A leading sports scientist has called for a ban on pre-primary and primary school rugby, claiming it causes emotional harm.
Article by Sipokazi Fokazi for the Cape Argus (An Afrikaans version of the report here: http://www.nwupuknews.co.za/n/af/85)
Cape Town – A leading South African sports scientist has called for a ban on pre-primary and primary school rugby, arguing that early exposure to the sport can harm children emotionally.
Professor Cilas Wilders, a biokineticist at North West University, has been conducting observational research on children who play this form of rugby – also known as “bulletjie rugby” – for the past 18 years.
He said the sport not only exposed children to serious injuries as a result of underdeveloped motor skills, but the ignorance of coaches and parents on children’s emotional development created a “breeding ground for emotional instability” for children into their adulthood.
A “distorted culture” where “winning and achievement” were emphasised over motor development and preparing children emotionally had resulted in incorrect skills being imparted to these children.
“In turn, this causes a child not to perform to his full potential,” he said.
Over-exercising and injuries also exposed children to other developmental problems such as the restriction of growth plates in their bone structure.
Wilders said while some children displayed a lot of potential in sport from a young age, “those who develop only later often wear the sign of failure and inferiority around their necks”.
While sport had a great value in children’s lives and was meant to positively benefit their health and boost their confidence, this was unfortunately not the case as a result of the “distorted culture”.
Some children were so disheartened by this “culture of winning” that they ended up giving up on sport altogether and resorted to being couch potatoes engaged in electronic games.
“There is no doubt that in this current form, bulletjie rugby is not working for our children. We need to go back to basics and look at the whole person when we train these children. The emotional being is as important as the physical being. the whole individual is integrated.
“If we fail to nurture these children and prepare them emotionally, all our efforts to prepare them as future sportsmen will fail. Healthy competition is not supposed to emphasise the view that your opponent is the enemy. but rather serve as something to be challenged so you can develop to your full potential,” he said.
His sentiments were shared by Cape Town’s respected sports medicine expert, Professor Tim Noakes, who agreed that competition in any sport should only be “introduced much much later, probably at 15 to 16 years at the very earliest”.
Noakes said this late start in competition was also supported by the country’s sports federation, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), which followed a Canadian programme that focused “on skills development before competition”.
Wilders said another way of taking the pressure off children was for schools to have more than one team, as this would accommodate late developers who were often “left in the cold” by coaches who focused on top achievers.
There was also a need to scientifically test every child before participating in any form of sport to assess their motor and emotional development.
“I am of the opinion that children should play more and be forced less to participate in formal competitions,” he said.
South African Rugby Union spokesperson Andy Colquhoun said the body had no evidence to support the notion of permanent emotional harm, but would follow up and study the full findings of Wilder’s study. – Cape Argus
Wonder how they come up with this rubbish
What a bunch of hog wash
I was watching a group of pre-teens playing the other day and realised that so many of these playground games prepared the boys for rugby (and other sports) later on.
@GreenBlooded: I think anyone who has been involved in junior rugby can tell some horror stories of parental behaviour. I take my hat off to all who coach and administer junior rugby. Those parents
I’ll send you the timetable – but this is for juniors – not colts. U7 to U11. The tourney has been cancelled due to the fields at Crusaders being underwater and attracting sea-life.
@GreenBlooded: i like the structure of your reply , you seem to be better versed in it and know more than the leading sports guru, It’s about what is practical and reality , for hundreds of years boys have been behaving like this and have survived, as you say , I too have seen the parents you talk about and that is the true problem
would be good to see the games time tables, enjoy your day out there, how many youngsters do you guys anticipating out there today
Interesting that this comes on the eve of the Junior Club Rugby season (KZN’s version of Bulletjie Rugby) which happens at Crusaders on Sunday (weather permitting). This is an extract out of the pre-season newsletter that we sent out to our parents:
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Spectator Conduct
We do not only like to teach our boys rugby skills but also value the associated life skills. Please help us with this by setting an example on the side of the field. Please take note of the following points:
– Your boy is playing for his enjoyment – not yours. Do not push him to excel beyond his limitations as this will only result in lack of self esteem. We have seen this happen time and time again.
– Please do not coach from the side-lines – that is our job. Encourage by all means but please do not issue instructions to your son that might conflict with something the coaches have taught and expect. For example “Well done” or “Keep Going” or “Come on Hillcrest” are all fine. “Don’t pass – run”, “why didn’t you kick” or “you should have scored yourself” are not fine. Please leave the coaching to us.
– Please show respect to the other team – they are also little boys just like yours. Calls like “Take him out” or “Moer hom!!” are not acceptable at all.
– Please show respect to the match official (referee). We are trying to improve the standard of refereeing in our leagues and it does not help when guys who are trying to learn the ropes are heckled from the side-line. I can assure you that they are not ‘biased’ – they are very often trying to learn the ropes and doing as best they can. Sledging from the side-line does nothing to develop the referee’s confidence – in fact it normally causes them to abandon the craft and you end up with a worse ref the next week. Side-line referees might find themselves presented with a whistle and asked to demonstrate their competence in the middle!!
– Despite it’s physical nature, rugby is a gentleman’s game – please conduct yourself in line with this fine tradition. Kids learn far more from us than we think – if Dad is swearing at the ref, he thinks it is acceptable to do so himself which is not our objective.
– If you have an objection to anything, please raise it in a dignified manner with your son’s coach in the first instance or with me if you are not satisfied. Please do not create confrontational situations on the side-lines.
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And specifically relating to the junior age groups U7/U8/U9:
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There are a few points to note:
– These leagues are ‘participation focused’ meaning that the results of the games do not matter. There is no league, log table, end of season champions or anything of the sort. The aim here is for boys to develop their skills and the only way they do so is by playing the game. We radically downplay the competitive aspect at this stage – we are focussed on developing skills. It does not matter if we lose.
– Referees will ignore some minor infringements in the interests of letting the games flow. If we were to blow the law book strictly at U7 level I can assure you we would not have a game to watch and the boys would not learn to run the ball into space. Please bear with the referee on this aspect.
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Yet despite this, we will have the usual suspects who spend the day on the ref’s back or shouting at their sons for making mistakes, over-ride coaching instructions from the sideline etc etc etc. On this aspect, the guy has a point. I have seen it too often. I coached a 13 year old last year who’s old-man patrolled the side-line SCREAMING at the poor kid for the intire 50 minutes. Kid was an emotional wreck at the age of 13 – I don’t think he even wanted to play. I can tell you MANY other stories spanning a 7 year career in junior club rugby.
Banning rugby for kids is not the answer. I cannot speak for the motor development and bone plates issue as it is not my area of expertise, but as Tjoppa rightly says it is no different for the kids who play playground and backyard sport anyway. Kids will play with a ball – you can never ban that. What needs to happen is structures need to be put into place to get the PARENTS’ head right, to sign on for what is written above and to be held to account it they don’t.
@BOG: Sounds like something out of “1984”.
So, is he talking just about rugby, all all competition. What about the poor little 8 year old Lock that finds out that he is beaten at chess by the brainy kid. What about his emotional development. Ban chess, or at least ban the Checkmate in case someone is traumatised.
Perhaps I am getting the wrong end of the message, but surely the answer is to have many sports. So the kid who is not a Bulletjie might be a good cricketer, or hockey player, or tennis, shottist, paddler (or rower – remember that there is a difference – ask Ploeg, he knows!!).
Shame though, what about the kid that struggles to read, suppose we ban that too. Or .. the kid could just settle for being a nothing like Richard Branson ….
Please – I remember my first competition ever. No ref, no organised game, no trauma. It was on Randfontein Estates Block A, my neighbour was a kid by the name of Joe Louw (true story) and when we were about 4 years old he peed at least 6 inches higher than me up the wall of the “bucket toilet” out on the servitude. (having solidly given my age away esor!!). I now have a good idea of why I turned out the way I did, driving tow trucks when I could have been a brain surgeon if only Joe and I had agreed to pee the same height … or … HEY .. we could have sat down to pee and been President
For many, just living in SA, causes emotional harm. They may as well ad another ingredient to the mix- rugby. They would much rather have influences as encouraged by a UN guide book for teachers. They remind them that the destruction of a childs love of country and patriotism, is the first step step in educating that child for world citizenship” John A Stormer, “None Dare Call it Treason” (Florrisant, Missouri: Liberty Ball Press,1964) p.112 They have other agendas than the promotion of rugby. It goes on to say on p. 8 : “The infant school has a significant part to play in the childs education. Not only can it correct many ERRORS OF HOME TRAINING (parents influence) but can prepare a child for membership of the world society” But then again, just reading Tjoppas comments, causes me emotional harm and no one thus far, has shown concern
Blame it on Apartheid and then you have covered the whole spectrum. Bulletjie rugby as such is not the problem. It is just a organised form of what happens in almost every suburb’s back yard or during breaks at school. The problem is the parents competitiveness in its worst form. And I want to make a bold statement. It is usually the coach potato or underachiever that wants to compensate for his failures in forcing his boy/girt to be a success. And this does not happen only in sport but academics, beauty competitions, Free State bragging competitions. Everywhere. Maybe the only test to be done is before allowing anybody to become parents see if they are mental stable enough to raise children.