Weaving life skills into sport for development biggest challenge for researcher

Adults need to take a step back to ask whether a child needs to take part in everything.

For some children sport provides the most space for absorbing when it come to life skills, according to Vince Minjares.

However, Minjares believes the obsession with outcome can lead to a failure of missing or not prioritising personal development skills that are critical.

"Sometimes, when we become more competitive, we see wins and losses, good performances, bad performances," says the Auckland University of Technology doctorate researcher.

Minjares' preoccupation is with the grey area of how youngsters can have fun and perform but, more importantly, learn.

"It's not just learning the game itself but learning more of the larger kind of mental skills."

He doesn't see too many differences in terms of opportunities for children when juxtaposing New Zealand with the United States, Africa, South America or Southeast Asia.

"The challenge we have, and New Zealand also has it, is that we get too caught up in the wins and losses."

New Zealand's relative smallness and limited resources mean coaches aren't able to invest the extra time or energy required to zero-in on the cognitive aspect of development.

Because coaching isn't a field that is properly established at a community level volunteers assume the mantle of mentoring, which requires assistance.

"For me it's important to be part of a support mechanism for these coaches who are putting in their personal time but don't exactly know how, when or where."

How professional the rugby structure has become in the past few years here dictates everything needs to be kept in context.

"Even if you are an athlete who is legitimately a professional prospect you can't ignore all the other aspects of your life that will need to be addressed," says Minjares.

Perhaps the most defining one is coming to the realisation that every playing career will come to an end through use-by date or injury.

"My fight is to be, 'Yes, I love sport so let's develop skills to get good at the game but let's also put things into perspective to other things that we know are always too," says Minjares.

For someone scouted in their teens it's imperative not to just look at the potential based on the now but where they will be five to 10 years from now.

"Understand what you're getting yourself into so that you can then acknowledge the areas you need to continue to develop."

Minjares says for those not pursuing tertiary education it's important to have the necessary support network for such eventualities.

"There are people who can become professionals. They are professionals in every sense of the word - they show up on time, they are ethical, they work really hard and they communicate.

"The danger we get into is when you have those people who are not prepared for the professional rigour - whether it's fame, pressure or expectations management."

He says the ensuing struggles can be catastrophic.

"That can be things like at risk of gambling, drug addiction, binge drinking and things of that nature."

For someone who spent considerable time in the multi-billion-dollar American college sport system, he says the young adults have to come to grips with the glare of TV which puts a demand on their ability to interact socially.