, but while they may play the game for enjoyment and not “just to win”, it does not mean that scoreboards should be scrapped. This sentiment is echoed at the highest level with North Melbourne star Nick Dal Santo believing that children should be given the opportunity to deal with defeat. “It’s a good lesson in life that things don’t always go your way,” he said. “Learning to cope with winning and losing is an important part of a young footballer’s development and if I was at that age again I’d like to know if we were winning or losing a game.” As a junior coach, if I told my kids that they were no longer playing for points they would be disappointed. But at the same time I concede that winning should not be a priority and I would never instruct the team to flood numbers in the backline or tell a kid to tag or physically intimidate an opponent. At junior level, the emphasis should most certainly be on enjoyment and I am a big supporter of the mercy rule, whereby the timekeepers stop keeping score once a team leads by more than ten goals. But banning the publishing of goal kickers and best players is a step too far. The AFL justifies getting rid of it because it “focusses too much on the individual” but I feel as though we need to foster excellence in the juniors. Many of us remember how big of a thrill it was to pick up the NT News on Wednesday and see your name in there as a goal kicker or best player. It is also makes talent identification harder when it comes to selecting School Sport Northern Territory football sides to represent us nationally. There is nothing wrong with encouraging and celebrating participation, but where do you draw the line? Sporting champions credit overcoming failures as the backbone to their success. But children these days are missing out on valuable life lessons because they are not allowed to fail at anything. Our over-protection of children is not just confined to the sporting world, but also something that is prevalent in the wider society. School reports make failure seem like a success and the current cottonwool generation that promotes an ‘everyone’s a winner’ mentality is making children soft and unable to develop any resilience. The AFL has become obsessed with participation numbers, but let’s face it, football is not for everyone. Modified rules may result in some of the more delicate children persisting with the sport, but it will only be a matter of time before they quit altogether. Kids should be taught the basics of football in an enjoyable and safe environment, but we can still keep the scores, goal-kickers and best players. Common sense needs to prevail when it comes to junior football.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 04:11:44 +0000