Concerns over school sport profile
The ‘‘commercialisation’’ of school sport is producing mental health issues and unbalanced young athletes and leaves the professional game having to ‘‘pick up the pieces’’, says New Zealand Cricket Players Association boss Heath Mills.
Mills’ concern at the state of the school sport system has been building for years and came to a head yesterday when Auckland 1A 1st XV players told Stuff they were considering repeating a year simply in the hope of impressing scouts.
‘‘We’ve seen the slow creep of professionalisation of the schools environment, where we’ve got professional coaches and coaching teams around the players at school level,’’ Mills said yesterday.
‘‘We’ve got broadcasting of matches, which leads to a lot of opinion and assessment of kids’ performance. What ends up happening is that all the issues we have to deal with in professional sports with professional athletes end up getting transferred down to 15-, 16-, 17-yearolds.
‘‘What I mean by that is mental health issues. If you are in the public domain getting assessed week-in week-out for your performance, it’s hard enough for an All Black or a Black Cap, or an All White, let alone if you are a 16-year-old kid.
‘‘Dealing with that is hard. The biggest issue for me within the players association is we spend a lot of our time picking up the pieces for the young kids who come into the environment at 18 or 19.’’
That is a damning indictment on the system but Mills was prepared to go public with his concerns because he wants there be a national conversation on the issues.
‘‘I’m not sure where our leadership is and why we’ve gone down this road,’’ Mills said.
‘‘I can’t point to any one organisation that’s promoted it or encouraged it. NZ Rugby, NZ Cricket NZ Football really don’t have any say or
‘‘I think it warrants a national discussion. What do we want school sport to be?’’
Heath Mills
New Zealand Cricket Players Association boss
control over the school environments, which are really driven by principals and individual schools.
‘‘I think it warrants a national discussion. What do we want school sport to be?’’
One of the issues affecting schoolboy rugby is over-exposure at a young age.
Games are broadcast on Sky TV to a national – and global – audience and although it provides an opportunity for young players to showcase their ability Mills said the scrutiny was damaging.
‘‘My view is that the more we have our young people exposed in TV and the media it’s not good for their health and wellbeing,’’ he said.
‘‘You’re essentially commercialising sport at school by putting it on TV. Schools will have associated sponsors, commercial partners, coaches who are employed full time. It’s a career for them.
‘‘I don’t think being on TV helps and it’s a step I would have made very cautiously.’’
The intense focus of sporting achievement performance was clearly overshadowing academic work or simply having fun, Mills said, and the professional codes were constantly seeing young athletes who were badly prepared for the real world.
‘‘They don’t have a focus on education or learning a trade or business or something out of the sport that can they can grow and develop and fall back on.
‘‘I would like to think within our education system we’re promoting young people to have balanced lives.’’
Auckland 1A 1st XV players told Stuff that if they were not able to play this year they would consider returning for another year of school.
‘‘I know there’s the possibility of streaming games [online], stuff like that. But unless we get to actually play in front of scouts, and they can watch us in person, it’s going to be tough,’’ one boy, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
However, former NZ Sevens star Rocky Khan, who repeated year 13 and played 1st XV again before going on to play professionally, has taken to Facebook to reveal he now regretted the decision.
‘‘Personally, I didn’t enjoy repeating school,’’ Khan wrote.
‘‘I think everyone should focus on their education and gain skills to build a career outside of rugby whatever that may be, so they don’t have to rely on a professional rugby career. If your rugby career takes off then enjoy it and ride the wave of it. If it doesn’t, no dramas, you’ve still got something else to do that you enjoy.
‘‘There’s no rush to play professional rugby also. If you’re good enough and an opportunity arises later on in life, grab it with both hands. If it works out it works out. If it doesn’t, then no dramas.’’ it