Under-age sport should never be about winning

WE ARE well accustomed with the notion that sport can be a cruel business. And in the world of professional sport that is certainly the case – the last-minute penalty miss, the crucial putt that shaves the hole, the serious injury on the eve of a major tournament, the once great player ceremoniously dropped by his or her manager.

Sport is indeed a cruel business at times, but in the realm of highly paid professional athletes, the cruelty is accepted as part and parcel of the game, a twist in the never-ending drama. As one of this century’s great television characters Omar Little would say, ‘it’s all in the game’.

But cruelty should play no part in sport when we are talking about kids and teenagers. For anyone under the age of 16, sport should be about fun, a celebration of participation, a chance to bond with your peers, a chance to just express yourself in a healthy environment.

Sadly this is not the case, and a letter written by a 14-year-old boy published in the Limerick Leader last week has shone a light on the ugly truth of underage sport in this country, and the GAA in particular.

The letter is a brutally honest and sad account of how a young boy has fallen out of love with the game of hurling.

A boy who began to play the game at the tender age of six, where a love of the game soon blossomed.

A boy who soon realised that he was being ignored by selectors when it came to competitive games, but who kept turning up, because he loved the sport.

A boy who would come home crying, often banging his head against the wall in frustration at not being picked, a boy shunned by his peers in school because he was the kid who was constantly being left on the sidelines.

A boy who kept at it for seven years, because of his love for the game. A boy who finally had enough at the age of 13 and decided to give up the game he loves, because of the isolation and frustration he was experiencing.

A boy who was disgusted at the behaviour of his selectors and his club, who were hell bent on a ‘win at all costs’ attitude, not realising they were dealing with a bunch of kids.

A boy who sat in Croke Park watching his beloved Limerick win the All-Ireland hurling final in 2018 and felt nothing but sadness, because he was no longer playing the game he loved and he knew he could no longer aspire to be like his hero Cian Lynch.

A boy who wrote the following devastating words:

‘People ask me, who I play hurling with,

I say “no one”. Even saying that word makes me feel very upset. This topic is always discussed by adults but I wanted to give it from a child’s side.

‘ When I played hurling at a young age, I felt isolated, left out, no enjoyment, loneliness and no confidence. The coaches didn’t care about my feelings, they only wanted to win at all costs. Even now I find it very hard to trust adults and especially adults who are over team sports.

‘My teammates, who I thought were my friends, were not. They never passed the ball to me, never talked to me, looked at me weirdly and left me out. I was down, low and always felt nervous around people.

‘As I have said already, I was completely isolated at a sport I love. I can honestly say, I have been affected by what I had to go through at a very young age.’

This boy is a hero and we should the grateful for his honest and brave words. His letter should serve as a wake-up call to the GAA and other sports that oversee competitive underage games. For children and teenagers, it should never be about winning. Never.

No child should have to go through what this Limerick kid did, but sadly this is an all too familiar scenario. Children today are exposed to so many stresses and pressures, it is frightening what they have to deal with at such a young age. Sport should be their refuge, their escape, their chance to blow off some steam and run around a pitch and be free and happy.

Anyone who thinks differently should be ashamed of themselves.