Team sports

Why are schools so obsessed with team sports? What advantage is there to be gained from team sports at school later in life? Only a tiny fraction of people ever become professional sportsmen, so why make team sports such a major part of the PE curriculum?

One recurring answer I'm given is that child obesity has risen to the point where it is now a national problem. The only solution the government can come up with is to have more sports in school. They don't seem to realise that some children are not cut out for team sports, and invariably they will comprise most of those who are overweight. Children who enjoy team sports will play them as a matter of course so more team sports in PE lessons will benefit the sporty children and not the overweight children. I suspect that PE lessons based around team sports rather than physical exercise is partially responsible for child obesity.

The heavy bias towards football is another problem. My son was hopeless on the football pitch and often surprises people when he says he doesn't like football. I think the bias towards football is the result of it not just being a team sport but part of British popular culture.

I agree with this. Luke Jackson mentions the pointlessness of team sports in his book. He regularly participates in Taekwondo.

PE lessons weren't too bad for my son when he was in KS1 because they focused more on physical activities. They became intolerable in KS2 when team sports dominated. His physical co-ordination is not very good and he has extreme difficulty in keeping track of people running in all directions. He could see no real purpose in the lessons at all or why it would benefit him in the future from having to play football. His poor ability to play team sports resulted in bullying, lack of respect from classmates, and detentions after school.

Every summer his school would hold a sports day with races. After all the shenanigans in Y3 I decided to keep him at home at every subsequent sports day. It was just too embarrassing letting him participate with all the parents watching him.

At secondary school he ended up evading over half of all PE lessons. The cheek of the matter was that the school refused to allow him to participate in an outdoor pursuits event because the staff in charge said he was too unco-ordinated but they demanded that he play rugby in PE lessons.

Sports days are public humiliation events for children who aren't athletic. They are not part of the National Curriculum so children have the right to opt out of them if they wish. What really hacks me off are head teachers who hold the attitude that taking part is more important than winning.

And I'm not aware of any schools that have public humiliation events for the children who are bad at maths where they have to show their test paper and results to hundreds of parents. I believe some countries have similar arrangements to humiliate children of low intelligence in public but there will be outrage if they were implemented in the UK.



Have you read the book Adam's Alternative Sports Day? It's quite an amusing story about a 9 year old with AS who is hopeless at sports. The school decides to hold an alternative sports day with activities such as quizzes, riddles to solve, and a treasure hunt, instead of the usual sports and races.

I hope its ok to add a link. Sorry if it isnt.

i would like to draw everyones attention to http://www.specialhockeyinternational.org

Ice-hockey is massive in Canada and the USA, but almost unheard of in the UK. I came across this by accident and my 3 autistic brothers all now play and I coach.

Ice-hockey is an amazing sport for kids (and adults) with developmental disabilities. It not only gives them the chance play team sports in a team where everyone is equal and understanding of each others problems. It gives them the chance to be better at something than their "normal" friends. To watch kids with autism, aspbergers, ADHD, downs syndrome all with their own difficulties and levels of disability, playing and training alongside and supporting one another is something to behold.

New players are always welcome and you don't ever have to have stepped onto the ice before participate. We will teach you to skate. Any questions please ask.

That's an interesting finding. My son's AS support group used to hold rollerblade hockey games. Quite a lot of kids seemed to enjoy it who otherwise weren't inclined to participate in team sports.