Leigh Ashton, Director Calypso Sports & Fitness

Government's $82m Mistake?

The Government's recent announcement to inject $82m into kiwi sport has youth sports and fitness expert Leigh Ashton worried that the money will not be spent wisely.

"The increased funding for youth sport is fantastic; however there are numerous problems with our current system. High burnout and drop-off rates, few qualified and capable coaches, fundamental movement deficiencies, and sky-rocketing injury rates are just a few" Mrs Ashton says.

"Yes, sports are a great vehicle for physical activity, social interaction, and life skills, but kids these days are not physically prepared for the demands that sports place on them. In our modern lifestyle sitting indoors outweighs outdoor play and this means kids are not as well-rounded or injury resilient as they were a few decades ago."

Mrs Ashton explains "When kids develop a base of transferable skills and fitness before sport specific competition, they improve performance, increase adherence to activity, and prevent injury."

Recently, the United States National Strength & Conditioning Association reported that 15-50% of injuries suffered during youth sport could have been prevented if more emphasis was placed on developing fundamental fitness abilities prior to sports participation.

"Youth coaches need to know this stuff but there are currently no youth fitness or athletic development qualifications offered in New Zealand."

"Plus the majority of coaches are just volunteers. If the adults involved are not up to the job they can do more harm than good; it might be better to scrap the structured sports trainings and competition and just send the kids out to the park for free play and outdoor adventures."

Mrs Ashton would like to see more attention brought to the above issues. "The Government is in a position to reshape youth sport in this country and set an international example. Unfortunately feeding more kids into a failing system is only going to produce more of the same poor results."

ENDS

© Scoop Media