Children and tournament coaching

CHILDREN & COACHING

Should coaching be allowed at children's tournaments?

In many sport based martial arts there are tournaments held where children of ages of six and upwards are allowed to compete against each other. In many cases and rightly so the rules of the sport are altered to allow a fun and not so competitive match against a peer. In my own sport of ITF Taekwon-Do many associations will change the format from one of light contact continuous to one of semi contact or stop start points fighting, which for children is less pressurised and reduces the chances of the bout turning into a brawl due their limited skill and knowledge at that age.

Another rule enforced for children's bouts and this includes colour belts of all ages up to adult is that coaching is prohibited. The reason's behind this rule make sense to a degree but there are in my opinion more positives than negatives when you allow a child's coach be present at the ring during a fun bout.

Coaching in Ireland has come on leaps and bounds with credit given to the guys and girls at IMAC and Coaching Ireland who are rolling out level 1 and now level 2 coaching programs for their respective martial arts. Therefore increasing the knowledge of new coaches to the needs of children in sport including the code of ethics. Coaches in 2012 are more knowledgable in this respect. There are however 'coaches' to be found in many clubs who wouldn't know the first thing about creating an atmosphere of fun and inclusiveness for the children attached to their clubs, I have encountered individuals on the rings who are hot headed, aggressive and argumentative . It is individuals like these who have directly influenced the decision by many associations to prohibit coaching on children's bouts.

However, and thankfully these kinds of individuals are in the minority and as professionalism becomes more accessible in the 21^st century they will inevitably become a thing of the past.

The negative influences a bad coach and indeed a parent can have when attending a children's bout are many if the wrong attitude is adopted. Indeed parents and family members can be some of the worst perpetrators when it comes to shouting support.

As an umpire I have had to stop children's bouts and ask parents and family members to be quiet after shouting 'support' along the lines of “go on son get stuck in” and “get your hands up and kill 'em” among other slogans which were aimed at two seven year olds. Obviously this kind of event can only serve to damage the child's experience and alter the view of what fun competition is all about.

Toss the coin and on the flip side where you have a clued in coach and understanding supportive parents the positive influences that can be brought to bare on the child during the event are ten fold.

Therefore it is time to reevaluate the prohibition on coaching at children's events in order to develop and change the mindset of parents and coaches when it comes to children competing.

We were all children at some point therefore we can easily relate to how daunting it is to be sitting in a group of peers at the side of a ring waiting to be called to compete. It is even more daunting when you are on your own from your club amongst other kids who maybe from the same club or have met each other before. In fact you don't have to be a child competing to understand how this feels, it is the same for adults!

Now insert a friendly face in the shape of the child's instructor or coach. Now there is someone to help control the nerves and promote the fun element of competition. It provides a trusted face to ease the tension.

It is the nervous build up that blocks a lot of kids from wanting to compete. The flow adrenalin in the bloodstream and the effects this has on the child make it even more uncomfortable. Being able to talk with the child, reassure them and let them see a relaxed smiling face will certainly work towards keeping more children competing and having fun while doing so.

Two other major factors that will have a negative impact on the child is of course the risk of injury and losing.

As coaches and umpires we have all seen the little 8 year old who receives a punch to the belly and the shock of it sends them into tears. In the current rule set of no coaching, the already upset child now has to deal with an stranger in the form of an umpire bended on one knee seeing if they are ok, and the possibility of the a guy in a red and grey uniform with red crosses all over it coming to see if they need medical assistance. What the child wants and needs in a situation like this, is either a reassuring parental face or the trusted presence of the coach. Either one in this situation will help ease the stress on the child and if the coach is at the ring side it alleviates this all the more because the child is reassured of their presence.

In relation to losing, a child must never feel upset at losing. This can be negated by the beliefs and value systems instilled at the club. Competition must never be for winning, it must only be for participation. Winning of course is a bonus, coming away with a medal is a happy day, but competing is a great day. This ethos needs to be installed in the child at the club and the club must institutionalise such an ethos.

Having a coach present at ringside to deal with the upset of losing a bout can only serve to help reinforce the ethos of participation first, winning second. Unconditional positive regard must be to the fore at all times. Winning or losing, the child receiving a 'high five' as they come off the mat helps anchor the experience as one of positivity. Seeing how the coach interacts with the child can also benefit the parents who in some rare cases can become challenging as they question the results and the umpires decisions in front of the child.

All of this positivity that can be created by having a suitable coach in place at ringside can be immediately undone by that one individual who lets their emotions dictate their behaviour and thus become irate and overly competitive on the child. In order for tournaments to become more child focused and allow coaches at ringside stringent penalties need to be available to umpires and tournament committees so they can come down hard on such coaches and have them removed from the ring and banned from coaching at such events in future until proper training through the NGB is achieved.

In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to those associations who are successful at running child friendly tournaments. Those tournaments that have a medal for every competitor, those tournaments that ensure enough medals to provide small and inclusive divisions, those tournaments that are matted and safe and those tournaments that put participation ahead of winning all need to be commended and supported. It is now time for those tournaments to allow suitable coaches to be allowed coach and supervise at children's bouts for all of the positive elements that it can bring.