Sport for Development - Community Pathway - Coursework Example

Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 Development of Sport: Elite Pathway 4 Regional Development Squad 4 U14-16 State Championship 6 NAB AFL U16 Championship 6 NAB AFL U18 Championship 7 State Leagues, NAB AFL Draft, and AFL Competition 7 Sport for Development: Community Pathway 10 Schools, Club, and Community 11 Youth Schools and clubs 11 Open age, association, and clubs 12 Development of Sport and Sport for Development: Elite and Community 12 Female and disables competitions 12 Conclusion 13 Reference: 14 INTRODUCTION The sports development entails promotion of a sports activity by improving participation and talent exploitation. The promotion requires partnership and networking with different groups and governing bodies for example voluntary groups, service providers, community groups and relevant government bodies (SHERRY, 2016). The emphasis on sports development started back in the 1980s, and the mission was to develop and promote sport and leisure opportunities for the community. The movement target removal of barriers to enable individuals, community and social development of sport possible. The movement aimed at removing emphasis on word ‘sport’ and focus on ‘development.' The sport is defined as physical activity that is competitive and governed by predetermined rules. On the other hand, development means maturation, education and amassing of capability, knowledge and skills in a given physical activity (SHERRY, 2016). The new emphasis on development ensured that those concerned sports development improved the sport by devising effective means of promoting urge, participation and performance of the respective games, for example, the ability to work at both grassroots and excellence level in each sport. The tools of sports development entail models of sports, sports development continuum and sports development strategy. The sports development strategy looks into guidelines and performance measures of sports development followed to achieve desired goals and objectives. Consequently, sports development continuum classifies participants regarding their respective levels, for example, foundation level, participation level, performance level, and excellence level, starting from the lowest to the highest level (SHERRY, 2016). The distinction of the development of sport (SD) and sport for development (SFD) is essential in analysing game development programs. The SD means the improvement of sport-related dexterity of a given sports person (SHERRY, 2016). On the other hand, the SFD aims at improving sport and other skills attained through sports involvement (SHERRY, 2016). Therefore, SFD provides a wider perspective of goals in sports which includes social, psychological, cultural and economic goals (Community pathway strategy). However, SD concentrates on mastery of skill and achieving excellence in the sport (Elite pathway strategy). The elite and community route requires contributions from some stakeholders who include young and old persons, ethnic groups, local parks, the facilities management, leisure centres, schools, community groups, youth centres and sport specific bodies (SHERRY, 2016). The matrix below shows a simple analysis into the subject of SD and SFD in Australian Football League (AFL). The matrix takes into consideration sports development continuum which analyses the sports level an individual plays in and classifies according to SD, SFD or both. Key: Development of Sport: Elite Pathway As stated above, development of sport is concerned with increasing player maturity, skills, knowledge and competence to achieve excellence in highly competitive games. The SD gives the pathway for elite players. The following levels in AFL take the elite pathway and it gives insight into development activities depending on the needs of each group. The activities and programs are arranged from less experienced to more experienced sports group. Regional Development Squad The program at regional development squad targets to nature young players into the elite. Therefore, the stage requires high-performance coaching. The recruitment emphasises on age limit (11-17) to ensure that the player can play for a long period and ease flexibility. The young are easy to learn complicated moves compared to old. The exposure of young players is holistic since the program takes into consideration both boys and girls. Also, the program enables trainees to interact with past and present AFL start which gives them first-hand techniques and skills. Consequently, use of former and current AFL players motivates the young stars since most of them are AFL icons. The regional development squad is comprehensive and enables the AFL to identify potential players all over Australia. The programs major on schools where interest players are given a chance to compete and show their passion for the sport. The level requires the concerned parties to use the AFL 60 testing protocols and link with AIS-AFL protocols to ensure a flawless transition from one stage to another. The holiday camps enables players at entry level to quench their enthusiasm and experience real football at a higher level. The AFL superstars are always around the whole camping session. The camp focuses on areas such as providing football education, exposing players to elite level skills and fitness, building character and leadership skills, preparation and ensures that attendance has fun during the process. The regional development squad is divided into two stage development program. The first stage is a fundamental stage which takes players of 5-11 years and plays at AFL Junior competitions. The AFL Junior competitions are structured in a way that trains junior players on basic rules and fun. The primary development objective includes physical capacities and motor skills basing on skill development and game related activities. Also, the level encourages participation in grassroots since the campaign starts at a lower level. The movement skills entail correct running, jumping and encouraging participation in some sports activities that improve junior player all-around. The sampling stage involves players of age 12-14years and plays in AFL Junior or Youth competitions. The stage emphases the objectives of the fundamental stage of ensuring that trainees gets the key skills of the game and expand primary physical capacities while ensuring that player develops all-round sports dexterity. The practice gets advanced to technical and tactical skills. The focus remains to learn and expanding skills capability rather than competition. The training entails learning both position and performance technique which include cool-down, warm-up, nutrition, hydration, goal-setting and recovery. Therefore, the trade-off between training and playing is required to develop a highly competent elite player. U14-16 State Championship The championship is encompassed in identification stage according to AFL elite pathway. The stage objective is to develop higher level skills and physical abilities. The stage optimises on the growth of strength, positional, individual and team skills. Also, provisions of appropriate competition are introduced to improve on their learning and give them the opportunity to be selected for the next stage of theater opportunity of influence and experienced in imparting accumulated skills learned in their successful career. The AFL icon works closely as referees and coaches or work in close collaboration with upcoming coaches and referees to ensure advancement in game management in future. NAB AFL U16 Championship The state competition championship puts the team in extensive competition since it aims at picking the best players who are then enrolled in AIS-AFL Academy. The competition carried on in three rounds and played in well-structured facilities. The major state championships are played in both Metricon and Southport stadium (AFL, n.d.). The best players are selected to move to the next stage. The stage concerns in ensuring that the young player advances in their AFL career. The competition brings various stakeholders who improve the motivation of players, coaches and referees in sticking to the game and keeps improving on the uptake. The motivation includes government bodies improving sports regulation standards, sponsorship, scholarships and other support that makes the sport better. NAB AFL U18 Championship The specialising stage takes sports person between the age of 17 and 18 years with an objective of higher level skills and increases the physical ability of the respective player. The must optimise on the development of fitness capability, individual, positional, team and skills to compete. The selection process to state and national development program continues at this stage i.e. AIS-AFL Academy. The stage must optimise on increasing competition programs for the player development providing opportunities drafted to the AFL. The games include TAC and state league competitions. The U18 championship is intensive in nature and takes two divisions in the competition. Each division has competition rounds which improve participation and identification of talents. The identified talented sports persons are selected to participate in a more intensive stage. The round one stage enables teams to participate in five rounds and the competitions are held in different stadiums. The stadiums include AAMI Stadium, Perth, Simonds and Etihad Stadium. The second division has three rounds of competition is held at Blacktown International Sports Park, Blundstone Arena and Metricon Stadium. The level of competition is intense at this stage since the sport development stakeholders are concerned in promoting players to the next stage of more advanced and competitive division. Therefore, it is important to pick the best players from teams through a highly competitive game display of each player. State Leagues, NAB AFL Draft, and AFL Competition The level of competition is advanced and accommodates highly skilled and experienced players who have been natured in previous stages. The players display high-level dexterity, individual, potential and teamwork. The competition receives average publicity since they are aired on some TV stations but a limited number of sports competition. The media coverage aims at creating awareness and stirring enthusiasm from potential players at grassroots level. The FOX Tv airs the majority of AFL sports since serves a wider coverage concerning sports viewers within and outside Australia. The competition comprises of three stages of sports development of sports person. The steps include; Firstly, the investment stage which accommodates players of the age between 19 and 22 years. The primary objective of the stage is to optimise the performance of the players through the development of high-level skills and required capability to play in higher competitions. The stage finalises the emphasis on training to usher in competition to put into practice the skills and knowledge gained through numerous learning exposure. The training is intense since the players’ talents or capabilities are refined through extensive physical, tactical, ancillary, mental and technical. The stage requires experienced coaches to ensure that individuals transitions from one stage to another seamlessly. Also, the stage requires funds since the group is exposed to different environments and international friendly competitions. Therefore, sponsors and scholarships are required at this stage since players are exposed to the different environment and players who trained using a different strategy and thus enabling them to learn new things. The South Africa (SA) is among the most frequent host of AFL. The SA has well developed football sport which provides great experience and skills to our home teams. The stage requires intensive resources both human and financial to ensure that the group has all that it takes to be the best. According to SHERRY (2016), the least developing countries are not able to fund sports at this level and thus performing poorly in the international games. The report goes further showing that out of 120 athletes from LIC and LMIC only 85 athletes gets medals and the poor performance is associated with low level of funding and human resource. The issue facing human resource arises from the fact that these countries have not invested in developing personnel managing the teams such as referees and coaches. Therefore, AFL must invest funds and human resource at this stage to increase the competitiveness of the players. Secondly, the maintenance stage takes in players between 23 and above 30 years with the aim of maintaining and maximising the potentiality of the sports persons at this level. The sports persons at this are subjected to little learning exposure but increased the level of competition activities. The players are fully developed regarding physicality, technicality, tactics, ancillary and mentality. The training exposure only aims at maximising performance in competitions rather than subjecting them to learn new things in the sport. The players are exposed to extensive, intensive and preventative breaks in training. It is the peak point of AFL career for sports persons thus important to utilise the potential of a player before he/she retires from active sporting. The players compete in various competitive sports both national and international competition. The stage gets the most experienced coaches to train the players and provide assistance in encountering upcoming challenges in the sport. Also, it receives high publicity through the broadcast of every game on TV stations. The airing of the game provides entertainment and plays important role in increasing the participation of the game at the grassroots level. The creation of awareness increases the AFL fame and entry of a large pool of potential AFL players. Therefore, investing in publicity and efficient management of the players increases the uptake of AFL sport and increase the life span of the player at the peak of his/her career. Lastly, retirement and transition stage mark the end of high-performance competition stage and individuals gets into other levels where competition is at a lower degree such as grassroots or middle-level leagues or get involved in other activities such as coach, media commentator, AFL sports analyst and referee. Therefore, the main objective of this stage is to successfully transition from a professional athlete to another new productive life which mainly includes opportunities to serve in different capacities in AFL sport. The analysis of various stages of developing elite players shows that the individual needs to be subjected to some conditions as per the level of his/her development stage, for example, increased competition and high-level training is not necessary at junior level but very essential at advanced stages of AFL sport. Consequently, investing in the development of sport at a lower level is crucial in ensuring that players at the elite level are highly competitive. Also, the product of high-performance players is maintained in the system after retirement from active sporting thus acting as an active catalyst in developing and increase sports uptake and recognition at all levels. Sport for Development: Community Pathway As mentioned earlier, the SFD concentrates in a wider perspective than SD. The goals include social, psychological, cultural and economic goals aspect of a community. The investment is a low in community pathway compared to elite pathway due to a low emphasis on winning but achieving the set objective. The coaches do not expose players to extreme condition to develop player reliance but only make sure that the player gets basic and average training. The objectives can include raising funds for less privileged, improving healthy lifestyle through exercise, leisure for kids and increase bonding of different groups participating in the sport. Schools, Club, and Community The schools, clubs and community provide the smallest unit of groups that can adopt AFL sport to achieve some objectives. The matches organised at this level does not necessarily require a highly experienced coach or referee but someone who understand basic rules of the game just to ensure that competition is fair. The major objective is to improve bonding of parent and kids or community since it brings people of different walks of life. Also, the AFL sport can be organised at this level with the aim of raising awareness on a particular issue or raise money to fund a given course or project. At the school level, AFL is adopted as a form of leisure where students relieve themselves from the classroom environment. Youth Schools and clubs The youth schools and clubs level have relatively increased competition and investment through experienced coaches and referee. The coaches and referees are mostly former AFL elite players who have taken his/her professionalism in developing cohesive community and at the same time as leisure and developing a healthy lifestyle. The professionals’ volunteers in most of the training and other services offered. The competition organised at institutional, or club levels are always based on a particular reason which benefits the community for example charity shootout aimed at raising money for Helping Hoop. The activity was held at Albert College in Melbourne. Therefore, participants enjoy the sport while ensuring they meet the objective of raising funds. Open age, association, and clubs The open age, associations and organisations have the highest number of participants’ base. The teams come together to accomplish a given goal and showcase their prowess in AFL sport. The members might include parents and children, private entities, fitness clubs and other bodies using the sports to accomplish a wider objective other than competition. The coaches from various stages in elite pathway usually attend such competition to search for talent. The potential talented individuals are selected and placed in respective stages in the elite path. Development of Sport and Sport for Development: Elite and Community Female and disables competitions The sport has been identified as one of the tools of building an inclusive society. In the past, female and disabled individuals have been discriminated in a different aspect of the community for example employment opportunities and even participation in sports. Therefore, tailoring a program to enable women and disable to participate in the community actively improves the community attitude towards them. As a result, the AFL sport acts as a veil of achieving inclusive society. The emphasis of Paralympics by Olympics committee has received great support from member states due to need to recognise disables. On the other hand, women involvement in sport increases their numbers not only participating in AFL but also in other sports. Therefore, AFL sport at this level acts as both SD and SFD since the elite players are developed and at the same time social and cultural issues on discrimination are eliminated. Conclusion In conclusion, it is noted that sports development can either take elite or community path. The two paths play a crucial role in achieving the object of increasing AFL uptake at the grassroots level. Therefore, increases the number of individuals participating and level of competition. Also, the sports development is non-linear since an individual can choose the pathway to take and achieve the same results as those who took the complete path, for example, those coaches who go to school to learn about coaching and retired AFL players who learn from active participation in the sport. Consequently, the players who choose community pathways can as well change to the elite pathway at any level. Lastly, the financial and human resource invested in sports reflects the outcome of the competition, mostly for elite. Reference: AFL, (n.d.). The official website of the Australian Football League - AFL.com.au. [online] afl.com.au. Available at: http://www.afl.com.au/ [Accessed 28 Sep. 2016]. SHERRY, E. (2016). Managing sport development: an international approach. London, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. Read More