Sport for the many, not the few
Why weekend warriors are just as important as elite athletes is one of the focuses of a new book by long-time cricket coach Alec Astle.
A former Manawatu¯ rep cricketer and Palmerston North Boys’ High School first XI coach, Astle has studied the grassroots side of sport after stints working for New Zealand Cricket and Sparc, now known as Sport New Zealand.
He has now written a book about how to make community sport contemporary and accessible, called Sport Development in Action, along with Sarah Leberman and Geoff Watson from Massey University.
Astle, the father of Black Caps spinner Todd, said most money went to the elite level, but most people involved were at a recreational level.
‘‘I started to look at sport being ... about recruitment into the game,’’ he said. ‘‘Now it’s about not just growing the game, it’s about sustaining the game.
‘‘It’s not about providing opportunities, it’s providing the experiences, it’s about having the right formats, getting decent coaching, getting the appropriate facilities to have a welcome and sporting environment.’’
Astle pulled on his many sporting contacts to provide him with case studies in different sports, including Ireland rugby development director Scott Walker, who Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt, who worked alongside Astle at Boys’ High, put him in touch with.
Former New Zealand Cricket boss Martin Snedden wrote another case study.
Astle finished his PHD in 2015 about how New Zealand Cricket revitalised the sport in the face of declining player levels in the late 1990s. He said other sports faced similar problems, so looking after people who played recreational sport was just as important.
A focus was making sure money was ring-fenced and not sucked into the professional game, so it stayed in the community environment.
Astle said many sports focused on the rep team, which was only a few players.
He said sport needed to change to remain relevant, but still look after enthusiastic volunteers, who are critically important.
‘‘A lot of them do it with No 8-wire attitude and they need some guidance.’’
Astle worked at Boys’ High for 24 years, then as New Zealand Cricket’s development manager. Under him, player numbers grew from 75,479 when its development programme launched in 2000, to 112,000 players by 2012.