P1: Describe three examples of the sports development continuum, from three different sports.
The three sports chosen for this project are Tennis, Football and Cricket, although there are four levels of sports development in the overall sports development continuum meaning that each sport has a unique place of its own within all levels of the sports development continuum, The Selected structure for this particular project will focus on describing one specific level of the sports development continuum for three separate sporting environments, The project will also compare and contrast the chosen examples of the sports development continuum and provide informative examples of local and national initiatives on each tier of the sports development continuum.
Example: The Sports Development Continuum
Example: Sports Development continuum “Sport England”
Tennis Foundation Level
This level of participation begins with early development of important fundamental skills, primarily; co-ordination, balance and agility. If you are of a certain age you are usually required to play a different form of the sport, the different forms are; Mini red- 8 and under, mini orange- 8-9 years of age (natural progression from mini red), mini green- 9-10 (natural progression from mini orange) This level of participation usually happens at an early age during school were students are further encouraged to join a tennis club so that individuals can get experience of a more personal one to one level of coaching ,
The next step from here is to sign up with the LTA and be able to compete.This is normally done by a teacher from within the school or an outside company such as SASP which will run sessions, Pro Education is an independent initiative set up by the government to encourage people who play sport and people who don’t play sport to stay in school and increase their educational prospects in unison with their chosen sport or provide help to gain entry-level access to tennis participation at foundation level for those who cannot attain it themselves.
Football Performance Level
To reach the elite level in football where you sign a contract and play professionally for a recognised professional team you will have been scouted either by participating in county matches or by attending open trials run by a reputable football team, you will also need to have experience playing well for your performance level side, examples of this type of football include Scottish football, Championship division, 1st division
In order to progress from participation level to performance level players must play consistently well to be spotted by a professional club who are prepared to pay comfortable non-elite level wages but provide vital match time to increases the chances of a performance level player being scouted.
One factor affected is by where they live. This can be due to the facilities in the participant’s area, the level of performance of the local club, or the wealth of performer’s family. Poor facilities will hinder the player’s progression in the sport as they will not have anywhere suitable to practice, Poor impact at a performance level team can also tarnish a players chances at elite level if not given the appropriate support from this club, Many players are comfortable to remain within performance level football as it can also provide a comfortable living.
Cricket Elite Level
Usually playing for a county or a higher levelled league, team training is more often and stricter, better equipment is needed at this level as the health risks are more severe (better quality helmets and gloves are key). An example of better equipment is better bats which, at this higher level, need to be made of oak (more expensive) while players at lower levels often play with Kashmir which is cheaper.
M1: Compare and contrast three examples of the sports development continuum, from three different sports, identifying strengths and areas for improvement
Cricket
Like with all sports the performance level of cricket is the difference between playing for your local team and joining the county set up.The difference in Cricket however is that there are no professional cricket clubs that are recognised as geographical towns or city’s unlike some other sports such as football, there are just county teams. This format means it’s harder to be selected to play for the county as there is a lot more people challenging for a place. Having said this, the advantage with cricket is that you can gain entry to trails for the county team through school in contrast to some other sports such as football that require you prove your experience and skills at a more local level beforehand.
Football
Football is perhaps the easiest accessible sport in the UK at foundation and participation levels of the sports development continuum due its dominant popularity however due to the excessively large numbers of participants its harder to progress into the performance and elite level on the sports development continuum, it’s possible to be very talented and miss opportunity’s to be scouted due to simply being in the wrong places at the wrong time or due to the limited lack of valuable one to one coaching opportunities an aspiring performer may need to gain momentum in his or her improvement, this is in contrast to other less team orientated sports such as tennis, this can often lead to discontent among young performers about their realistic chances of success and can be damaging in the long-term to the prospects of up and coming talent.
Tennis
In contrast to football and other sports such as hockey and netball, tennis is an expensive sport to participate in even at the lower levels of the sports development continuum, tennis lessons can cost around £30 per lesson and is realistically beyond the financial means of many aspiring tennis performers throughout all stages of the sports development cycle, this can be very damaging to the sport as well as talent can be much harder to find and often depends on parental income even at a very basic foundation level of the sport.
Local and National initiatives
Anti-Crime
The agenda of anti-crime is to encourage young people to get off the streets and play sport. This is in order for them to channel either their behaviour or boredom into positive and productive areas. This initiative helps young people to meet new people who are similar to them and will give them a sense of achievement and goals to work towards. This initiative is aimed at foundation and participation level performers and aims to set positive examples and provide motivation for performers to achieve and develop their own individual aspirations. https://www.gov.uk
Pro Health
Pro health is one initiative where no matter the level or standard of the sport or player that the health of them or those around them comes first as health is paramount. Examples of initiatives such as World Health Day promote global health and fitness for all at all levels of the sports development continuum, The Pro health act encourages and links with the ‘say no to drugs’ act as if a player gets injured and uses drugs to numb the pain then the long-term effects can be very damaging in the long-term to the performers body and professional aspirations, this initiative is focused on education and awareness at foundation level and above. http://www.sportanddev.org/en/learnmore/sport_and_health/sport_and_public_health_campaigns/
Kick it out education campaign
To help understand fair-play, follow rules, team work, multiculturalism etc. Schemes such as Kick it Out in Football are designed to educate young people that racism and discrimination based on race, religion or background is wrong and all people are equal. This scheme is run by the FA but is delivered through all levels of the sports development continuum. http://www.kickitout.org/
Regeneration projects
Local and national regeneration projects can improve the facilities and layout of a whole area. The Olympic Games transformed East London which was very run down and neglected before millions of pounds were invested in creating the Olympic park and improving transport links. This regeneration can happen as a result of initiatives and schemes such as funding from the National Lottery Big Lottery fund or other such schemes. An example of this is the and development and redevelopment of Alexandra park in Manchester Thanks to the £135,000 contribution from Sport England, £257,002 from the Lawn Tennis Association and The £202,834 from England and Wales Cricket Board along with funding from Manchester city council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, supports the restoration of the park pavilion and the development of a cricket ground on the south oval . http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_playgrounds_and_open_spaces/4932/alexandra_park_regeneration_project/4
Sports development, Health & Current sporting issues 