Sports in our schools

The commencement of the new season of Secondary Schools Football has brought with it the same experience that we have had for so many years.
We heard via the media of the conclusion of the negotiations regarding sponsorship of the event nearing the commencement of the competition.
To many the annual schools football competition appears more of an activity that simply has to take place and which is not given any more attention at the level of planning and execution.
Scores at games
The early scores emerging from the secondary schools football competition for the 2005 period appear to be no different from the previous years. For example, as happens in so many of the games played at the league level one can hear of some 39 goals being scored in a single day with some teams having as many as 10 or more goals scored against them.
Surely the results of previous years should somehow impact the planning and scheduling process such that teams are more evenly matches.
Over the years we have had examples of teams striving to outdo each other in hammering the most goals scored against an opponent in a single game.
This happens not only in football but also in netball and basketball.
Some schools delight in the humiliation of their opponents on the field of play then continue to cajole them off the playing arena, much to the detriment of the students whose efforts did not bring success at the time.
The psychological impact of heavy defeats being thrust upon some teams may be such that rather than serve to encourage continued participation and a striving after excellence the players are more prone to dropping out of the game altogether.
There has to be ongoing evaluation of the secondary schools sports in general if we are to improve the overall quality of the competition in which the various schools are involved.