Rugby Madness
View(s):The school’s rugby season is almost upon us. The fans of the game our eagerly waiting to support their teams but behind each 80 minutes there are months of preparation consisting of grueling training. There’s much talk about the rules being changed in the format of the tournament but no one is addressing the issues pertaining to the excessive training and off the field abuse our children are being put through or the supplements that some eager coaches are pumping into our children’s bodies. Worst still there are parents who all for a position on the team are ignoring this abuse that is happening to their children.
Most school Principals are turning a blind eye to the slave driving that coaches are putting the children through. Each school is competing for the position of the most number of hours for training per day, the number of days of training per week etc. “If ‘x’ school is doing it why not us”, is the attitude that school administrators are adopting. Some don’t even know that their boys are training excessively because they have never played a sport and rely on the advice of friends and interested parties. Guidelines on such training must be set by the sport’s governing body – Sri Lanka School’s Rugby Football Association and the Ministry of Education under whose purview school activities fall under.
Some schools are excusing the children from their main task – which is to get an education. Yes, we must encourage children to have a healthy balance between school and extracurricular activities but it can’t be lopsided. Some schools don’t care that practices go on till late hours and the children have no time to look at a book or go for an extra class. Unfortunately our education system requires ‘tuition’ for most subjects. The vast syllabi to the lack of trained teachers have led to this situation but that’s a topic on its own. When children are kept back to train day in and day out till late in the day they are unable to attend the much needed extra classes. Neither can they concentrate in the class room as they are too exhausted to keep awake.
Supplements seem to be the order of the day. Why are school authorities encouraging this? Why isn’t Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association and the Ministry of Education keeping a close eye on this? Why are parents ignoring this? Do we want to end up ‘poisoning’ our children simply so they can make an eager coach happy and ‘make the team’? Guess what parents, your coach is only thinking of showcasing your child’s talents so that he can get a bonus or further his career. He doesn’t care that your child will have renal failure in the years to come or be susceptible to any other health issue in the future.
School sports are an integral part of school life but it must be balanced. Schools can’t be permitted to run ‘Sports Academies’ after all they come under the purview of the Ministry of Education as institutes that provide ‘education’. As parents, if we want our children to compete at a level beyond what should be an accepted ‘school sports level’ then we should look at enrolling our children in specialised institutions. When high expectations of old boys, the administrators etc. needs to be met, it becomes necessary for ‘expert coaches,’ ‘nutrition,’ ‘extra practices’ etc. The necessity to spend requires sponsors. Then the pressure on the children are even greater as they now have to ensure that they are worthy of the ‘sponsors’.
We have heard of incidents of children being slapped by coaches or dealt with sever punishments. Some school’s administrators and parents choose to turn a blind eye to this abusive behaviour. But some of these same parents won’t even tolerate a verbal reprimand from a teacher who may have shouted at a child to correct his academic prowess. A child that is tormented so that he ‘makes the cut’ will take his anger out on his team mates, on society. This is why we very often hear of senior players bullying the juniors and this cycle will never end unless we as adults puts an end to this madness. Some school teams don’t perform well because individual players are trying to outshine their team mates so that they can earn positions. No matter how much coaching a team is subject too with a sport such as this where precision and togetherness is essential, they will never perform.
There are some schools which take the sport to a whole other level by seeking ‘assistance’ from referees. Children who are noted for performance on opposing teams are targeted and discriminated. Teams are subject to abuse on the field by flashing unwarranted yellow and red cards. Tampering with the decisions of referees only mars the sport that you claim to love and worst still it teaches nothing of value to our children. They only learn that they can ‘cheat’ their way through life.
Parents, administrators, governing bodies, please don’t wait till tragedy strikes to address these issues. It is a child’s life, his future that you are responsible for. And here’s hoping that we will at least have ‘Fair Play’ this season.
A Concerned Citizen –
Manji Dias