Saving Kids Sports

I love Australia's love of sport.  People of all ages stay fit and social by enjoying a variety of ball games.  Part exercise, part culture, playing footy is very Australian.

 

As a mother of young children, I do not understand the expectation for parents to pay a considerable amount of money and drive across the city every weekend for six months (every year) so that the kids can have a kick.  If an older child shows dedication and talent then formal training is justified.  But for the younger ones, all they need is helpful family members and a grassed area.  Community, not commodity.

 

If we visit the history of AFL (the footy I know and love), it was families walking to the oval for a relaxing afternoon away from work.  The men would play, the kids would imitate them.  Maybe some locals brought cool drink and snacks to sell.  Simple, low cost, and no pressure to do anything other than to have fun.

 

Let's reclaim this, improve this.

 

Yes, the grassed areas require maintenance and respect.  Also, consistent referees and working equipment (balls, goal posts, team-colour jerseys) require the extra effort of some dedicated families.  But I am not convinced that these obvious responsibilities mandate large up-front fees, parents chauffeuring their children well outside their own neighborhoods, and a big-four bank taking the credit for teaching our kids the game.

 

Sports for kids, not consumers.

 

(This post was inspired by my son's insistence that all of his friends were signing up for footy after a salesman was invited into his school to lay the hard sell on a group of seven year olds.)

 

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