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Does School Sport Exist for the Benefit of Schools, Sport – or Children?

Posted Tuesday, 25 July 2017

Establishing the purpose of something has always been recognised as an important starting point for defining a strategy. Stephen Covey recommended “start(ing) withy the end in mind”: Simon Sinek made an industry out of “Start with Why”. School sport never had that luxury. It was never planned, nor its purpose...

Has School Sport Become too Extreme?

Posted Monday, 17 July 2017

The last twenty years has seen an astronomical increase in the standard of the top level of school sport in UK. The increased allocation of resources – time, facilities, specialist coaching, levels of competition – has developed out of all recognition. Top level performance, and victory in an ever increasing...

Why Cricket Needs a Balance Between Bat and Ball

Posted Wednesday, 12 July 2017

The National Curriculum mops up a range of games under the generic title "Striking and Fielding". In its search for simplification, it omits the other crucial component of these games - bowling. Once that is included within the definition, then one game separates itself from the others in the category...

Can you Coach Creativity?

Posted Wednesday, 21 June 2017

Everyone loves creative players. They are the ones who light up sport, provide the wow, the priceless, memorable moments. The flashes of genius that win the game. They are so important to sport, both the results and the beauty that underlies it. They are the household names. They are memorable...

Who are the Real Losers in School Sport?"

Posted Wednesday, 21 June 2017

It's the end of the match day. It might be Wednesday afternoon or Saturday morning. Or any other time. The teams leave the field with contrasting body language which clearly divides the winners from the losers. Exchanging handshakes of varying levels of sincerity, they head towards the inevitable post mortem,...

The Changing Tone of School Sport

Posted Saturday, 17 June 2017

How important is winning? The answer to this - apparently spurious - question massively influences the success criteria of school sport. If winning is the most important thing, it has implications that are far reaching. It influences how the game is coached, refereed, team selection, substitution, as well as the...