The Corner Flag: Are parents and coaches pushing children too hard in youth sports?

A few weeks ago while covering the fifth CGA cross-country league meeting in Daveyton, I realised that some coaches and parents fail to find the balance between motivation and pushing their athletes, including children, too hard.

I was on one of the corners watching a girls’ 3km race when the runners approached from the bend and streamed past me in a line like a colony of ants.

One girl from Germiston’s Cool Runnings AC fell behind and was struggling when her coach, holding onto the barricade tape and angrily shaking it, shouted expletives at her.

He yelled, “Hey, voetsek, gijima wena. Yekela ukutswafa. Uyanginyanyisa (Run. Stop being lazy. You disgust me)”.

Was this motivation or was the coach simply pushing an athlete too hard?

Whatever it was, it was one of the most horrible behaviours I’ve ever seen at a sporting event.

But, it was nothing new. This behaviour, where parents and coaches push their youngsters to win at all costs instead of encouraging them to have fun, has been normalised.

Have sports become more than children having fun? Are parents and coaches promoting a competition-crazed environment in youth sports?

Most importantly, what does this do to the athletes?

Kudos to those who support and make sports participation for their children possible by taking their time to drive them to practice and games.

But it’s problematic when parents live through their children and some coaches bolster their profiles and CVs by the number of championships they win rather than progressive development.

It gets even worse when they only play to win because winning means recognition, which could lead to lucrative opportunities at the country’s top sporting schools for their children. It could even mean attracting big sponsors like Boxer and Nedbank in athletics.

I believe that pushing too hard too young and emphasising winning above all else, could make the child fall out of love with the sport.

There’s also a huge risk of emotional burnout and life-long injuries. Some might turn to performance-enhancing substances to satisfy their parents and coaches, or simply stop participating altogether.

Sports can have important benefits for children, including improved physical health and emotional well-being.

We shouldn’t push 10-year-olds too hard. We should encourage them to have fun, learn and improve. Our youngsters already compete in a highly-charged environment. At that age, it should be about development.

While winning provincial or national titles is important, at the end of the day, it’s not about you. It’s about the children enjoying themselves and learning important life lessons like teamwork, being gracious in victory and dealing with defeat.

It’s concerning the amount of pressure these children are put under to excel. No wonder many lose interest in sports when they are in their teens.

Also Read: The Corner Flag: Dear Amy and Deidrè, you are heroes

Also Read: COLUMN: The Corner Flag – It’s about trusting the process