Modified Sports Are A Waste of Time
Modified Sports Are A Waste of Time
In an effort to turn around the disastrous falls in sports participation around the world, many sporting organizations have resorted to creating new, shorter, faster modified sports hoping to re-capture the imagination and loyalty of kids, fans and families.
These modified versions of sport have been created under the assumption that there’s something wrong with traditional sport, i.e. that kids are turning their back on the actual sport.
There’s nothing wrong with sport. Your sport is fine!
The problem lies in the way we’ve been delivering the experience of sport to kids and families.
Here’s the reason why modified sports don’t work…..
It’s no good coming up with a great solution to the wrong problem.
If the actual PROBLEM is the way coaches, parents, officials and administrators are delivering the experience of sport, then simply changing the length of the game or changing a few rules here and there will not make any difference.
This Episode of Sports Thoughts covers the issue of modified sports and discusses why they don’t work while suggesting some ways sporting organizations can increase their participation levels.
Wayne Goldsmith
1 Comment
Brendan Murray · June 10, 2020 at 8:45 pm
I have only just discovered your web site and I already have purchased a resource, However, a statement that ‘modified sports are a waste of time” does not sound to me, like a critical assessment. No, it sounds to me like an outright rejection. I could enter into a debate for the next hour regarding my views, which have been moulded over 45 years experience as a volunteer helping children to develop their basic Bio-motor skills to the optimal level, that is for each and every child to “Be the best that I can Be” You may note that I don’t call myself a ‘Sports Coach’ This sweeping statement that modified sports are a waste of time” is to me certainly debatable. It depends very much on the context of how that statement is applied and interpreted.