I was another conference this week about increasing participation in
#sport.
I listened to a lot of theories, saw Academics present research about what their data says, watched the ubiquitous "this is what they do in Scandinavia and we should all do the same" presentation. Some of it was good. Some awful.
But they all missed the simple point. Some of the solutions were just way too complicated. People are over-thinking this whole
#sportsparticipation thing.
It's simple. Here it is again.
The primary responsibility of everyone involved in sport is to create the environment which provides the opportunity for kids to fall in love with sport.
Why?
Because - IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO - YOU WILL DO WHAT YOU LOVE.
If the kids love being active, if they love playing the game, if they love their
#coach, if they love playing with their friends, if they love learning - they keep coming.
The only child who can not improve - is the one who is not there.
I don't know how many conferences, social media posts and articles I've got to do before we stop looking at this as an Academic research project or Government program.
Just make it fun - help them to learn - make it safe - and everything else will fall into place.