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The Importance of Competitiveness

Posted Monday, 7 December 2015

Too much winning, or losing, is not good for children. In more rational moments, most teachers and coaches agree with this. The theory is sometimes better than the practice, however, when good sense is suspended in moments of high emotion on the touchline. Perhaps more significant then, is competitiveness. A...

John O'Sullivan - Changing The Game Project

Posted Thursday, 3 December 2015

“How many of you played sports as a child?” I begin many of my talks. Every hand in the room goes up. “How is sport today different for your kids?” Then the answers start flowing: “Early specialization. Expensive. No more seasons. Pressure. Massive commitments. They start younger.” And the list...

The Six Outcome PE and Games Programme

Posted Thursday, 3 December 2015

Lots of educational planning focuses on “outcomes”. Desirable changes that result from programmes of planned experiences. Given the time and effort that goes into such planning, from the National Curriculum to individual school syllabuses, it is perhaps disappointing that the range of aspiration is so limited. Typically, the dominant ambition...

I’m curious about… why fish don’t know they are in water

Posted Friday, 6 November 2015

The first part of this statement reminds me of Nigel Redman. If Nigel asked me a question starting with “I’m curious/interested/wondering…” I was fairly confident I was that fish in water. This second is a quote I used when convincing British Rowing that I could influence their coaches (the fish)...

What Do You Want Your Students to Love?

Posted Friday, 6 November 2015

Presumably, one of the principal aims of school sport is to stimulate in children a lifelong love of physical activity, and an appreciation of its benefits? Post school participation is an oft-quoted success criterion of PE. But what exactly do schools want pupils to love? "Sports" or "physical activity" is...

Create and Cultivate: Is it Time for a Fitness Revolution in your School?

Posted Friday, 9 October 2015

Long gone are the days where physical activity provided the main source of entertainment for secondary school pupils. The game has certainly changed over recent years and a new age of advancing technology and social media has well and truly captivated our audience of adolescents. There’s no denying that the...