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1. Should physical combat sports be banned?

Ans: Introduction: Combat sports have been in existence in different forms for more than 2000 years. With high risks prevailing is such sports and the nature of aggression demonstrated on the sporting arena, ethical issues have come up whether in a modern civilized society there is a place of such activities. Measures have been adopted to minimise the risks to participants yet the demonstration of skills in such thrilling fashion has been under criticism. There are both bright and dark sides of these sports but whether to eliminate them or not is the major debate.

Definition of Combat Sports: Combat sports may be defined as sports wherein two individual combatants fight each other using fighting techniques according to a set of prearranged rules.

Competitors use different techniques in different forms of Combat Sports, but the objective of any contest is to subdue the opponent. The question arises here that is it ethical to allow such a sport where the main intension is to harm your opponent.

The Dark Side of Combat Sports: The first thing that strikes into one’s mind while saying about the dark sides of such sports is morality.

1. Morality: As said earlier, is it morally correct for one human being to attempt intentionally to harm the brain of the other as in boxing. It might be true that reckless tackles are made in sports like American football, Soccer, ice hockey etc and also body line bowling prevails in cricket which sometimes result in serious injuries but one does not win the game by doing so. Where as in physical combat sports one can win only by hurting the opponent and that too so seriously that the opponent cannot continue to take part in the game anymore.

2. Impact on society: The impact of such sports on the society can be viewed in two different ways.
Combat sports practice: Evidence of unlicensed boxing events exist where violence has reached its extremities but it may be argued that a sport, which is explicitly a stimulation of actual combat and which has clearly defined boundaries is less of a threat to the social order than such evidences.

Another issue evolved which argued if participation in a combat sport results in increase of violence and aggression in a human being. But different researches have shown increase in social and emotional awareness among the participants.

Viewing Combat sports: The effect of excessive media exposure of combat sports does have a positive impulse of violence in some people but for the vast majority of the population exposure to aggression and violence as a passive spectator is considered to have negligible impact on people’s social behaviour.

The Value of Combat Sports: Notwithstanding the violent nature of combat sports, “good” can be found in them just like any other sport. Any form of combat sport has the potential to improve physical health and well being. Higher physical competence and ability to defend one’s own self can be considered as the positive side of combat sports. Combat sports can also acts as a medium of self-expression and human bonding. Contrary to popular belief, winning is not the sole objective of fighting contests. Value is given to what can be learnt from the opponent, be it in victory or defeat.

Conclusion: Considering the fact that sport where the principal intent is to harm your opponent and with the high risk of fatalities and serious disabling injuries involved, the question arises both from the ethical and safety point of view as to whether or not combat sports be legally banned. In my opinion, before considering a legal ban and forcing the sport underground, each combat sport should be given the opportunity to review its rules for competition. For example, fighting within predetermined weight class, only one fight per night etc.

Self-Determination Theory as a proposed aid to Athletic Injury Rehabilitation

Just as Honda Motor Company advertises widely that the technology it places in its Formula I racing program finds its way to each consumer automobile it sells, one can find the same justification for utilizing psychological interventions to increase the performance of athletes, especially after potentially career-ending or –derailing injuries. The success of such interventions, much as is efficacy of the technology in 200+mph race cars, is exceptionally clarified during moments of intense sport action. Similarly, by incorporating elements of Self-Determination Theory and motivational interviewing during the “pit time” of an athlete in rehab, their likelihood of emerging as strong as or perhaps even stronger than before the injury are increased.

In fine scientific tradition, the basis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is found in the continual evolution of prior theories that were found lacking. For example, in one early model, Hull’s Drive Theory, motivation was posited to simply be a factor of unmet physiological needs. While this is true for some ‘drives’, for other needs such as emotional or even play, this theory was notably silent (Deci & Ryan 2000, p. 228). Another example of an ‘unfinished’ theory would be Skinner’s operant conditioning, a very useful theory that nonetheless omits intrinsic motivations (Deci & Ryan 2000, p. 233). Fundamental precepts of SDT indicate that people “have an innate organizational tendency toward growth, integration of the self, and the resolution of psychological inconsistency” (Markland, Ryan, Tobin & Rollnick 2005, p.815). These three concepts are both the “what” and the “why” of motivation have been demonstrated to not only be valid theoretically but also in real-world field research where actual behaviors occur (Ryan & Deci 2000, pp. 228 and 258).

In first speculating about and then later in predicting and then influencing behavior, SDT argues that motivation must first be understood. According to SDT, behaviors lie on a continuum from externally motivated, in which others control behavior through reinforcements, to identification which is very “self-determined”. In between these extremes is behavior motivated by introspective regulations as would be the case when someone partially internalizes motivation, often because of self-esteem type issues that are unstable as sources of continual motivation (Markland, et al 2005, p. 816).

To begin bridging motivation with actual performance, that is to bring together intent with actual outcome, it is well documented that those with a greater degree of internal motivation do better in “motivational persistence, quality of behavior and learning, and well-being outcomes in… education, work, sports, exercise….” (Markland, et al 2005, p. 817). Though it is not enough to say that these things just “happen”, there are methods designed to facilitate the internalization of goals. Such techniques as Motivation Interviewing, in fact, make a purposeful facilitation of this objective.

In short, Motivational Interviewing is style of counseling that has been widely adopted for behavioral change. Beginning with the reasonable assumption that there is not a single behavior that did not first begin as a thought or motive emotion, the key to changing behavior is to change one’s motivation. It achieves this through the exploration and resolution of the client’s ambivalence in choosing one “desired” behavior over another “undesired” behavior (Markland, et al 2005, p. 813). By assisting the client to clarify the conflicts of change and the choices they make and rationalize, the therapist is able to facilitate the client to want to change, thus overcoming their own ambivalence.

To better illustrate how these methods might work, consider the following case:

John is a third year high school athlete in a top-third soccer program. He consistently plays at a high level and has been told that he has potential to possibly play at a top college program. The key to this seems to be to continue to evolve as a total player, attend a top-flight summer camp program and have a predictably excellent final year. Everything proceeds according to plan when, at the summer camp, he has a severe grade II hamstring pull. Though he immediately iced it, he was unable to move faster than a limping walk for two days. Surgical repair was ill advised due to the specific nature and location and aggressive therapy was prescribed.

Clearly, John seems to be properly motivated for ‘his best efforts’ at recovery prior to the fall season only 3 months away. On the line is a college scholarship, the admiration of his peers and the otherwise ‘abandonment’ of his team. Seemingly, all the ingredients for motivational performance in the “sport of rehabilitation” are present yet, when one examines these, it is not apparent the extent to which he is internally motivated. Is he playing to save his parent’s money? Will his girlfriend reject him if he becomes a “spectator”? These are potentially powerful motivators yet SDT research clearly indicates an almost linear relationship between performance and the degree of internal motivation.

To utilize the SDT and motivational interviewing precepts to John’s advantage, the first order of business is to become “client-centric” by giving John choices in his care. The greater extent that John can control the outcome in a medically acceptable way, the greater the extent that he will feel as though he is in charge and therefore motivation is more intrinsic and thus he is more likely to perform better during and consequently after rehab as well (Podlog & Eklund 2005, p. 23; Markland et al 2005, p. 818).

In addition, in direct support of SDT, the following motivational interview techniques are recommended:

SDT Functional Area

Competence
Autonomy
Relatedness

Clear & neutral information about goals and outcomes
Avoid coercion
Express empathy

Develop appropriate goals
“Roll with resistance”
Explore concerns

Positive feedback
Explore Options
Demonstrate understanding of the client’s position

Self-efficacy is supported
Client-centric decision making
Avoid judgment and blame

(Markland et al 2005, p. 821)

As an additional adjunct to utilizing SDT theory and as indicated earlier, it is not a great stretch of the imagination to envision rehab as a form of sport in which you continually compete against one’s on “personal best”, the admonitions of your medical “coaches” and the coming next game or season, as applicable. By doing so, not only does this perspective further enable one to apply SDT to rehab as to other settings but is also allows the athlete to leverage the intrinsic competitiveness and drive to achieve greater gains in rehabilitation. An example in which we might apply a broader portion of sports psychology to a rehab setting would be to utilize mental rehearsal not just of a sporting moment but of rehab exercises. By focusing on the specific components of a rehab exercise, performance is likely to be increased just as visualizing on-the-field performance can enhance the performance of a healthy athlete (Wrisberg & Fisher 2005, p. 58).

In conclusion, by utilizing sport psychology and SDT and Motivational Interviewing techniques in particular, there is a great likelihood that John, our case study, performance could be significantly enhanced not only in rehab but in the following season as well. By clearing the mind of its barriers and ambivalence to performance, the body will be enabled to reach its utmost performance potentials.

Works Consulted

Deci, E. and R. Ryan. (2000). “The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior”. Psychological Inquiry, (11), 4, pp. 227-268.

Markland, D., R. Ryan, V. Tobin, and S. Rollnick. (2005). “Motivational Interviewing and Self-Determination Theory”. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, (24), 6, pp. 811-831.

Podlog, L. and R. Eklund. (2005). “Return to Sport After Serious Injury: A Retrospective Examination of Motivation and Psychological Outcomes”. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, (14), pp. 20-34.

Wrisberg, C. and L. Fisher. (2005). “Mental Rehearsal During Rehabilitation”. Athletic Therapy Today, (6),10, pp. 58-59.

Sprinting consists of three phases: acceleration phase, transition phase and a maximal velocity phase (Cronin & Hansen, 2006). Acceleration is a major component in making a successful performance in many different sports and it can also be seen as potentially pivotal in determining the outcome of a sports game. Therefore training for acceleration is an essential component of many athletes’ strength and conditioning programme (Kraemer et al. 2000).

When choosing methods to improve sprinting certain parameters need to be considered. The acceleration phase includes a longer stance time, increased trunk and knee flexion and greater propulsive forces (Kraemer et al. 2000). The muscular structure of the lower leg needs to have the necessary capacity to contribute to the acceleration performance and this is done through specific strength training activities. When an athlete improves strength, it produces greater force and decreased ground contact time which increases stride frequency (Spinks et al. 2007). Various training modalities including sprint loading improve the elastic energy during the support sage of the sprint cycle, increasing stride length.

Resisted sprint training is a basic conditioning method used by coaches to lengthen running stride (Makarur et al. 2013). It is carried out by adding an external load to the athlete, such as pulling a tyre, a loaded sled, running up hill or using parachutes. Hunter et al. (2005) observed that running velocity and increasing strength are greatly increased by resisted sprint training due to the increased strength and power of the leg extensor muscles in the acceleration phase.

This critical review will analyse previous studies and their findings when using resisted sprint training using weighted sleds on athletes.

Lockie (2003) and Letzelter et al. (1995) stated that towing causes acute changes in sprint kinematics of acceleration phase. Certain loads may be more appropriate for sprints performed from a block start compared to a standing start. Mero and Komi (1990) found mean contact time of foot to floor in the acceleration phase after a block start to range from 0.15s to 0.22s. This coincides with Spinks et al. (2007) findings of decreased contact time of first step of acceleration phase in the resisted sprint group of 11.8% and recording 0.15s to 0.19s contact time.

Spinks et al. (2007) also found that the biggest increase in overall velocity was achieved in the 0-5m interval. Rimmer and Sleivert (2000) found that carrying out 8 weeks of sprint and plyometric training improves the velocity over the first 10m of the sprint. However Kafer et al. (1993) studied resisted sled training and found that there was a significant improvement of 0.35 seconds (P<0.001) over 20m and 60m when compared to assisted sprint training. They concluded that resisted sled towing improvements were due to increased resistance, increasing force production developing and maintaining velocity. This would increase the load on the strength shortening cycle, increasing muscle stiffness and vertical force at each ground coupling point.

Harridge et al. (1998) found that resisted sled towing can alter myosin heavy chain expression of muscle fibres. Increases in speed occur due to a shift in fibre type distribution and speed of shortening cycle which might contribute to increased power generation. 8.4% significant increases were found on resisted sprint trained athletes when compared to a control group (Spinks et al. 2007). If power output of knee extensors are increased, improved ground contact time results in greater propulsive acceleration efforts. However Maclean () disproved this as he found that after testing this hypothesis across 6 weeks of training increase in muscle performance occurred without any significant change in myosin heavy chain or fibre type distribution.

Letzelter et al. (1995) after studying 16 female sprint performances found that performance was decreased by 8% and 22% respectively for the loads of 2.5 kg and 10 kg. Results showed that this was predominantly due to the reduced stride length in athletes. Decreases in stride length by 5.3% and 13.5%, stride frequency 2.4% with 2.5 kg load and 6.2% with a 10 kg load. Across all loads were found to be an increased stance time to lean and hip flexion angle. Lockie et al. (2003) reported similar findings when testing 20 males’ field sport athletes. Athletes performed 15m sprints using no resistance, 12.6% or 32.2% of body mass load. These were chosen as previous findings show a decrease in 10/20% of max velocity. Decrease in stride length of 10% +24% were documented. Stride frequency was only found to decrease by 6% in each load. In agreement with Leztler et al. (1995).

Makurak et al. (2013) found running stride length increased in their resisted sled training group when compared to the standard training group. Findings were also supported by Delecluse (1997). Increasing stride length is said to be the result of performing fuller extension at the knee found by the increased knee angle at toe off. This change could be directly due to the strength between hip and knee extensors.

Bhowmick and Bhattacharyya (1988) suggest the horizontal acceleration of the arm swing increases stride length and during ground contact time the vertical element enhances the leg drive. Ropret et al. (1988) tested adding load to the athlete’s arms however no significant reduction in initial acceleration over 30 m was found. Lockie et al. (2003) state that 32.2% body mass was better for the development of upper body action. As the load increases shoulder range of motion increases. However Spinks et al. (2007) in terms of their study of upper-body kinematics found that it had little impact on acceleration performance.

The critical analysis of various studies showed that results were contradictory. More investigations into optimal load, changes in strength shortening cycle and training distances should be undertaken to find ideal training focus.

References

Bhowmick, S., Bhattacharyya, A. (1988) ‘Kinematicanalysis of arm movements in sprint start.’ Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness; Vol: 28: pp315–323.

Cronin, J., Hansen, K. (2006) ‘Resisted sprint training for the acceleration phase of sprinting’ Journal of Strength and Conditioning; Vol: 28 (4), pp.42-51

Delecluse, G. (1997) ‘Influence of strength training on sprint running performance: Current findings and implications for training’ Journal of Sports Medicine; Vol. 24 (3), pp.147-156,

Harridge, S.., Bottinelli, R., Canepari, M., Pellegrino, M., Reggiani, C., Esbjornsson, M., Balsom, P.,Saltin, B. (1998) ‘Sprint Training, In Vitro and In Vivo Muscle Function, and Myosin Heavy Chain Expression’. Journal of Applied Physiology; Vol

84: pp.442-449.

Hunter, J., Marshall, R., McNair, P. (2005) ‘Relationships between ground reaction force impulse and kinematics of sprint-running acceleration.’ Journal of Applied Biomechanics; Vol: 21(1), pp.31-34

Kafer, R. Adamson, G., O’Conner, M., Faccioni, A.(1993) ‘Methods of maximising speed development’ Strength and Conditioning Coach; Vol. 1, pp.9-11

Kraemer, W., Ratamess, N., Volek, J., Mazzettil, S., Gomez, A. (2000) ‘The effect of the Meridian Shoe on vertical jump and sprint performances following short-term combined plyometric/sprint and resistance training.’ Journal Strength Conditioning Research. Vol; 14: pp.228–238

Lockie, R., Murphy, A., Spinks, C. (2003) ‘Effects of resisted sled towing on sprint kinematics in field sport athletes;. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research; Vol 17: pp760-767

Mero, A., Komi, P. (1990) ‘Reaction time and electromyographic activity during a sprint start.’ European. Journal of Applied. Physiology and Occupational. Physiology; Vol: 61:pp. 73–80.

Rimmer, E., Sleivert, G. (2000) ‘Effects of a plyometrics intervention program on sprint performance.’ Journal of Strength and Conditioning. Research; Vol. 14: pp. 295–301.

ROPRET, R., M. KUKOLJ, D. UGARKOVIC, D.MATAVULJ, AND S. JARIC. ‘Effect of arm and leg loading on sprint performance.’ European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology; Vol: 77: pp.547–550.

Spinks, C., Murphy, A., Spinks, W., Lockie, R. (2007) ‘The effects of resisted sprint training on acceleration performance and kinematics in soccer, rugby union and Australian football players’ Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research; Vol: 21 (1), pp.77-85

Coaching

In recent years coaching has become a much larger area for research, this is so that the complexity of the coaching process may finally be understood. Due to the nature of professional sport demanding a high quality of coaching there have been rapid developments in coaching as a profession (Woodman, 1993).As a result of this increased need for success in coaching it is becoming more desirable for other coaches to be able to replicate the same coaching processes that have proved successful previously, to do this researchers have attempted to model the coaching process. As thought by Lyle the approach to coaching may be seen as a sequential process, it is described as dynamic and systematic process that follows lots of stages and includes many contextual factors (Lyle, 1993). In similar research by Borrie and Knowles they also agree with the rationalistic approach, this was defined as a ‘series of stages that the coach has to go through to help the athlete learn and improve’ (Borrie and Knowles, 2003). In lots of research it is clear that many researchers believe the process may be modelled, examples of this are shown by Lyle, Fairs and Sherman. These examples of research show that the coaching process is methodical and may be condensed into a diagram form for representation of how the process is carried out (Lyle, 2002; Fairs, 1987; Sherman et al., 1997). Following a successful representation of the coaching process via a model that can be easily replicated, the potential for improvements in education and teaching of these coaching processes is huge as it allows coaching as a profession to become more effective (Csikszentmihalyi et al., 1993; Jones and Wallace, 2005).

Not all research into the coaching process supports the same argument, for example Jones and Wallace (2005) suggest that it doesn’t follow a sequential pattern and cannot be rationalised. This is due to the process being seen to have too many external factors that have to be included, as a result of this the process is viewed as an inherently ambiguous activity that cannot be modelled (Jones and Wallace, 2005). In recent years Jones et al (2004) have focused on the intricate and dynamic nature of how coaches help to prepare athletes for competition (Jones, Armour and Potrac, 2004). The conflicting research that has been conducted on the coaching process leads to a belief that coaching may be too complex to be modelled as the contradictory understanding affects the accuracy of each model.

Although coaching is clearly a very complex process it has still been looked at from a rationalistic viewpoint in an attempt to model the process. Lyle suggests that for an improvement in coaching education to occur we must first understand the coaching process in principle (Lyle, 1999). By using a rationalistic perspective to look at the coaching process Lyle suggests the process can be modelled and will therefore have a subsequent effect on improving coaching education (Lyle, 1999). In the research conducted by Lyle it also suggests that there are two types of models for coaching, these are models of and for the coaching process. Models for coaching come from an idealistic perspective that derives from the use of assumptions made about how the process is carried out; On the other hand models of coaching lean more towards analysing successful coaching practice to produce a method of the coaching process (Cushion et al., 2006; Lyle, 1999).Categorising the types of research helps to identify the purpose of current models as well as identifying the structures of such models.

In 1987 the objectives model was created by Fairs, this was developed by using a systematic approach to identify the key sections that form the coaching process structure. This model identifies that coaching follows a number of structured stages that are also seen as being interrelated (Cushion et al., 2006; Fairs, 1987). This model can therefore be used to effectively represent coaching in a diagrammatical form, however the nature of the model still allows for flexibility due to an emphasis on analysing and reassessment of targets (Cushion et al., 2006).The objectives model does link in well with the coaching process whilst still being logical, however this model has taken criticism due to the overly simplistic nature throughout the structure of the model (Cross and Ellis, 1997; Jones and Wallace, 2005; Lyle, 1999).The criticism has arose mainly due to the lack of detail when looking into the coach athlete relationship. There are many contextual factors that haven’t been accounted for which therefore leads to the model not being directly specific to the coaching process (Jones and Wallace, 2005). The main downside to the objectives model is that the athlete coach dynamic isn’t highlighted to show a good representation of the interpersonal relationship that is clear for anyone who has taken part in sport, due to this there is a lack of validity because of the lack of connection to real coaching practice (Cushion et al., 2006).

Following the critique of Fairs (1987) objective model Lyle (1999) produced a model that would aim to support that the coaching process does follow a rationalistic and sequential process but also wanted to take into account the complex contextual factors that the objective model lacked. Lyle’s model has also been criticised for its lack of flexibility when trying to adapt to the messy reality of practice (Cushion et al., 2006), for example; the model fails to reflect on how a coach may have to adapt to not many people turning up, this occurs regularly in sport as there is a constant flow of power between the coach and athlete showing that nobody is ever completely powerless (Layder, 1994). Although these models are beneficial to outlining the coaching process and its factors, they are still limited as to how much they can be used as an educative tool, this is due to the overall lack of in depth knowledge relating to the social dynamics that occur between the coach and athlete (Cushion, 2004).

As the need for a fixed model to describe and show how the coaching process happens is large research has almost been forced to condense the process in an attempt to conceptualise and rationalise coaching, this however has led to the models being unable to make sense of the ambiguous nature that occurs during coaching practice (Jones et al., 2004; Jones and Wallace, 2004). Although in some cases models have attempted to investigate the interactions between coach and athlete they haven’t been able to understand the realistic complexity that underpins the relationships (Jones and Wallace, 2005). Viewing coaching as an inherently ambiguous activity leads us to begin to see that attempting to model coaching is counterproductive when trying to understand the practical applications of coaching (Jones et al., 2004; Jones and Wallace, 2005).

Poczawardowski et al (2002) attempted to understand the coaching process further by taking a phenomenological approach to investigate the coach/athlete dynamic. This approach supported the theory that the athlete/coach relationship doesn’t follow certain patterns and have fixed reciprocal interactions (Poczawardowski et al., 2002). Again the complex athlete coach relationship was found to be unique for each individual interaction, this supports that both the athlete and coach personally author their own actions during the interactions. Jones and Wallace (2005) suggest that in order to improve coaching practice as a whole the coaches should practice situations where they themselves have low controllability and incomprehensibility, this will benefit the coaches as they will develop skills to quickly evolve to changing circumstances that require different measures of organisation and planning, doing so will lead to a more realistic expression of actual coaching practice (Jones and Wallace, 2005). Using this method suggests that coaching is linked to orchestration as it has been shown that expert coaches recognise the parameters and respond by acting in an unobtrusive and flexible manner so as to adapt to the ever changing situation that coaching is subjected to (Jones et al., 2004).

Even though there is rapid increase in acknowledgement of the coaching process as a whole and in the area, there is still a lack of a definitive list of concepts and factors to create a clear conceptual base to understand the coaching practice accurately (Cushion et al., 2006). All of the rationalistic models created to help better understand the coaching practice have been criticised, generally where all concepts fail is in the understanding of the unpredictable situations that arise during coaching, the main part of which is the extraneous variables that occur during both the athlete/coach relationship and factors that may affect training (Gould et al., 1990). Detailed research by Jones and Wallace (2005) and Poczwardowski et al (2002) revealed the real complexity of the coaching process by stating it as an ‘inherently ambiguous activity’ (Jones and Wallace, 2005). After looking at the literature surrounding the coaching process it has become clear that the coaching process is too complex to be modelled and attempting to do so is counterproductive.

Reflective Observation Report

My observation was of a level two football coach. I attended a session once a week for three weeks with the same group. Staying with the same group was beneficial as I was able to see the development of the athletes and see the full variety of coaching techniques and styles of learning that was applied by the coach. The age group was fifteen to eighteen year olds and the sessions lasted 3 hours.
The coach would generally use a variety of teaching styles throughout their sessions. One style used was the cognitive learning style. On a basic drill of finding movement in a limited space some players found it hard to identify where space is often found and how to exploit it. The coach took these players aside and made them view the game from an outside perspective. By making the players view the game and try to solve the problem of limited space, cognitive learning took place. After viewing the drill once over the coach sent the players back in and they showed a visible change of tactics and in the specific game a definite improved level of ability. The coach used a similar technique in a different session. The holding playmaker of the team was struggling with their passing vision. The player couldn’t identify when and where to pass to keep possession. The coach realising this set the player homework. The coach gave the player a dvd, which included the basic five areas of a playmakers passing range and had examples of elite footballers performing the set passes. In the next session the player was showed improvement and displayed a calmer performance in the session’s end game. This involved participation, thinking and memory some key traits of the cognitive learning style.
When certain players were disobedient the coach was quick to act and make example of the players. Punishments such as press-ups, sit-ups and sprints were all included. These punishments set the tone of the football field. Be disobedient to the coach or other teammates and receive punishment. When doing the punishments the other players watched and passively acknowledged how to act on a football field. With this a regular occurrence the players were subject to the behavioural learning style. Learning information based on the environment that an individual is placed in. The environment that the footballers were placed in sets a positive tone of not to be disobedient with the coach or teammates.
The sessions I attended were at the early part of the football season. Gaining match fitness was vitally important. The way that this was achieved was done so in a very democratic way. The coach hadn’t previously worked with this particular group and was unsure of fitness levels. The coach therefore negotiated the set targets with the players. The captain of the team was at the front of the negotiations. The coach used this as a bonding activity and gained social connection with the players. This inactive passive approach showed the players the level of respect that the coach had for them. This increased the players’ motivation and the coach had players achieving fitness goals which were set by the players thus easing the pressure off them.
One of the more technically difficult drills the coach set up was set piece training. The coach set two teams of defenders and attackers. They were also told to act if in a game situation. This clear use of team based competition was a sign of team based learning. The defenders were left to figure out how best to set up their defensive unit. The attackers would have to make decisions on how best to attack the goal. The ball could either be crossed or shot at from one of the more technically better players in the team. This kind of match environment is a sign of further behavioral learning. The coach let the drill go on and took a passive approach but when the attackers failed to score after a maintained period of time the coach felt it was time to intervene. The coach displayed a simpler option which created more goal scoring chances. The simple change of tactics developed more chances on goal than before. This is a sign of constructive learning. The coach let them develop a basic structure of attacking the goal but when they reached their limit the coach just gave a few bits of information to help them go slightly more advanced. The attackers learnt a basic understanding themselves and were only developed on when necessary by the coach. Shortly after doing this the coach did the same with the defending team. A simple suggestion of putting two players on the post denied many accurate shots by the attacking team. By allowing the players to steadily improve themselves and only having coach interference when absolutely necessary the coach became a facilitator not a lecturer which is a key trait of constructive learning. By determining the state and needs of the players by intervening to assist in improvement, the coach showed signs of instructional design learning.
During the end of the third session the coach again took a passive approach. A drill was set up to inspire freedom and creativity. Samba music was played and the drill was to beat your opponent one on one. Skills and tricks were encouraged to develop the creativity and flair of the players. This allowance of free roaming and putting faith in the players that they would create and use complex skills was a sign of humanism.
To summarize, I believe the coach was of a high level and was able to teach complex drills with ease. I saw a variety of drills taught and a wide range of learning styles incorporated. There weren’t many set goals in the sessions. Instead there was a more general development of a wide range of skills. Maybe this was due to the coach unsure of how long his placement was with this particular group of players. The key focus of all the sessions was largely dominated by fitness. In doing this the coach showed his primary from of teaching was done in a democratic way. The players were of a sufficient ability to improve on their own fitness and the coach was merely enforcing the idea not the actual practice itself.

Reflection is defined by Stenhouse 1975 p 144 as ‘ a capacity for autonomous professional self-directed through systematic self- study’. Discuss how a coach utilises reflective practice to enhance their coaching performance

The aim for this essay is to discuss how a coach can use reflective practice to improve his/her coaching. Reflective practice is an idea used in education studies and pedagogy. It was introduced by John Dewey, he defined reflection as ‘active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends’ (Dewey, 1910). Dewey recommended that before a coach can achieve effective reflection three personal characteristics been to be in attendance.

Open-mindedness- this is the yearning to want to learn more than you already know
Wholeheartedness – this is the enthusiasm to want to learn more about a specific subject
Responsibility- this is to take the accountability of your actions, positive or negative.

However, it is also important to understand other definitions of reflection as not all research has reached an agreed definition

Jarvis (1992 p180) claims that “reflective practice is something more then thoughtful practice. It is that form of practice that seeks to problematise many situations of professional performance so that they can become potential learning situations and so the practitioners can continue to learn, grow and develop in and through practice”.

Dewey (1910 p39) defines reflection as the “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusion to which it tends”.

Reid (1993) in her definition also noted reflection as an active process rather than passive thinking. She states: “Reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice.”(p305)

McKernan (1996) refers to reflective teaching as ‘… not a knowledge-bounded set of competencies which are learned during student teaching, but on the contrary teaching that reflectively supports… growth and professionalism through the questioning of policies, problems and the consequences of actions.’ This is true in relation to the coach.

Pollard (2002) suggests that ‘Reflective teaching is applied in cyclical or spiralling process, in which teachers monitor, evaluate and revise their own practice continually.’

According to Reid (1993) cited by Ghaye and Lilleyman (1997) reflective practice is: ‘Potentially both a way of learning and a mode of survival and development once formal education ceases.’ They believe that reflective practice is more than just skillto be used in one particular context but throughout life as well.

‘Reflective practice requires professionals to step back from themselves and the situation to examine all aspects of the teaching/learning act, including essential dispositions. It implies that they use an empirical, analytical review of their teaching and that they employ a moral and ethical framework to guide their analysis and modification of teaching behaviour.’ Boise State University (No Date)

In 1987 Schon stated that reflection can happen in two ways: ‘reflecting in action’ and ‘reflecting on action’. Reflecting on action occurs after the coaching has taken place, this can be aided with the use of another coach giving advice, or with the use of video. Fitzgerald (1994) defines ‘reflection on action’ as “The retrospective contemplation of practice undertaken in order to uncover the knowledge used in practical situations, by analysing and interpreting the information recalled”. ‘Reflecting in action’ refers to reflection taking place during the activity. It can be said that ‘reflecting on action’ is “engaging in a constant process of rapid feedback and adjustment by which skilful operators can adjust to circumstances and sustain high levels of effectiveness” Jackson et al (2004).

When reviewing a coaching session there a number of topics to take into consideration. The first and most important aspect of coaching to take into consideration is if the aims and achievements for not only the coaching session but also for the season as a whole. Reflection to see if goals were achieved for the season can only happen once the season has finished. The goals may vary from winning every game, to trying to win one game, if the goals are not reached e.g. the team lost all games then the coach will know that his method of coaching might not have been the most effective to use for the athletes in his team.

After a session there can also be a time for reflection, each session should have a clear aim or goal of a specific skill that needs to be improved, if at the end of the session the athletes have become more efficient in that skill then they session can be see as a success. On the other hand however, if the athletes have not improved during the session then reflection needs to take place to see why this is the case.

Another way that a coach can use reflection to enhance their coaching performance is to evaluate if there coaching is time and cost effective. It is not good coaching if for example, it takes a whole session to cover a skill that can be covered in five minutes. To evaluate if the session has been cost effective, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. The first of these is have the athletes improved? If they haven’t then they have paid to gain nothing. However, if the athlete pays very little for a session, where there is only one coach and a high number of children then the expectations of the athletes and parents will drop. Young children i.e. under 7s may be only attending the session as an alternative to babysitting, especially if the cost of coaching is less than that of employing a baby sitter.

A coach must make sure that what he/she is teaching is suited to the age group. For example, under 7s would not be capable of learning leg spin in cricket. Also at the other end of the spectrum you would not have the first team practicing basic drills such has hitting a tennis ball off a cone. Sometimes however, this is not that easy to plan for. For example, a group may have very extensive knowledge of one skill e.g. the front food drive, but have no idea how to play a pull shot. A coach can use reflection after the session to see if the performers have improved at the specific skill.

A coach can reflect on the use of coaching points, there is no use in using advanced coaching points for athletes who are not experienced e.g. telling a 7 year old to rotate their shoulders vertically when playing the front food drive. The same can be said for experienced athletes, you would not tell them for example to keep their eyes on the ball when catching it as they will already know this.

Coaches have to reflect on demonstrations, for the athlete to learn best the demonstrations need to be accurate and performed from many angles. The coach must also make sure that the athlete can see and is not obstructed by another athlete or the coach himself.

The coach can also reflect on the safety, this can be a rather easy subject to reflect upon. If there is an injury then the reason for that injury will need to be looked at and reflected upon. Safety could also be reflected upon when thinking about equipment, the equipment that is used may be faulty or broken.

All of the above are times when reflection can occur. Feedback from a number of people is very important when reflecting about a session. The athlete that you are coaching will give the coach a lot of feedback; this can range from the improvement they make to their body language. Some more elite athletes will know what works for them so will inform their coach how they learn best. It can be hard to judge how much an athlete has improved from the beginning of a session to the end of one. It is important to distinguish how much if an the athlete has gained so a test like situation could be helpful to ensure that the coach is coaching in a way that is effective. For example, when coaching throwing in cricket, it can be useful to see how far the athlete can throw before any coaching has taken place, so that after the coaching you can see if the athlete can throw the ball any further.

Other coaches can help when reflecting about a session, especially if the coach is more experienced and or more qualified. The employer can also help with reflection, if the employer thinks that the athlete is improving then the coach will know that the way he is coaching is effective. But if the employer is not pleased with the improvement then change will have to be made. Parents can also play a large role in the reflective process, the parents may not be happy with the way that a coach is coaching. This may mean that the coach will have to change his coaching method, but only if the parent is knowledgeable.

Reflection can also be aided by the use of a video. A video can record the coaching session, and give the coach an incite to what he/she actually does. This can help as it will show demonstrations, body language and what exactly was said. It will also allow the coach to look back on sessions in the past looking to see how his/her coaching methods have changed. McKernan agreed:

‘…might use a video recorder to trap teaching performance as evidence or ‘data’ to be analysed. More importantly, such a film becomes a critical documentary for reflecting on practice…research can be undertaken by reactive methods such as observers, questionnaires, interviews, dialogue journals or through such non-reactive techniques as case studies, field notes, logs, diaries anecdotal records, document analysis, shadow studies.’ McKernan (1996)

Hanson believed that asking the students to fill in journals after each session would allow the coach to reflect properly. ‘I’ve had students make brief journal entries at the end of each session…it doesn’t take much time but reading and responding to the journal entries is time consuming. An approach taken from the values clarification literature is to ask students for one word that represents their behaviour that day.’ Hellison (1985)

Reflection makes the coach test their own behaviour, reminding them to act sensibly in their actions. Reflective evaluation shows areas where population, for example, children, have a bigger social need in addition to their individual sport. When creating training session it is vital to think of the childhood of that child.

Reflective practice demands the coach to examine their own behaviour honestly, reminding them to act responsibly in their actions. Reflective evaluation highlights areas where the population, for example, children, have a great social need besides their particular sport. When designing training sessions it is important to consider the childhood of that child. Extreme training sessions may ruin their childhood.

Reflective practice is detailed as being essential in increasing coaching effectiveness (Crisfield, 1998; Clifford and Feezell, 1997). Crisfield (1998) considers coaching efficiency to be determined by factors such as knowledge, skills, experience and philosophy.

In conclusion Pollard (2002) states the importance of the reflection within coaching. ‘The process of reflective teaching supports the development and maintenance of professional expertise.’ If a coach feels that they have nothing more to work on then they are not using reflection correctly, every coach no matter what level needs to use reflection to become a more competent coach.

The importance of reflective coaching is not just about finding and defining the problem. Organising, planning and acting upon it are essential also. There must also be re-evaluation to see if it has solved the problem and continual evaluation resumed. Reflective practice lets the coach value for different styles or methods of coaching. If a coach did not use reflective practice then he/she could not guarantee continual re-evaluation of their work.

McKernan (1996) refers to the coaching process as a ladder. ‘To get any higher performers must extend their ladder by making it longer through reflection and hopefully improvement, or they and their will be limited to the same level.’

Adapted from Department of Education for Northern Ireland (1999) cited by Pollard (2002) this mission statement sums up the truth of the reflective coach: ‘At the heart of becoming a good teacher is, above all else, being a learner-a life long learner.

To learn one has to ask questions of oneself…’

Bibliography

Johns C & Freshwater D (1998) Transforming nursing through reflective practice. Blackwell Science, London.

Reid B (1993) ‘But We’re Doing it Already!’ Exploring a Response to the Concept of Reflective Practice in Order to Improve its Facilitation, Nurse Education Today, 13: 305- 309.

McKernan, J. (1996). Curriculum Action Research: A Handbook of Methods and Resources for the Reflective Practitioner. Kogan Page

Pollard, A. (2002). Reflective Teaching: Effective and Evidence-informed Professional Practice. Continuum

Hellison, D. (1985). Goals and Strategies for Teaching Physical Education. Champaign, IL:

Human Kinetics

Schon, D. (1991). Educating the Reflective Practitioner. Oxford: Jossey-Bass

Crisfield, P. (1998). Analysing Your Coaching; The Start of Your Journey Towards Coaching

Excellence. Leeds: The National Coaching Foundation

Crisfield, P., Houlston, D. Simpkin, A. (1996). Coaching Sessions; A Guide to Planning and

Goal-Setting. Leeds: The National Coaching Foundation

Coaching knowledge’s, understanding the dynamics of sport performance, Jim Dickenson, 2007 A + C Black Publishers LTD.

Jarvis, P. (1992), Reflective Practice and Nursing, Nurse Education Today, Volume 12, pages 23-30.

Reed, J. Proctor, S. (1993) Nurse Education – a Reflective Approach, Edward Arnold, London.

Understanding sports coaching- the social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice – Tania Cassidy- routledge 2004

Reflective practice and supervision for coaches- Julie hay, the McGraw hill companies- 2007

Reflection is defined by Stenhouse 1975 p144 as ‘a capacity for autonomous professional self-development through systematic self-study’. Discuss how a coach utilises reflective practise to enhance their coaching performance

Reflection is used to improve coaching performance through a variety of ways. Kidman (2001: 50) describes reflection as “a particularly significant part of empowerment whereby coaches themselves take ownership of their learning and decision making”. The coach is therefore very active in gaining information which could be beneficial to them. Dewey (1919: 3) describes reflection as “turning a subject over in the mind and giving it a serious and consecutive consideration”. By analysing information repeatedly and seriously, in depth knowledge is gained from it. *(DANS)*Pollard (2002) believes that “‘Reflective teaching is applied in cyclical or spiralling process, in which teachers monitor, evaluate and revise their own practice continually.” By being dedicated in analysing oneself, analysing others is possible.

A slightly different concept of reflection is introduced by Schon. The notion of, ‘reflection in action’. Schon (1983; 50) “Athletes think about what they are doing, sometimes even while doing it”. Expanding on this Schon highlights phrases like, ‘Keep your wits about you’ and ‘thinking on your feet’. Schons belief here is in game reflection is natural and beneficial.

Gilbert and Trudel (2001) believe Schons idea as a “separate type of reflection”. They also offer a different type of reflection which they call “retrospective reflection-on-action” which is further described as “that which occurs outside the action-present”. Their belief is that coaches reflect on concerns in between practise sessions and that reflection “still occurs within the action-present, but not in the midst of activity”. So they firmly believe that reflection-on-action is totally different to reflection-in-action.

Gilbert and Trudel (2001) consider reflection to utilise “a conceptual framework to understand how coaches draw on experience when learning to coach”

Ghaye and Lillyman (2000) bring forward the idea that the core of reflection is carried out in a series of ‘frames’.

Role framing – was the coaches role executed correct?
Value framing – examining if there was value-positions present?
Temporal framing – was the order of actions correct?
Parallel process framing – could the end result varied?
Problem framing – were problems noticed effectively?

These frames provide a practical way of analysing sport practises. Reflective practise can provide an efficient apparatus for monitoring and assessment of athletes.

Dewey (1916) who is considered heavily to be the ‘founder’ of reflection, gives three attributes which are needed in order to participate in reflective practise. Open-mindedness, described as “an active desire to listen to more sides than one, to give heed to facts from whatever source they come and to give full attention to alternative possibilities”. Whole-heartedness, which is being “absorbed in an interest”. Responsibility is also needed as consequences are accepted therefore “securing integrity in one’s beliefs”. Dewey’s’ beliefs have stood strong for eighty years and still provide modern coaches with a basic outlook on what is needed to be an effective reflective coach.

Methods of using reflective practise

There are a few ways in which reflective practise is put into action. By using a variety of methods coaches can expand from the basics and look more in detail depending on the type of information that is required.

Video analysis is one method used in order to aid reflective practise. A coach can record a session and therefore have exact details of what actions are taken. This allows for precise analysis in which athletes can also see themselves and what they could improve on. McKernan was a firm believer in video recording to aid coaching: ‘…might use a video recorder to trap teaching performance as evidence or ‘data’ to be analysed. More importantly, such a film becomes a critical documentary for reflecting on practice…research can be undertaken by reactive methods such as observers, questionnaires, interviews, dialogue journals or through such non-reactive techniques as case studies, field notes, logs, diaries anecdotal records, document analysis, shadow studies.’ McKernan (1996)(DANS)

Using other coaches is one way reflective practise can be more reliable and efficient. Analysis speed is increased as more coaches can observe and acknowledge similar issues that arise and whilst opinions may be divided, an overview of general problems can be addressed more easily. This view is backed up by Gould, Giannani, Krane, & Hodge (1990) “development of craft knowledge which can be fostered through the realms of practical

experience and interaction with other coaches.”

Using a cognitive based style, reflection can take place through demonstration. Coaches need to reflect on how demonstrations of skills are executed and the coach must ensure that when a learner is receiving a demonstration that it is of adequate quality for the athlete to learn and progress using reflection.

Demonstrations

Coaching points and ‘logs’ are a very basic and fundamental way of reflecting on a performer. By making key observations during a practise and after, a coach can identify the problem areas. The more experienced the coach the more this basic method is effective and less need for the more advanced methods. This kind of feedback is usually

Benefits to using reflective practise

“by reflecting on practise a coach may expose his or her perceptions and beliefs to evaluation, creating a heightened sense of self awareness, which in turn my lead to a certain openness to new ideas” (Hellison and Templin 1991: 9) Reflective practise can increase ability in perception and creativity. This is due to the self improvement the coach must make themselves but are rewarded through these attributes. These attributes could then be passed onto the learner and thus bridging a gap between coach and learner.(BOOK)

(PDF)Anderson, Knowles and Gilbourne (2004) state that “reflective practice is the latest topical strategic method that could help sports coaches explore their decisions and experiences, aiding them to make sense of the situation and directly influence the learning process.” This is clear that reflective practise can be used in order to help sports coaches. It is also considered one of the more modern uses of coaching in order to achieve higher ability in a more demanding results driven environment.

“Indeed, to maximise learning, critical reflection is the core difference between whether an individual repeats the same experience time and time again or learns from the experience in such a way that the individual is cognitively or affectively changed” (Boyde and Fales, 1983).(PDF) By using reflective practise Boyde and Fales suggest that there is a high chance of learning and developing skills rather than just repeating an experience with no eventual gain. They believe reflection is essential to this as without it there would be no way an individual would know if improvement took place or not.

“if a coach takes the opportunity to understand the consequences, both positive and negative, of the decisions made during a training session, they are better able to rationalise their decisions when under pressure” (Kidman, 2001).(PDF) Kidman here links this in with Schons ‘refelction in action’. This is necessary in high tempo environments and is vital in gaining a better decision making process. Whilst reflection is important before and during training or match environments, only ‘reflection in action’ can gain quick and often needed information to make decisions.

“reflection is thought to have a potent role in helping to bridge the gap between education and knowledge that is generated through practice” (Ghaye & Ghaye, 1998).(PDF) Making coaches acknowledge their achievements is possible via reflection as it is a conscious and active way of fortifying the positives and negatives of individual and group practise.

Difficulties in using reflective practise

Whilst there is lots of evidence to strengthen the idea that reflective coaching is a useful practise, there are certainly problems that need addressing and limitations which clearly show it is not a full proof method even when applied properly.

Crum (1995) “If a practitioner holds a ‘training-of-the-physical’ view of coaching and believes his or her role is only to improve fitness and adopt a technical/utilitarian approach, then becoming a coach who reflects in depth is not going to be paramount”. Whilst reflective practise does have its place, it would seem that it is limited. Some areas such as social negotiation and mentality may be difficult to improve through reflection practise but in many environments that reflective practise is used these are vital skills. Playing in high tempo and contact sports require both of these skills in abundance and gaining it through the individual is the most logical approach but if reflective practise is used then the coach is providing the information and techniques which aren’t transferable to individuals in these areas.

“As many coaches will testify, written reflection, usually in the form of

‘logs’, are frequently sanitised to deliver what is deemed as being necessary knowledge, thus being corralled into conformity (Chesterfield, Jones, & Mitchell, 2007), possibly stifling coach creativity.”(PDF) Whilst Hellison and Templin believe in reflection in opening creativity, the basic form of a ‘log’ could be evidence that reflection does hinder creativity. Conformity is compliance with what already exists, if coaches comply to current practises such as ‘logs’ then there is no space for new practises to be introduced and composed.

(PDF)Johns (1995) argued that “reflective practice is profoundly difficult, and it is therefore necessary to have a detailed model that guides and supports coaches.” Reflection does require many skills and outside opinions to be useful. There is a certain amount of complexity that comes with reflecting before, during and after sessions. Gibbs six-staged cyclical model for example is a complex calculated formula designed to give detailed analysis and evaluation. Whilst this could be beneficial it is only useful to coaches with prior experience or high ability levels. So as a general overall practise reflection can be difficult.

“Trust is a vital part of a reflective conversation and, according to Maister, Green, & Galford (2002), trust is a two-way relationship where people can be honest and respect each others openness. Without a real trusting relationship with significant others (e.g. a tutor, mentor, supervisor, coach) personal reflections may stay ‘safe’ and predictable and the real issues may go unresolved.”(PDF) Social dynamic in any relationship is extremely important. The relationship between coach and athlete is as open to flux as every other relationship. Trust is vitally important and is open to change to high and low levels. If trust is broken then coach performance or athlete obedience could drop. Reflection here is then a problem if not enough trust is spread and responsibility fall onto other people to provide strength in connecting and creativity in avoiding playing the ‘safe’ option which could potentially break trust.

Conclusion

To conclude, I believe that reflection is a very useful practise for coaches to undertake in developing athletes. Reflection can take place before, during and after which makes it very flexible and adaptable to a variety of environments. The coach does however need a certain level of ability in order to reflect appropriately and constructively. Detail is paramount and a coach analysing a level too high above them will struggle using reflection.

I personally believe that the best method of reflection is video analysis. I think this because it gives an exact recollection of technical display and thanks to modern technology is available at a wide range of levels. It is, however, important that a coach doesn’t rely on one method such as video analysis. During a competition or quick based environment it may not be possible to use this method and therefore a variety of reflective methods should be learnt and applied by coaches. This will make them more rounded and adaptable to their environment.

One thing that I found intriguing was the amount of reflection that the coach must put on themselves. This ‘self reflection’ is vital as if this isn’t carried out coaches methods may stagnate or accurate analysis and therefore feedback for the athlete cannot be attained thus making the practise useless.

coach needs adaptable refelective ability, depending on the athletes, age, gender, ability etc…..
To sum up …….states and defines refelction very clearly “………..”

Real Madrid Club or what is more commonly known as Real Madrid has been perpetually considered as a money maker through its many ways of doing business and generating profit. This professional football club in Madrid, Spain has been attributed, with each rich history, to be earning millions of euros in its operation. The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium itself has been giving a lot of income for the club through the sales from the tickets of every football game. Fans flock the stadium and they actually pay too little attention with how much they pay compared to the benefit of the satisfaction that they get for every game seen.

One of the easiest ways in which they earn money is through their museum in which people pay in order to experience a tour and to be able to witness the rich history of their football club unfolding right before their eyes. For a die hard football fan of the team, the entrance fee to the museum can be assumed to be nothing compared to what you will see inside. Being the most valuable football brand inEuropeand being one of the best brands in the world, it is indeed worth throwing extra amount just to have a fair share of the Real Madrid experience.

Another way in which Real Madrid is earning money is through its players. The football players of the club are very well established and known in the global landscape of sports and advertising since they have actually become valuable brands themselves. A big part of their revenue can be attributed to the shirts and jerseys with their names which are selling like pancakes, especially for the fans. Not only through the shirts, they are also available through other items which can serve as an unforgettable memento of the club. For instance, David Beckham playing for Real Madrid has earned them a lot of euros especially considering the fact that Beckham is a global sports icon and that his brand value is very high. Every Beckham item being sold is a sure fire hit for the club to earn. RealMadridretains fifty percent of the image rights on every endorsement made by its players. In the case of Beckham, Real Madrid has the right to half of every earning from any endorsement made by the legendary and world-renowned football player. Like Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo is also one of the major players of the club which is attributed to be a money maker. When Ronaldo was bought by Real Madrid from Manchester United, the club was then very much aware of how this deal will increase the value of their team and how they will generate more money in exchange for paying a huge amount just to acquire Ronaldo. Kaka being a member of the team is also another factor which will continue to increase the market value of Real Madrid and therefore would give the club more opportunities to generate more money.

Another way in which Real CMadrid is earning money is through advertisement. The football club’s stadium is full of ads from companies such as Coca Cola, Adidas, and Audi. The names of these companies scattered all over the club, and being attached on the uniforms of the players is money making machine for the company. They are paying Real Madrid a lot of money just to have the names of their brands associated on the name of the football club. From that way, the companies will benefit because during the game, the fanatics can be able to see the brands being advertised.

As a global brand name and a rich football club, Real Madrid is also an economic force more than just being a sports team. The prestige of the club itself coupled with acquiring some of the best players in the field of football are both contributory to the profit which the club has been generating. The company employs marketing strategies which will give them the pitch for both sports and business. The Santiago Bernabeu itself, serving as a venue for their game, can be already classified to be giving them passive income with every game. When the seats are taken, then the club is enjoying rocketing revenues. Their VIP areas balconies, which are sold at a higher price, are also giving them a lot of earnings. The Bernabeu has been also regarded as having a special magic which inspires visitors with the experience of the club.

The merchandising efforts of the club, particularly as far as the players are concerned, could be assumed as the greatest money maker. It allows them to earn through the use of the club’s brand and the popular image of their world-class football players.

QUESTIONS:

1. If you were part of the management of Real Madrid, what other marketing efforts would you extend to improve the image of the brand and to generate more profit?

2. Beckham and Ronaldo are some of the players generating profit for Real Madrid. Do you think that Real Madrid is successful only because of the popularity of their players which increases the brand value of the football club?

3. What is the sustainable competitive edge of Real Madrid against its competitors?

4. It is said that what Real Madrid lacks is a global marketing strategy. How do you think such aspect can be improved?

Pattern of Pre-Match Competitive Anxiety in Elite Male Rugby Union Players.

1. Introduction

Significant progress into the understanding of anxiety in sport has been made in recent years with the aid of research by such researchers at Burton (1988), Gould et al. (1987) and Martens and Gill (1976). In turn this has enabled sport psychologists to gain a deeper understanding into what causes competitive anxiety and the way in which athletes cope with it (Jarvis, 2006).

The ability to cope with anxiety in all sports is essential as it could make the difference between winning and losing a competition.

1.1 – Identifying the Problem

There is a lack of research into the effects of anxiety on sporting performance, especially in male rugby. In team sports it is particularly important to breakdown all aspects of the performance. The key issues researched in this paper are somatic and cognitive anxiety. From research it is clear that the failure to control these areas leads to unsuccessful teams (Yerkes & Dodson, 1968; Feltz, 1988; Martens et al., 1990; Cox, 1998; Weinberg & Gould, 2007).

1.2 – Research Aims and Questions

The main aim of the research is to examine the pattern of pre-match competitive anxiety in elite male rugby union players.

With the use of the CSAI-2 and interviews, the effects that anxiety has on sporting performance will be investigated.

There are three questions to be answered in this research piece:

How does cognitive state-anxiety affect sporting performance?
What affects does somatic state-anxiety has on sporting performance?
How can self-confidence affect the level of sporting performance?

According to LeUnes (1996), developments in the literature written around anxiety have focused on the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon. Therefore, all results will be analysed and compare with the predictions proposed by the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory by Martens et al. (1990) which is explained in the Methodology section.

1.2 – Importance of Research

The findings from this research will be beneficial to coaches as they will provide a better understanding of how anxiety levels affect performance. The research will also be important to athletes, in this case rugby union players, as they will gain a deeper understanding into the reasons behind their feelings of anxiety and self-confidence.

By gaining a further understanding in this area, performance levels can be increased with the aid of appropriate preparation during training and before matches. Coping strategies could also be introduced to the players to enable them to control their levels of anxiety prior to matches.

1.3 – Context

The research for this research project will take place at a local amateur rugby club. The club was set up in July 1898 and just before the Second World War the land was purchased and the pitches were laid. By 1975 the club had a fully erected club house with squash courts.

The club consists of 6 senior teams; Colts, Ladies, Vikings, Rhinos (Veterans), Wanderers and 1st XV. There are also teams for youth boys from U7 through to U17, and U15 and U18 teams for girls. The selected team for research is the 1st XV men’s team.

Although the research is being carried out in this local rugby club, the results and findings can be applied to any other sports club across the country. The level and gender of the club or team will however make a difference to how the players react to certain situations.

1.4 – Outline of the Study

This research will be split further into five further chapters:

Chapter Two: Literature review

in which I will be developing an overview of the field.

Chapter Three: Methodology

will explain how I set out to investigate my research and why I chose the methods used.

Chapter Four: Results

will present the findings of the research piece in chart form.

Chapter Five: Discussion & Analysis

explains what I found out during the research project. It will relate them back to my literature review and compare them to the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory.

Chapter Six: Conclusion

will explain my findings and close up the research project.

2. Literature Review

This literature review will be written in four sections. Each one will be looking into the effects of anxiety on performance in sport.

Section one will look at the definitions of trait and state anxiety and self confidence. Section two will be looking into the research around anxiety and its effects on performance, both positive and negative. The third section will be investigating the causes of anxiety; fear of failure, parental, peers and coaches’ influences, social physique anxiety, and location. The final section will be exploring the characteristics of anxiety during performance in sport.

Objective and Data Sources

This research project provides an insight into the affects of anxiety on the performance of a selected rugby team. Database searches were done using SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO and EBSCOhost in order to find significant literature. The key words rugby, anxiety, performance, coaches, location, parents, and team were entered into the databases to bring up relevant articles. Only appropriate, peer reviewed data was extracted for this review.

2.1 – Trait and State Anxiety, and Self-Confidence.

Anxiety can be defined as, “A state in which the individual experiences feelings of uneasiness (apprehension) and activation of the autonomic nervous system in response to a vague nonspecific threat.” (Barry, 2002:p230; Carpenito-Moyet, 2006:p11). “Anxiety is viewed as an enduring personality factor or trait referred to as A-trait” (Davies, 1989:p70).

2.1.1 – Trait Anxiety

Trait anxiety “is part of the personality, an acquired behavioural tendency or disposition that influences behaviour” (Weinberg & Gould, 2007:p79).

Individuals with a high level of trait anxiety have a tendency to regard certain situations as threatening, and respond to these with an increased level of state anxiety (Spielberger, 1971). For example, two hockey goal keepers are of the same standard yet one has a higher level of trait anxiety and finds pressure of saving the goals too much. This leads to him displaying higher levels of state anxiety. “Anxiety is also viewed as a temporary state, A-state which is evoked by particular situations” (Davies, 1989:p70).

2.1.2 – State Anxiety

State anxiety can be defined as an emotional state “characterized by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension, accompanied by or associated with activation or arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (Spielberger, 1966:p17). For example, the level of an athlete’s state anxiety will change during a rugby match. Before the game the player may have a high level of state anxiety, during the game it may lower as they settle into the game, and finally during the last few minutes of a tight game it may rise again.

State anxiety can be split further into cognitive state anxiety, and somatic state anxiety (LeUnes & Nation, 1996). In support of this proposal that the two aspects of state anxiety can be dealt with as independent constructs, both Burton (1988) and Gould et al. (1987) have proven through research that sporting performance is affected by the type of anxiety being measured.

Cognitive anxiety can be defined as the “…mental component of state anxiety caused by such things as fear of negative social evaluation, fear of failure, and loss of self-esteem” (Cox, 1998:p98).

“Somatic anxiety refers to the physiological and affective elements of the anxiety experience that develop directly from autonomic arousal” (Martens et al., 1990:p6). Somatic anxiety is shown in responses such as increase in heart rate, breathlessness, sweaty palms, and muscular tension (Martens et al., 1990; Morris et al, 1981; Cox, 1998).

Research by Hanton et al., (2000) examined the cognitive and somatic anxiety levels in 50 rugby players and 50 target rifle shooters. Hanton et al. (2000) concluded that rugby players were more likely to report that somatic anxiety had a positive impact on their sporting performance. However, the target rifle shooters reported that it had a negative impact on their performance.

Somatic and cognitive anxiety can be tested using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) developed by Martens et al. and first presented in 1982.

2.1.3 – Self-Confidence

Vealey (1986) defined sports confidence as the amount of confidence athletes possess about their ability to be successful in sport. Vealey (2001) suggested that self-confidence can be more traitlike or statelike depending on the time that it is measured. In essence, confidence might be something that an individual feels on a particular day (state self-confidence), or it might be part of their personality (trait self-confidence). Research carried out by Hall et al. (1998), suggests that self-confidence is closely related to perceived ability and is depressed with the onset of competition due to the increase in anxiety.

As explained in literature by Horn (2008:p66), self-confidence is “…rooted in beliefs and expectations.” If overall self-confidence is low and the player(s) expect something to go wrong, they are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy (Weinberg & Gould, 2007). This means that expecting something to happen actually helps it to happen. For example, if a team thinks that they will lose the upcoming match because they lost last time they stand a greater chance of losing than winning. “The expectation of failure leads to actual failure, which lowers self-image and increases expectations for future failure” (Weinberg & Gould, 2007:p323).

2.2 – Anxiety and Performance.

As a result of the development of the CSAI-2, the Multidimensional Theory of Anxiety has been recognised in the field of sport psychology (McNally, 2002). The Multidimensional Theory of Anxiety is based on the idea that anxiety is comprised of two distinct parts; cognitive and somatic (as defined in section 2.1). Both of these components have different effects on performance and can be manipulated separately in any occasion (Burton, 1998; Cox, 1998; McNally, 2002).

The Multidimensional Anxiety Theory predicts that cognitive state anxiety is negatively related to performance. However, the theory predicts that the somatic state anxiety is related to performance in an inverted U shape which can be seen in

Appendix 1

. Certain levels of anxiety can be advantageous for the performers, but only but to a certain level. Beyond this level the anxiety causes performance to decline (Martens et al., 1990; Hanin, 2000; Weinberg & Gould, 2007).

According to Endler (1978), there are five factors that can be responsible for an increase in state anxiety in an athlete; threat to an individual’s ego, threat of personal harm, ambiguity, disruption of routine, and threat of a negative social evaluation. A high level of anxiety is “…disadvantageous for optimum performance in competitive sport” (Davies, 1989:p71). This is demonstrated by the fact that more anxious individuals generally do worse in important events compared to less important events and practise sessions. This is supported by research carried out by Martens et al. (1990), Martin & Gill (1991), and Eys et al. (2003).

Martens et al. (1990) suggests that somatic anxiety has an Inverted-U shaped relationship with performance, whereas cognitive anxiety has a negative linear relationship with performance as shown in

Appendix 2

. Similar results had been found by Parfitt and Hardy (1991). They found that there were both positive and negative effects for somatic anxiety during performance related activities just before an important event or match during the time that cognitive anxiety was at a high level (McNally, 2002).

Anxiety can be a huge setback for many athletes, especially those who take part in individual sports, such as tennis singles, and for those who play in ‘exposed’ positions, such as goalkeepers in hockey (Davies, 1989). Research has proven that there is an optimum level of anxiety for maximum performance. It was also proven that both high and low levels of anxiety are related to poor levels of performance (Yerkes & Dodson, 1968; Feltz, 1988; Martens et al., 1990; Cox, 1998).

According to research carried out by Martin and Gill (1991), a player’s level of anxiety varies depending on how important or challenging the match or competition is. More able players will therefore not be so adversely affected by high levels of anxiety, where as less able players will be as they see the match as challenging and good results will seem unrealistic. Sigmund Freud (1962) did a lot of research into anxiety. In 1962 he focused on the anticipatory nature of anxiety. From this research he concluded that some individuals expect to win or fail, and therefore become more or less anxious according to their expectations.

An important piece of research into state anxiety among successful and unsuccessful competitors who differ in competitive trait anxiety was carried out by Martens and Gill (1976). From the research they concluded that the individuals who maintained low levels of A-state throughout the competition were highly successful. This supports the research carried out by Martens (1990) and Parfitt and Hardy (1991) with the Inverted-U shaped relationship between anxiety and performance.

“Anxiety, therefore is a central factor in performance in competitive sport” (Davies, 1989:p72). It is exasperating and disheartening for a talented and committed sportsman when their performance crumbles during competition due to over-anxiety. This is avoidable if the individual is suitably prepared emotionally and emphasis is on the learning and enjoyment of the game. However, this could be difficult to enforce with a professional sportsman who may potentially have external rewards undermining intrinsic motivation (Weinburg and Gould, 2007).

2.3 – Causes of Anxiety.

This section will be looking into the issues surrounding the causes of anxiety in sports performers. These will include fear of failure, parental, peers and coaches influences, and event importance. Relevant literature has been reviewed and presented in the section below.

2.4.1 – Fear of Failure

“For many people, sport is an important arena in which one’s ability, motivation, and personality are scrutinized and evaluated by other people” (Leary & Kowalski, 1995:p122). Whenever individuals step onto the sports field they are at risk of showing themselves in an unflattering perspective. They may worry about displaying signs of being out of shape, unskilled, incompetent and unable to handle pressure to their fans, teammates, coaches and family (Passer, 1983; Davies, 1989; Leary & Kowalski, 1995; Jarvis, 2006). Research by Pierce (1980) concluded that youth sport participants worried more about making mistakes and underperforming than getting hurt and what others thought of them.

“One of the most potent causes of anxiety is the fear of failure…” (Davies, 1989:p73). This fear of failure would also be connected with the loss of prestige and humiliation. Research by Passer (1983) supports this theory as he found that fear of failure is a major cause of threat in competitive-trait-anxious children.

This fear of failure can be evident in superior performers as there is an increased pressure to perform well when playing a less able opponent. Losing to a lower ranked team or player could be humiliating and result in a loss of prestige and reputation (Davies, 1989; Leary & Kowalski, 1995). The player may have the ability and skills to win the match, but due to their constant worry of how they are going to perform they end up underperforming (Passer, 1983). However, for professional athletes this adverse affect of anxiety on performance will be less as they have learnt to cope with such situations and are able to deal with them accordingly.

An example of a highly skilled player is Roger Federer (aged 27). Federer met the young Spaniard, Rafael Nadal (aged 22) in the Wimbledon finals in 2008. Federer was the current Wimbledon champion and had held the title for 5 consecutive years; this would have been his 6th World Championship title. Federer’s defeat could have been due to the excessive amount of media coverage before the match adding to the pressure of him winning yet another title against a younger competitor. At the same time, the pressure would have equally been placed on Nadal to knock Federer off the top spot. Federer commented after the game “It’s not a whole lot of fun, but that’s the way it is. I can only congratulate Rafa for a great effort” (BBC Sport, 2008).The game was incredibly close; 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 (BBC Sport, 2008), and has gone down in history as the longest ever Wimbledon final.

2.3.2 – Parental, Peers and Coaches Influences

Parents and coaches can sometimes be far too pushy and ambitious and in turn increase the stress and anxiety levels within the athlete. According to Jarvis (1990), it is apparent that both high and low expectations of performance can be linked to levels of anxiety. The over-concern and high levels of anxiety shown by anyone close to the athlete is likely to heighten their anxiety also, and in turn could damage the chances of success. “Too much pressure from teachers, coaches and family can add tremendously to competitive anxiety” (Jarvis, 1990: p118).

Passer (1983) concluded from his research that highly anxious individuals are very worried about performing badly as this will bring about criticism and disapproval from their peers, parents and coaches. However, Smith et al. (1979) developed a coach-training program designed to help coaches create an environment for the athletes to feel comfortable and less anxious in. The Coach Effectiveness Training gives the coaches the skills and ability to create a …”socially supportive environment through frequent use of positive reinforcement, encouragement, and technical instruction, while discouraging the use of punitive behaviours” (Smith et al., 2006:p492). Smith et al. (1995) discovered through research that there were significant reductions in performance-anxiety among children who played for a coach that had experienced the Coach Effectiveness Training. The children who were exposed to trained coaches showed a decrease in levels of anxiety over the season, whereas the other group who were exposed to untrained coaches showed an increase on the Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS) (Smith et al., 2006).

A frequent source of anxiety is the presence of spectators; these can be friends, family, coaches or even complete strangers. “Sometimes performance is enhanced, sometimes it deteriorates and sometimes there is little discernible difference” (Davies, 1989:p83). According to literature the performance of stable and confident players usually improves when an audience is present, whereas that of anxious players tends to decrease (Weinberg & Gould, 2007; Jarvis, 2006; Martens et al., 1990). Research also shows that the effect of an audience on superior players is positive, and for the less able player the audience presents them with an increase in anxiety and stress which in turn causes them to underperform. According to work carried out by Haas and Roberts (1975), Martens and Landers (1972) and Green (1983) the perceived role of the observer is an important factor for the athlete or performer. It has been suggested that if the observer occupies an important, judgmental role then this generates feelings of anxiety. The researchers found that on the other hand, if the spectators are seen as being positive and supportive, for example a coach, they will be generally welcomed by the performer.

2.3.3 – Event Importance.

“The more important a sporting event is, the more stressful we are likely to find it” (Jarvis, 1990: p118). However, it is important to remember that it is the importance of the event to the individual that is counts, not the status of the competition. An event may seem insignificant to most people but may be important to an individual (Weinberg &Gould, 2007). An example of this could be that an individual is competing against their old club team; there would be an increased desire to perform well and potentially beat them. Research carried out by Sanderson in 1977 on 64 of the best badminton players in England aged between 18 and 21; found that the perceived importance of the competition was a significant factor leading to A-State reactions (Sanderson, 1981).

Marchant et al. (1998) conducted an experiment with pairs of golfers. The golfers were either competing for three new golf balls, or a pair of new golfing shoes. Obviously, the golf shoes made the competition into a high importance one, and therefore the players experienced more anxiety than those competing for the golf balls.

An example of a player who was able to cope with the increase in anxiety is Jonny Wilkinson who took a drop goal to win England the 2003 Rugby World Cup in the final play of the game. If Wilkinson had been affected by the anxiety and pressure of the level of competition, he may have missed the goal.

2.4 – Anxiety: Performance Characteristics.

In sporting competitive situations, the anxious performer tends to become over-aroused, tense, and far too worried to perform to the best of their ability. The increase in muscle tension can interfere with coordination causing the performance levels to decrease (Burton, 1988; Smith et al., 2006; Weinberg & Gould, 2007). The feeling on inadequacy and lack of self-confidence hinders the sporting performance (Davies, 1989). For example in a competitive rugby match a player who suffers a high level of anxiety may lack confidence when going in for a tackle. This could result in the player passing him and scoring a try, but most probably resulting in injury as they are not fully committed to the tackle.

“The highly anxious person is slower to react in the stressful competitive situation than he is in the relatively relaxed conditions of practice” (Davies, 1989:p75). During tense, crucial parts of the match the over-anxious player may show unforced errors; for example in rugby they may miss a penalty kick and in tennis a double-fault may be played. Unforced errors may occur during the match; this can include forward passes, a knock-on, or a late tackle.

3. Methodology

In order to achieve the objectives of this research project, a variety of appropriate research methods have been chosen, using both primary and secondary data. Before research was collected it was important to establish a research process which acted as a framework throughout the research project. During this chapter the strengths and weaknesses of the potential research method is discussed and only the suitable and most relevant have been selected for this study.

3.1 – Paradigm Rationale

There are two broad research traditions; qualitative which answers questions such as ‘why’ and ‘how’, and quantitative which answers questions such as ‘what’ and ‘when’ (

See appendix

– page 27 table) (Gratton & Jones, 2004). As I am interested in researching a particular phenomenon I mainly carried out quantitative data collection. I measured how anxiety affects performance, both positively and negatively within the men’s 1st XV at Reading Rugby Football Club.

It was decided to mix quantitative data with qualitative data to make the research more credible and valid. Many researchers such as Nau (1995) and Jayaratne (1993) have suggested that blending qualitative and quantitative methods of research can produce a result highlighting significant findings from each. Henderson et al. (1999) suggests that using anecdotes and narratives to support quantitative data can provide clarity to the findings. Linking the two types of data can give a bigger picture of the issues around the subject. During this research project, quantitative data was collected to provide numerical data from a large sample, whereas the qualitative data collected provides rich data from a smaller sample (Gratton & Jones, 2004).

3.2 – Research Approach

The research question “Pattern of pre-match competitive anxiety in elite mate rugby union players” includes elements taken from both an inductive and deductive approach to research. When researching around the subject of how anxiety affects performance, a deductive approach appears to be more appropriate to the research project as it was unnecessary for the researcher to come up with a new theory. A large amount of research has already been carried out into the affects of anxiety on sporting performance, evident in the literature review.

For this piece of research the Multidimensional Anxiety Theory proposed by Martens et al.,(1990) was used. The theory is based on the idea that anxiety is comprised of two distinct parts; cognitive and somatic. The Multidimensional Anxiety Theory predicts that cognitive state anxiety is negatively related to performance, and that the somatic state anxiety is related to performance in an inverted U suggesting that there is an optimum level of anxiety (Weinberg & Gould, 2007; Burton, 1998; Cox, 1998; McNally, 2002).

3.3 – Participants

For this research into the effects of anxiety on performance, the men’s 1st team of the amateur Reading Rugby Football Club was chosen. They were chosen as there is the opportunity to meet with the meet every week.

From talking to the players it is apparent that the club has a mixture of professions; students, army personnel, mechanics, and business men. However, they all have one passion, and that is rugby. The ages of the players range from 18 to 38 years. There is a variety of experiences within the team; some players are in their first season of National 3 level rugby, whereas a number are in their fourth of fifth season at this level.

Training takes place on a Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30pm until 9:30pm. During this time the players train, have physiotherapy (if it is needed), and they also have a meal together before going home. The amount of time that the team spends together off the pitch is vital for the development of team cohesion.

3.4 – Data Collection

During this research project, data was collected using both questionnaires and interviews. This section will look at questionnaires and interviews separately explaining the different types of question, and the advantages and disadvantages of both.

3.4.1 – The Questionnaire Survey

Following the research in Chapter 2, the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 has been chosen for this research. The inventory is a sport-specific, self-report that has been proven to be a reliable and valid measure in competitive situations of cognitive and somatic state anxiety and self-confidence. The CSAI-2 consists of a three 9-item subscales that measure cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence (Burton, 1988). Each of the 27 questions are rated on a 4-point Likert scale from “not at all” to “very much so”. The questionnaire was administered during the final hour before competition over a period of 14 weeks. The scores collected on each of the three scales provided a reference point from which to examine the rugby player’s patterns of multidimensional anxiety.

3.4.1.1 – Types of Questionnaires

According to Gratton and Jones (2004) questionnaires are possibly the most common method for collecting data in sports-related research. A questionnaire is simply “…a standardised set of questions to gain information from a subject” (Gratton & Jones 2004: 115). Questionnaires are associated with quantitative research where data is required from a large sample group. In this case the questionnaires measure the anxiety levels of the 1st XV team before matches.

There are three types of questionnaire; postal, telephone and face to face questionnaires. Postal questionnaires are given or posted to the participants who then complete them in their own time; they are then posted back to the researcher. Telephone questionnaires are completed by the researcher while talking to the participant over the telephone. Face to face questionnaires are completed with both the participant and researcher in the same location.

For this research the most appropriate way to collect data was to hand out self-completion questionnaires that were carried out face to face. Handing out the questionnaires saves postal and telephone costs, and also time. This was the best way for the researcher to collect the data that was needed before summarising it using tables and graphs (Gratton & Jones, 2004).

3.4.1.2 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires

Advantages

A well designed questionnaire provides little opportunity for the introduction of bias into the results. However, a badly designed questionnaire can sometimes lead to bias data, and therefore using questionnaires does not automatically mean that there is a reduction in bias (Thomas et al, 2005; Gratton & Jones, 2010).

The use of a questionnaire enables the participant to remain anonymous. This is advantageous when researching sensitive issues such as violence, drugs and, in this case the personal issue of anxiety. Enabling the participants to remain anonymous may increase the validity of the researcher’s results.

As the CSAI-2 is being used the research has been provided with a well-structured means of collecting quantitative data.

Inleiding

1.1 Aanleiding en beschrijving van het onderzoek

Een paar maanden geleden las ik een artikel in het Algemeen Dagblad dat ging over kinderen met overgewicht in de gemeente Westvoorne. In dit artikel werd beschreven dat 1 op de 6 kinderen in mijn woonomgeving last heeft van overgewicht. Hier schrok ik best van, aangezien ik dacht dat dit probleem niet zo’n grote rol speelde binnen mijn omgeving. Fout gedacht dus. Dit bracht mij op het idee om te onderzoeken hoe dit probleem heeft kunnen ontstaan en waarom sport zo belangrijk is voor de jeugd. Ook ben ik er benieuwd naar wat ons land doet om sport te stimuleren.

1.2 Onderzoeksvragen

In dit werkstuk zal ik de volgende hoofd- en deelvragen gaan behandelen:

Hoofdvraag

: Ieder kind heeft recht op sport, wordt dit ook voldoende nageleefd in Nederland?

Deelvragen:
Waarom is sport zo belangrijk?
Waarom sport niet ieder kind?
Wat doet Nederland en met name mijn regio aan dit probleem?
Wat kan sport betekenen voor een kind?
Resultaten

2.1 Waarom is sport zo belangrijk?

Sport is meer dan slechts lichaamsbeweging. Het leert mensen met elkaar om gaan, het verbetert de gezondheid en het biedt ontspanning. Met name jongeren tussen de 9 en 19 jaar kunnen door sport op een positieve manier worden beA?nvloed. Eerlijkheid en hulpvaardigheid, respect en je best doen voor jezelf en voor je team zijn belangrijke normen en waarden die je binnen iedere vorm van sport terug ziet komen. Daarnaast biedt sport veel voordeel voor zowel je geestelijke als je lichamelijke ontwikkeling.

Vooral voor kinderen is het goed om al op jonge leeftijd in aanraking te komen met sport. Op deze manier kunnen de ‘jonge’ spieren en gewrichten zich goed ontwikkelen en voorzichtig worden getraind. Ook kunnen kinderen weerstand opbouwen, waardoor ze minder vatbaar zijn voor bepaalde ziektes. Bovendien kan voldoende beweging er voor zorgen dat de bloeddruk op peil blijft en dat de kans op ouderdomsverschijnselen , bijvoorbeeld artrose (gewrichtslijtage), vermindert.

Naarmate een kind ouder wordt, kan het aan intensievere vormen van sport, zoals teamsport, gaan deelnemen. Presteren gaat hierbij een grote rol spelen. Binnen de teamsport trainen de teams meestal twee keer per week en in het weekend worden de wedstrijden gespeeld. Naast het verbeteren van de techniek, wordt er ook gewerkt aan het verbeteren van de conditie.

Sporten in teamverband maakt het veel gemakkelijker om te gaan sporten, je doet het immers samen. Samen met je team vorm je een hechte club en door die teamspirit kun je elkaar motiveren om beter te presteren. Een keertje geen zin hebben zit er dus niet in, je kunt namelijk de rest van je team niet in de steek laten. Ook ontmoet je andere mensen. Ieder weekend neem je het op tegen andere tegenstanders en je leert op een juiste manier met elkaar om te gaan.

Tijdens het sporten gelden er regels, zowel tijdens de gymles op school, als tijdens het voetballen op straat of tijdens het sporten op de sportvereniging. Deze spelregels zijn nodig om het spel of de wedstrijd zo goed en eerlijk mogelijk te laten verlopen. Ook zorgen regels er voor dat sporten leuk blijft. Je aan de spelregels houden hoort nu eenmaal bij het spel, maar er zijn natuurlijk ook een aantal ongeschreven regels waaraan je je moet houden. Zo respecteer je altijd de beslissingen van de scheidsrechter en de fouten van je teamgenoten of tegenstanders. Een mooi woord hiervoor is fair play.

Bij tieners is het voor het eerst lichamelijk goed te zien wie er wel en wie er niet sport. Vooral rond deze leeftijd gaan de spieren zich sterk ontwikkelen. Bij niet-sporters blijft deze ontwikkeling uit. Niet-sporters passen vaak hun eetpatroon niet aan, aan de mate van hun lichaamsbeweging. Dat is gevaarlijk, omdat ook het vetweefsel zich rond deze leeftijd gaat ontwikkelen. Daarom is het voor tieners dus extra belangrijk om te sporten en zo hun lichaam niet te beschadigen, maar juist te ontwikkelen.

Sport werkt ook geestverruimend. Je ontsnapt eventjes van de dagelijkse routine en kunt voor een moment al je problemen vergeten. Bovendien kan sport je zelfvertrouwen vergroten. Met name als je door middel van sport wilt afvallen, word je door goede resultaten extra gemotiveerd om ermee door te gaan. Door zelfstandig te sporten krijg je vanzelf meer zelfdiscipline. Je wordt minder afhankelijk van anderen en doet gewoon je eigen ding. Ook leer je goed aan te voelen wat je wel en niet aankunt.

Tijdens het bewegen verbrand je calorieen. Deze verbranding zorgt voor een lager cholesterolgehalte. Een te hoog cholesterolgehalte is een van de hoofdoorzaken voor het krijgen van hart- en vaatziekten. Om deze ziekten te voorkomen is het daarom belangrijk om voldoende te bewegen en niet al te vet te eten.

Kortom, sport brengt veel voordelen met zich mee. Het goed voor je gezondheid, je geest en je sociale leven. Ook kan het nare ouderdomsziekten voorkomen en bovendien is het erg leuk. Daarom is het belangrijk dat zo veel mogelijk mensen gaan sporten!

2.2 W
aarom sport niet ieder kind?

Sport bestaat al eeuwen lang. De Oude Grieken organiseerden in 1776 voor Christus al de eerste Olympische Spelen. Tegenwoordig wordt sport gezien als een populaire manier van vrijetijdsbesteding. Er wordt steeds meer en op steeds jongere leeftijd gesport. Toch doet lang niet iedereen mee. Dat is erg jammer, aangezien sport erg goed voor je is.

In vergelijking met twintig jaar geleden is het aantal kinderen met overgewicht verdubbeld. In Nederland is zelfs een op de acht kinderen te zwaar en dit aantal zal naar verwachting in de loop der jaren alleen nog maar toenemen. Dit zijn geen goede vooruitzichten, omdat overgewicht grote gezondheidsrisico’s met zich meebrengt. Overgewicht wordt niet alleen veroorzaakt door teveel eten, maar ook vooral door te weinig beweging. In minder dan 5% van de gevallen wordt overgewicht veroorzaakt door ziekte, medicijngebruik of door erfelijkheid.

Dat het aantal kinderen met overgewicht is verdubbeld heeft niet te maken met het feit dat ze meer zijn gaan eten. Het heeft meer te maken met wat ze eten. Tegenwoordig eten kinderen veel meer tussendoortjes dan vroeger. Daarbij moet je denken aan snoep, chips en snacks. Hierdoor gaan kinderen minder eten tijdens de belangrijke maaltijden aan tafel zoals het ontbijt, de lunch en het avondeten. De tussendoortjes bevatten veel koolhydraten en suiker. Zij vervangen niet de voedingstoffen die de grote maaltijden bevatten.

Ook de stijgende welvaart heeft een hoop veranderingen met zich meegebracht. Zo komt het de afgelopen jaren steeds meer voor dat ouders na het werk ‘even snel iets makkelijks te eten ophalen’ of hun kinderen meenemen om eventjes wat te gaan eten in een restaurant. Ook technische innovaties in de keuken zoals de magnetron en de frituurpan maken het erg verleidelijk om iets te snacken in plaats van een verse maaltijd klaar te maken. Bovendien besparen magnetronmaaltijden een hoop tijd en moeite, je hoeft het er immers alleen in te schuiven en te wachten tot het klaar is. Voor de makkelijke weg kiezen is niet altijd even slim. Magnetronmaaltijden bevatten vaak veel energie en zout, in plaats van goede voedingsvezels en vitamines. In combinatie met onvoldoende beweging kan dit leiden tot een energieoverschot en later tot overgewicht. Kinderen hebben wat dat betreft weinig inbreng als het gaat om gezonde voeding. Ouders geven niet altijd het goede voorbeeld.

Ook fastfoodketens doen een duit in het zakje. Ketens zoals bijvoorbeeld MacDonalds richten hun reclame volledig op kinderen. Door de leuke verrassinkjes in de Happy Meal worden kinderen massaal verleidt tot een bezoekje naar de Mac. Om hun kinderen te belonen nemen ouders hun kinderen zo nu en dan mee naar de MacDonalds. Voor een keertje is dat niet erg, maar het moet natuurlijk geen gewoonte worden!

Overgewicht wordt uiteraard niet alleen veroorzaakt door te veel en ongezond eten, ook een gebrek aan beweging speelt hierbij een rol. Door de ontwikkeling van de televisie, de computer en de spelcomputers hebben kinderen steeds minder zin om buiten te spelen of om te gaan sporten. Ook scholen schenken weinig aandacht aan bewegen. Zij stellen cultuur voorop.

Als sport niet van huis en van school uit wordt gestimuleerd, kan je het de kinderen niet kwalijk nemen dat ze weinig sporten. Hier ligt een taak voor scholen en opvoeders. Zij moeten sport stimuleren. Ook sportvereniging zouden meer clinics en sportdagen kunnen organiseren om kinderen enthousiast te krijgen voor sport.

Natuurlijk zijn er ook een hoop kinderen die graag zouden willen sporten, maar dit niet kunnen vanwege hun gezondheid, handicap of door een gebrek aan financiele middelen thuis. Voor deze groep kinderen moet er een oplossing gevonden worden, zodat ook zij in aanmerking kunnen komen voor sport.

2.4 Wat doet Nederland en met name mijn regio aan dit probleem?

Het Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport wil meer burgers stimuleren bij het kiezen voor een gezonde en actieve leefstijl. Sport en beweging horen hier natuurlijk bij. Het Nationaal Actieplan Sport en Bewegen richt zich op een gezonde dagelijkse dosis bewegen, waarbij alle mogelijkheden benut worden. Het NASB focust zich op vijf belangrijke gebieden, namelijk: wijk, school, werk, zorg en sport. Deze gebieden worden zo ingericht dat de omgeving moet uitnodigen tot meer sport en bewegen.

In 2005 heeft de overheid de zogenaamde beweegnorm ‘combinorm’ ingevoerd. Men voldoet aan deze norm wanneer er aan de Nederlandse Norm Gezond Bewegen en/of aan de Fitnorm wordt voldaan. Om binnen de NNGB te blijven moet men minimaal 30 minuten per vijf dagen in de week ‘matig intensief’ bewegen. Bij matig intensief bewegen moet je denken aan het maken van een wandeling of aan het doen van klusjes in en om het huis. Voor de jeugd tot 18 jaar wordt 60 minuten bewegen per dag vereist op een wat hoger niveau. De Fitnorm houdt in dat met minimaal 20 minuten intensief moet bewegen op minstens 3 dagen per week. De overheid maakt volop reclame voor dit nieuwe beleid, denk maar aan de 30minutenbewegen campagnes.

De sportdeelname van mensen met een handicap blijft nog altijd ver achter vergeleken met de deelname van mensen zonder beperking. Om sportdeelname toch maximaal aan te kunnen bieden, probeert de Rijksoverheid met het huidige beleid een grotere sportdeelname te realiseren bij mensen met een handicap. Samen met NOC*NSF en Gehandicaptensport Nederland is de overheid bezig met projecten om de jeugd, maar ook de instellingen waar mensen met een beperking wonen, ‘sportproof’ te maken. Sport en beweging zijn namelijk voor de gezondheid, deelneming en integratie van mensen met een beperking een grote toegevoegde waarde.

De overheid vindt dat jongeren te weinig sporten en bewegen op school en daarom wil zij andere mogelijkheden benutten zoals naschoolse activiteiten in samenwerking met sportverenigingen en de school, opvang en in de wijk, zodat de jeugd toch voldoende beweging krijgt. Om dit te kunnen verwezenlijken is er een goede samenwerking nodig tussen sport, onderwijs en andere lokale organisaties. Door het aanstellen van combinatiefunctionarissen wil de overheid sportverenigingen versterken en het dagelijkse sport- en beweegaanbod op en rond scholen verbeteren. Een combinatiefunctionaris is in dienst bij een werkgever, maar werkzaam voor twee of meer sectoren. In dit geval binnen het onderwijs, sport en/of cultuur. De combinatiefunctionarissen moeten straks de verpersoonlijking worden van hun wijk.

Veel verenigingen hebben te maken met een grote uitval van tieners en achterblijvende deelname van allochtonen, ouderen, chronisch zieken en mensen met een beperking. Het aanbod van de sportverenigingen sluit onvoldoende aan op de vraag van het publiek. Daarom slaan de overheid en de sportsector de handen ineen in het programma “Nieuwe sportmogelijkheden” om het sportaanbod te moderniseren. Dat moet leiden tot een aantrekkelijk aanbod, dat aansluit op de vraag van huidige en nieuwe leden.

Bij het programma “Meedoen alle jeugd door sport” wordt sport ingezet om volwaardig burgerschap te bevorderen en sociaal isolement te voorkomen. Ook overlast en probleemgedrag door jongeren moet op deze manier verminderen. ReA?ntegratie is nog een doel dat de overheid met dit programma probeert te bereiken. Mensen ontmoeten elkaar namelijk via sport en het overbrugt beperkingen, verschillen in religie, seksuele geaardheid, klasse en kleur.

Keyplayers! is een Europees netwerk van landen die pleiten voor een actieve jeugdparticipatie binnen de sport. Zij richten zich op jongeren tussen de 14 en 24 jaar. Jongeren moeten niet alleen deelnemen aan sportieve activiteiten, maar ook actief betrokken zijn bij de opzet en uitvoering ervan. Wanneer jongeren meer invloed hebben op het sport- en beweegaanbod, zal het ook beter aansluiten op hun wensen en zal de participatie vergroten. Ook zet deze organisatie zich in om gezondheid te bevorderen, overlast te verminderen en om persoonlijk te groeien. Sport en bewegen wordt hier als middel gebruikt.

In 2000 is het project WhoZnext van start gegaan. Het doel van dit project is niet alleen sportstimulering voor de jeugd, maar ook een actievere betrokkenheid bij het bedenken en het uitvoeren van sportactiviteiten. WhoZnext roept alle jongeren op om samen sportactiviteiten te organiseren. Dit kan in de buurt,op school of op de sportvereniging zijn.De WhoZnext-teams worden ondersteund door een volwassene, die gebruik kan maken van diverse sportinstrumenten. Deze instrumenten zijn door het landelijke projectteam van het Nederlands Instituut voor Sport en Bewegen beschikbaar gemaakt. In elke provincie zijn er commissies, die actief ondersteuning bieden bij de opzet van het project in de gemeente.

Met het project “WhoZnext & Johan Cruyff Foundation” willen de organisaties ook jongeren met een lichamelijke, verstandelijke of meervoudige beperking sportactiviteiten laten organiseren. Elk whoZnext-team krijgt vanuit de Cruyff Foundation activiteitengeld, whoZnext-kleding, geld voor een teambuildingsactiviteit, een toolkit en een gratis training. De school zorgt zelf voor een coach die het team gaat begeleiden en moet zelf a‚¬ 500 beschikbaar stellen aan activiteitengeld.

De Johan Cruyff Foundation is een organisatie die zich richt op het bevorderen van het geestelijk en lichamelijk welzijn van kinderen. Dit doen zij bijvoorbeeld door het aanbieden en stimuleren van sportactiviteiten, het financieel ondersteunen van organisaties en projecten met dezelfde visie en door sport in combinatie met onderwijs en gezondheidszorg te stimuleren, voor het belang van minder kansrijke kinderen en jongeren op te komen.Daarnaast schenkt de organisatie ook veel aandacht aan kinderen en jongeren met een handicap.

De Johan Cruyff Foundation wil niet alleen dat de projecten die zij steunt met sport en spel te maken hebben, maar ook dat de uitvoering ervan op sportieve wijze worden uitgevoerd. Veel elementen uit de sportwereld, zoals bijvoorbeeld het spelen in teamverband en een grote mate van inzet, zijn ook belangrijk bij het realiseren van projecten. Samenwerking en eigen inzet zijn van groot belang.

In 2003 is de Johan Cruyff Foundation gestart met het aanleggen van Cruyff Courts. Door de aanleg van de Cruyff Courtswordt defunctie van het oude trapveldje, weer terug in de wijk gebracht. Op deze manier krijgen de kinderen uit de buurt een veilige en goede plek om te spelen en te sporten. Er zijn ook Cruyff Courts aangepast. Dit zijn multifunctionele trapveldjes die zo toegankelijk mogelijk worden gemaakt, zodat ze ook voor kinderen met een beperking te betreden zijn.

Cruyff Court aangepast. Bron: http://www.cruyff-foundation.org/smartsite.net?id=854

Special Heroes houdt zich ook bezig met sportstimulering voor kinderen tussen de 6 en 20 jaar met een handicap. Via een uitgebreid sportstimuleringsprogramma, dat in overleg met de scholen wordt uitgevoerd, wil de organisatie laten zien en de kinderen laten ervaren hoe leuk sport kan zijn. De leerlingen krijgen op deze manier de kans om uitgebreid kennis te maken met sport- en beweegactiviteiten.

Het jeugdsportfonds Rotterdam is een middel om kinderen met financieel minder draagkrachtige ouders een kans te bieden om toch te kunnen sporten. Kinderen tussen de 4 en 17 jaar, waarvan het gezinsinkomen niet meer is dan 120% van het wettelijk vastgestelde minimuminkomen, kunnen in aanmerking komen voor een fonds. Het motto van dit fonds is dat financien nooit een belemmering mogen zijn om kinderen niet te kunnen laten sporten. Het fonds vergoedt twee soorten kosten. De eerste is de vergoeding voor de contributie van een sportvereniging en de daarbij behorende sportartikelen zijn de tweede kostenpost die worden vergoedt. De maximale bijdrage per kind per jaar bedraagt a‚¬250,-.

Een aanvraag verloopt altijd via een intermediair. Dit is iemand die op een professionele manier bezig is met kinderen, zoals bijvoorbeeld een meester of juf op school. Wanneer een aanvraag wordt goedgekeurd, zal het sportfonds de contributie direct naar de sportvereniging overmaken. De eventuele vergoeding voor de sportartikelen wordt gestort op de rekening van de intermediair. De ouders ontvangen dus nooit geld.

Sport is er voor iedereen en dus uitermate geschikt om mensen en bevolkingsgroepen te binden en de ongerechtigheden in de samenleving weg te poetsen. Voetbal is een van de populairste sporten in Nederland. Daarnaast spelen de voetbalclubs een belangrijke maatschappelijke rol. Zij nemen namelijk een centrale plek in, in de harten van de supporters en zij zijn daarom bij uitstek geschikt om mensen aan te spreken op hun gedrag, verantwoordelijkheden en zaken zoals hun gezondheid. Ook de voetbalclubs zelf profiteren van deze actieve opstelling: de club wortelt zich steviger in haar omgeving, de fans zijn meer betrokken en het doet de reputatie van het voetbal goed. De Stichting Meer dan Voetbal gebruikt de kracht van voetbal voor een betere samenleving. De kernthema’s van de Stichting zijn: Sportiviteit en respect, gezondheid en participatie.

Veel Eredivisieclubs dragen hun steentje bij aan de maatschappij. In dit geval richten we ons op voetbalclub Feyenoord. Scoren op Zuid is een samenwerking tussen Feyenoord, de deelgemeente Feijenoord en Rotterdam Sportsupport. Het project heeft twee belangrijke speerpunten, namelijk: sport en educatie. Feyenoord wil de deelname van jongeren aan sportieve activiteiten en een gezonde levensstijl stimuleren .Daarnaast levert de club een bijdrage aan het verhogen van de motivatie van kinderen bij het volgen van onderwijs en het stimuleren van taal- en rekenvaardigheden. Dit project zal plaatsvinden in de wijken, op scholen en in de Kuip. Vaste ambassadeurs voor Scoren op Zuid zijn: Karim El Ahmadi, Georginio Wijnaldum en Leroy Fer. [1]

Sinds augustus 2003 werkt Feyenoord samen met het Erasmus Medisch Centrum Sophia. De club probeert op verschillende manieren het leven van zieke kinderen op een leuke manier te veraangenamen. Een van deze activiteiten is de jaarlijkse Sophia Dag. Tijdens deze dag wordt een tribunevak in zijn geheel gereserveerd voor de zieke kinderen en hun families. Daarnaast zijn de mascottes en vlaggendragers kinderen die behandeld worden in het Sophia en stellen de Unithouders plaatsen beschikbaar voor kinderen die niet in staat zijn om op de tribune plaats te nemen. Ook wordt er tijdens wedstrijden gecollecteerd door tientallen vrijwilligers. Als tweede grote activiteit heeft het Erasmus MC aan het begin van ieder seizoen de primeur van de nieuwe selectie. Nog voor de Open Dag presenteert de selectie zich in het ziekenhuis. Op deze manier zijn ook zieke kinderen een beetje verbonden met sport.

Een andere organisatie die zich bezig houdt met de gezondheid en de sportparticipatie van de jeugd is Scoren voor Gezondheid. Dit is een initiatief van de Eredivisie, de Sponsor Loterij, het Ministerie van Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport, het Nationaal Instituut voor gezondheidsbevordering & Ziektepreventie en de Stichting meer dan Voetbal. Alle achttien clubs uit de Eredivisie hebben zich bij dit initiatief aangesloten. Het project start met een clinic en een fit- en gezondheidstest in het stadion van de betreffende Eredivisieclub. De spelers uit het team gaan kinderen uit groep 6,7 en 8 van de basisschool helpen bij het kiezen van een gezonde levensstijl. Dit doen ze door de kinderen een contract te laten tekenen waarin zij beloven 20 weken lang het projectprogramma te volgen. Het programma vindt zowel op school als op de club plaats. De kinderen gaan dus naar de voetbalclub en de voetballers komen op bezoek in de klas. Iedere vier weken wordt er een apart thema behandeld. Het programma kan bestaan uit de volgende thema’s:

sport is cool;
elke dag ontbijten;
gezond en verantwoord bewegen;
gezonde voeding;
lidmaatschap sportvereniging.

De reden waarom er juist gekozen is voor professionele voetballers als begeleiders van dit project, heeft te maken met het feit dat kinderen enorm opkijken naar hun idolen. Ze zien een profvoetballer als rolmodel en om te kunnen presteren heb je een gezonde levensstijl nodig. Voetballers kunnen dit als geen ander uitstralen. De kinderen zijn hierdoor vaak beter gemotiveerd om echt hun best te doen en hun levensstijl te veranderen.

Stichting PUSH is een welzijnsorganisatie die een bijdrage wilt leveren aan actieve en gezellige wijken/buurten. Om dit doel te kunnen bereiken organiseert de organisatie gevarieerde activiteiten te organiseren die begeleid en uitgevoerd worden door vrijwilligers, bewoners, stagiaires of professionals. De activiteiten vinden plaats in de volgende gemeenten: Bernisse, Brielle, Hellevoetsluis, Ouddorp, Rozenburg, Spijkenisse en Westvoorne. Stichting Push doet ook aan sportstimulering. Hierbij richten zij zich op kwetsbare groepen in de leeftijdscategorieen 6 tot en met 12 jaar, 12 tot en met 18 jaar en 55+. Het doel van de projecten zijn gezondheidsbevordering, sportkennismaking en participatie. Enkele voorbeelden van activiteiten zijn: sportdagen en gezondheidsprojecten op basisscholen, WhoZnext en [email protected] op middelbare scholen en sporttoernooien in de wijk tijdens de schoolvakanties.

Ook mijn gemeente, de gemeente Westvoorne, draagt zijn steentje bij voor de jeugd. In het huidige beleid staat vastgesteld dat basisscholen de kinderen tijdens de gymlessen kennis moeten laten maken met diverse sporten. Dit stimuleert de overstap van school naar vereniging. Het is de bedoeling dat de leerlingen kennis maken met meerdere takken van sport, zodat zij een gerichter keuze kunnen maken voor een bepaalde sport. De leerkrachten zullen een zogenaamde zapkaart ontwikkelen samen met de plaatselijke sportverenigingen. Dit houdt in dat de docenten en de plaatselijke verenigingen afspreken welke sporten er tijdens de gymlessen worden behandeld, zodat enthousiaste kinderen de overstap van gym op school naar sporten bij een sportvereniging in de buurt makkelijker kunnen maken.

Middelbare scholen in de buurgemeenten Hellevoetsluis en Brielle worden benaderd om het sportorientatie programma in beeld te kunnen brengen. De verenigingen uit Westvoorne zullen een aanbod doen voor alle leerlingen dat aansluit op het programma van de sportorientatie op school. Als tennis bijvoorbeeld in de maand april op school aan bod komt, zorgt de tennisvereniging ervoor dat er een aansluitend aanbod is op de vereniging voor de leerlingen die daar interesse in hebben. Het aanbod van de school en de verenigingen zal op elkaar afgestemd worden. Alleen als de gemeente Westvoorne een bepaalde sport niet aan kan bieden dan wordt in de omliggende gemeenten gekeken naar een vereniging die dat wel kan.

2.5 Wat kan sport voor een kind betekenen?

Sport is er voor iedereen. Verschil in leeftijd, klasse, geslacht en afkomst doen er op dat moment niet toe. Je zou dus kunnen zeggen dat sport verbroedert. Buiten dat is het niet alleen goed voor je lichamelijke ontwikkeling, maar ook voor je sociale ontwikkeling. Door te sporten, omdat moet je veel mensen. Misschien zelfs wel vrienden voor het leven.

Dat weet ik zelf maar al te goed. Van kleins af aan ben ik bezig met sport. Van paardrijden, voetballen, tennissen, zeilen, zwemmen tot fietsen, ik heb het allemaal gedaan. Toen ik een jaartje of acht was, ben ik voor het eerst in aanraking gekomen met hockey. Een vriendinnetje uit mijn klas had op een middag training en vroeg of ik zin had om met haar mee te gaan trainen. Sindsdien heb ik zeker negen jaar fanatiek gehockeyd. Heerlijk vond ik het. Niet alleen het spelletje, maar ook de gezelligheid.

Mijn team bestond uit meiden van verschillende scholen. Dit maakte het extra leuk om naar de trainingen te gaan, omdat je hen op school niet zag. Samen vormden we een ontzettend hecht team en hadden we heel veel lol met elkaar. We sleepten elkaar door de zware trainingen heen en wisten elkaar goed te motiveren als een van ons het eventjes niet meer zag zitten. We leerden hoe we moesten samenwerken en respect te hebben voor elkaar, de scheidsrechter en voor de tegenstander. Ook leerden we hoe we winst het beste konden vieren, want winnen deden we zeker!

Doordat we met elkaar zijn opgegroeid hebben we elkaar, maar ook het publiek zien veranderen. Waar eerst onze trotste ouders ons aan stonden te moedigen, kwam plaats voor onze mannelijke fans. Natuurlijk mochten onze ouders ook nog steeds komen kijken.

Zeker naarmate we wat ouder werden en voor het eerst uitgingen, is het contact hechter geworden. Het kwam ook steeds vaker voor dat we na de training op de club bleven hangen en gezellig wat met elkaar en natuurlijk met het mannenteam gingen drinken. Helaas betekende dit weinig goeds voor onze hockeyprestaties. Van topteam gleden we af tot bierteam, maar dat kon ons weinig schelen. Zelfs met de grootste katers deden we ons best en hadden we het tijdens de trainingen en wedstrijden ontzettend leuk met elkaar. Iedere zaterdag gingen we met veel plezier naar het veld en natuurlijk altijd nog stiekem een beetje voor de winst, ook al kwam dat nog zeer zelden voor. Tijdens wedstrijden werd er niet meer overlegd over de juiste aanvalstrategie, maar hadden we het meer over waar we ‘s avonds eens naartoe gingen, wat we aan gingen trekken en of je dat ene leuke tasje van de ander mocht lenen.

Nadat de meeste meiden een vervolgopleiding gingen doen en dus stopten met hockey, is het team uit elkaar gevallen. Ik heb toen nog een jaar in een ander team gehockeyd, maar het voelde niet meer zoals het voor mij was. Ook ik ben gestopt. Wel zien we elkaar nog altijd wekelijks en doen we nog vaak leuke dingen samen. Dat is toch best bijzonder.

Sport is dus ontzettend belangrijk. Het heeft een enorme kracht en heeft voor iedereen een andere betekenis. Voor mij betekent sport vooral ontspanning, verlichting en plezier. Ik vind het heerlijk om na een lange schooldag lekker buiten te gaan skeeleren, te hardlopen of te zwemmen. Ook ga ik graag naar de sportschool. Tijdens een zware les Bodypump of Spinning zet ik even mijn verstand op nul en kan ik mijn ei kwijt. Sport is ook heel leerzaam. Zeker wanneer je sport in teamverband leer je een hoop over samenwerking en respect. Zelfstandige sporters krijgen geleidelijk meer zelfdiscipline. Tijdens het sporten ontmoet je ook veel mensen, dat is ook erg belangrijk.

Forcial MA2 houdt de stemming erin na de zoveelste nederlaag.

3 Beantwoording hoofdvraag en conclusie

Na het beantwoorden van mijn hulpvragen, heb ik voldoende informatie om mijn hoofdvraag te kunnen beantwoorden. Naar mijn menig doet Nederland genoeg om meer iedereen aan het sporten te krijgen. De mogelijkheden zijn er zeker, alleen moet men deze ook grijpen!

Zelf heb ik erg goede ervaringen met sportstimulering via school. Ik volg sinds twee jaar het vak Bewegen, Sport en Maatschappij (BSM). Hierdoor ben ik in aanraking gekomen met verschillende sporten en heb ik ook meegedaan aan de projecten [email protected] en WhoZnext. Samen met mijn klasgenootjes hebben we een sportdag georganiseerd voor de brugklassers. De voorbereidingen waren enorm, maar het resultaat mocht er zeker wezen. Door het sportorientatie programma op school ben ik gaan Bodypumpen, ook heb ik het tennissen weer opgepakt. Sportstimulering via school heeft dus wel degelijk invloed op kinderen.

WhoZnext-team HellevoetZnext.