I found this site very thought-provoking: Give us back our game. It argues that kids' football has been spoiled by the over-active participation of adults.
Today's children learn from the grown-ups . Without the freedom of the streets, their early experiences of football are organised, supervised and coached. They have no real say in what happens, and they don't have time to develop and learn.There are few things more toxic to learning than overzealous people who think they know best and who don't separate their own experience from those they are supervising.The problem areas are:
* No longer the children's game - it is controlled by adults
* The same children on the bench or omitted every game
* Coaches and parents screaming from the touchlines
* Winning before fun and development
* Not enough free play where children can solve their own problems
* Children are not encouraged to express themselves
* Children no longer learn about the spirit of the game for themselves
I think it was Donald Winnicott who distinguished between parents who liked to regulate their children - basically telling them what to do - and those who facilitated, focussing on creating a safe space and on engaging with what the child was interested in. He illustrated this with his observations of how a parent and child engaged with as mundane an object as a spatula.
Hat tip: Tom Watson's tweet
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Comments (5)
I totally connect with this.
I learned basketball hanging out at a YMCA across from my home. We played, fought, added skills and formed friendships without parents.
This is not to say that parents and coaches are unimportant.
What I think I'm saying is that the deeper love the game and the relationships formed by playing the game arose without parental participation.
Thanks for picking up on this and sharing.
Keep creating...practical surprise,
Mike
March 16, 2009 17:12 Permalink for comment
everything a child (Adult?) is taught is one less thing they learn for themselves.
March 16, 2009 19:32 Permalink for comment
Apparently DH Lawrence had three pieces of advice for organising children's play: "leave them alone, leave them alone, leave them alone". As a parent I find the sentiment bears repetition.
March 17, 2009 09:29 Permalink for comment
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of long, hot days in the summer holiday playing football in the park...jumpers for goalposts and knowing that, when you could barely see the ball coming towards you, it was probably time to start heading home. But not before 'next goal wins...'
True childhood independence delivered by Raleigh bikes and no adult supervision.
March 17, 2009 16:54 Permalink for comment
Reminds me that when children start drawing, the adult response is immediately to reward them to draw within the lines and chastise them for going beyond the boundaries.
March 18, 2009 00:40 Permalink for comment