There is no doubting that the world has changed; education has changed; parents have changed; so
too has sport. Throughout the world, sport has become a huge business, religion, industry and
product, a serious career option, while here in Zimbabwe sport continues to be at the heart of many
people’s interests and ambitions. There is an increase in the number of sports being played with
previously identified ‘minor’ sports claiming more of a central place; an increase in the levels of
competition at a provincial and national level; an increase in the number of regional and world-wide
tournaments; an increase in the amount of training required to meet these competitions, with
training camps and preparatory tours being required, often organised out of traditional seasons; an
increase in the specialisation in individual sports; an increase in the commitment required of our top
sportsmen and women; an increase in the number of ‘unofficial’ sports coaching clinics/camps being
run for children in holidays, not always sanctioned by national bodies (or even with their
knowledge), often at great expense. More ‘sports academies’ are springing up offering coaching
throughout the year, asking for a child’s involvement at them to be considered as their school ‘Club’
activity (soon it will be as their school Sport activity). At the same time, there is a decrease in the
number of teachers qualified (or interested) to coach the sports in schools.

As a result, we are staring at a growing battle between the development of sport at the expense of
the development of our children. Schools fight for the all-round, holistic development of the child
while National Sports bodies are only concerned with the development of their sport on the world
stage. If we are not careful we may see the young people of this land sold out to sport.

Schools have, unquestionably, for a long time played, and continue to play, a massive part in the
development of sport in this country – when clubs have closed, schools have continued. Schools
coach children in a wide variety of sports from a very young age; arrange and oversee a massive
programme of fixtures at school and provincial level; provide coaches from their own ranks, even
with the drain of skills and expertise over recent years; arrange Inter-Provincial tournaments and
national trials; provide the selectors, coaches and management of provincial and national schools
sides, necessarily so; bear the cost of the development of national sides with staff being away from
school for many days, even weeks, often in term-time (thus requiring cover teachers). Schools
provide top-class facilities for provincial and national sporting events, usually free of charge.

Schools manage to achieve this but not without difficulty and challenges. Often fixtures arranged by
National Sports Bodies clash with school fixtures; furthermore, these are often arranged out of
season, when schools are running other sports. In addition, National Sports Bodies rarely seem to
pay any heed to the educational calendar (most notably, public examinations). Sadly many National
Sports Bodies rarely consult with schools or conversely acknowledge the contribution of schools in
the development of their sports, in terms of time and cost. Coaches appointed by national bodies for
representative sides often have no qualification, experience or idea as to coaching youngsters.
National Sports Bodies seem often not interested in a player when someone else better comes
along. Sports bodies do not appear to be interested in the ordinary player who just wants to play
sport for fun, only the elite players. Sports bodies are not really interested in helping schools to
develop sport and children. Above all, though, National Sports Bodies have sometimes placed
unreasonable demands on youngsters, saying they must forego their education for the sake of the
sport.

As a result of all this, youngsters face potential burn-out at a very young age through the added
pressure put on them through increased fixtures, all-year-round competition, and concentration on
one sport. There needs to be engagement and cooperation between schools and National Sports
Bodies to ensure children and sports develop appropriately. The bottom line is this, however: we
must not develop any sport at the expense of any child. We must never take the view that “it does
not matter – we will just find another one”. These are children’s lives and futures that we are dealing
with. They are more important than any sport. That has not changed.