Pathway to Podium: Protecting our summer sports codes - Marcus Agnew

Marcus Agnew

With the summer sports codes winding down, and the winter codes winding up, so draws to a close another summer of hard yakka for our traditional summer sports and their battle for survival against the ever-encroaching winter codes.

Long gone are the days when winter sport was played in the winter, and summer codes in the summer. Oh no, that makes way too much sense. Now you can play winter sports in the winter and the summer, too.

I am sure the summer version has some benefits for those sports: older athletes who want to play socially year-round, or young kids who love the game so much they want to play during summer too (although parents should resist letting them do that, as they will most likely burn out and lose the passion after a few back-to-back seasons).

But as good as the summer version might be for those winter codes, take a moment to think of the summer sports like tennis and cricket, and how the heck they are meant to survive. It's tough enough competing with the entertainment of technology, video games and all the other recreation options these days, without having to worry about other sports trying to cut your lunch.

Sadly, there are too many stories of keen young sporty kids having to choose between the summer sport they love and a practice session or summer academy for their winter sport. That means the summer sport of tennis or cricket often loses out.

Wouldn't it be great if we could see a sport like tennis make a comeback in New Zealand? The Australian Open gets a massive following from us Kiwis every January, and many make the trip across the ditch to take in some live action.

It's definitely a sport we love as a country, and surely, if we can help by getting the balance right between winter and summer codes, one day we could see some New Zealand champions seriously competing again at grand slams like the Aussie Open.

Tennis is one of the classic traditional sports that should be a part of almost every child's development. Tennis NZ have got some new blood on board over the past couple of years, and are doing some great work to get the game fizzing again around the regions. Locally, Tennis Eastern are making some great moves, and showing what can happen when passionate locals roll up their sleeves.

Tennis can definitely argue its case for being a great foundation development sport that will develop skills in young athletes that they can transfer to other sports and make them ultimately more successful in the code they eventually specialise in.

Footwork and movement skills, co-ordination for hitting power, judging the flight and bounce of the ball, reactionary skills at the net, and the mental toughness that comes from an individual gladiatorial sport are all gold nuggets for the general development of young athlete.

The irony is, even if your sole goal was to become a great hockey or soccer player, doing less of it at a young age, having a break from it over summer, and spending time playing a sport like tennis, will likely make you a better hockey or soccer player in the long run.

Learning tennis at a young age also sets one up for health and well-being later in life. It's a great recreational sport that keeps people fit and active and competing into their twilight years.

Ah yes, life was so much easier back in the day, when codes stuck to their traditional seasons. Now it seems a bit like dog eat dog, sports competing against each other, all trying to grow their game, hold onto their numbers.

Of course it's not just at the grass-roots level, it's at the professional level too, and what is available and inspiring kids on TV. When Super Rugby kicked off again this year, it was only mid-February, and the Bangladesh cricket tour of New Zealand has only just started.

Having to compete against other codes that are played in the same season is fine - eg kids choosing between tennis and cricket in the summer – but when those summer codes are also having to compete against the old school winter codes as well, it becomes a bit ridiculous, and no one wins in the end.

Tennis Eastern have some great youth programmes going now, focussing on the broader healthy development of the kids, encouraging an array of sport rather than specialising too early, and giving them that great platform to be great at tennis in the future if they go down that path.

With our weather, great collection of coaches, and athletic development opportunities, there is a great opportunity to grow the game here, and have it really take off in Hawke's Bay.

• Marcus Agnew is the health and sport development manager at Hawke's Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust and is also a lecturer in sports science at EIT.