Wayne Werder Chief Executive Sport Bay of Plenty

One of the most hotly debated topics in sport is winning. To the most competitive of us sport is all about winning. To the not so competitive a focus on winning often can be seen as something that detracts from enjoying sport.

This debate quite often gets confused as political correctness, and is most sensitive when it comes to children's sport. It usually comes down to a dilemma between wanting to win the game versus the need to develop the children's skills and love of sport.

The two primary goals for children should be to grow a love of sport (enjoyment), and to develop every child's knowledge and skills of the game (learning). Not surprisingly winning is a by-product of these two goals. If we have a sportspeople who love sport and have developed a wide range of skills then generally they will win more times than not.

There is a wealth of evidence around early specialisation and the negative affect it has on long term athlete development, and likewise evidence that shows that kids who are given opportunities in a number of different sports, in different positions within a sport, and a range of fundamental skills go on to be the best players. Many sporting codes have changed their competition formats to encourage a more child centred philosophy to develop better players, but to also keep players in the game (football is a leader in this field). To the ill-informed this is perceived as been too PC, but to the informed is a way to ensure more success (winning) in future years.

From a coaching view this means ensuring players get equal chances as far as time on the field, and also get exposed to and learn skills across a range of positions. At this age this means that teams (and individuals) can lose matches but still be very successful. The opposite can also be true.

The vision for sport at any school (or club) should be to ensure that all kids continue to play sport the following year. If they have had a good experience they will do this, and will likely become good sportspeople (and win). Competitions absolutely have their place and provide children with a great sporting experience if we all remember that it is about enjoyment and learning first. Not surprising the best coaches have worked this out, and are also the coaches that win the most.