Pinetree advises kids: play to win

Wairarapa junior rugby officials have stripped back the competition side of the code so youngsters can focus more on enjoying the sport.

Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union development officer Stacey Grant said while junior games still kept score, the junior administration board had removed semifinals and finals for younger age groups due to the coaches being overly competitive.

"Their thinking behind it was 'Just get them playing the game'."

A round robin competition was held at the end of the season, however prior to that no ranking system was used, Mr Grant said.

The comments follow All Black legend Sir Colin "Pinetree" Meads saying all children must play sport to win.

"All young people must play a sport and they must play it to win," Meads told The New Zealand Herald.

"I'm against the education system saying you participate and don't have to play to win. It teaches you to be a good loser if you don't win, but you must always play to win."

However, Mr Grant said young children needed to get used to the game first.

"At that age group [junior], I want the coaches coaching them how to tackle, how to catch and pass, doing the basics of rugby rather than, 'It's all about winning'."

University of Waikato sport and leisure studies Associate Professor Clive Pope said there was nothing wrong with playing to win.

However the emphasis placed on winning could be detrimental to kids' enjoyment of sport.

"The experience and challenge of trying to win is the crucial thing.

"I don't have a problem with what Colin is saying, I just think that sometimes we allow that to dominate our thinking."

Problems arose when children dwelled too much on why they hadn't won, Mr Pope said.

"That's when things are often taken out of context rather than actually looking at 'Did I actually play to my potential, or did I play or strive to achieve excellence?'."

Sport New Zealand spokesman Greg Palmer said kids should be enjoying sport first and foremost - using it as an avenue to have fun, make friends and learn the value of teamwork.

"Enjoyment is certainly the primary focus that we take for youth."

Attitudes surrounding sport for both parents and children would always vary and there were avenues for competitive children to nurture their aggressive streak, Mr Palmer said.

"Even those that are of a competitive nature, there's still the element of 'Sport is there for fun and enjoyment' - as long as those two go hand-in-hand."

Some junior sporting codes had been trialling a system of not keeping score, to ensure both players and parents on the sideline focused not so much on winning, but on the enjoyment factor, Mr Palmer said.

As children grew up, learned more about their sport and moved into their teens, sports progressively catered for competitive types, he said.

Sir Colin's comments came as he offered five life lessons to coincide with his 77th birthday.

Other lessons from the rugby great included enjoying your life, being yourself, working hard and choosing your partner well. APNZ