"School sports should be made fun again" - Schalk Brits
On Thursday, Breakfast with Martin Bester spoke to rugby legend Schalk Brits after recent comments he made about making school sports fun again.
The pressure that school sport puts on children seems to be increasing each year, with more and more incidents of parents misbehaving next to the sports field due to the intense feelings around school sports.
Breakfast with Martin Bester asked listeners whether they also felt there was too much pressure on kids.
To help with the debate, the team spoke to former Springbok hooker Schalk Brits after comments he recently made about making school sports fun again.
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Brits told Martin Bester that the biggest thing he was taught to be successful was that you should have fun and love what you do.
"I feel like school sports have been putting too much pressure on kids lately," said the rugby legend.
"Sports should be for kids to have fun and be social, fit, and healthy."
Brits also gave parents some advice on how to approach kids in sports:
"I can only judge my children on how hard they work," he said
For the former hooker, it comes down to each child's work ethic and how much effort they put into the things they love.
He believes each child has their own talent, and it's not always about how good they are, but rather about how they do things.
"I only give them advice if they ask for it, and I only ask them to do what they love."
Some parents feel like they have to take the role of the coach or the ref next to the sports field, but Brits believe that parents should be there to support their children.
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"When my kids come off the field, I try to hug them and ask them if they had fun," he said.
"Parents are often abusive against refs and opposition teams; that is not acceptable.
"Feedback is good, but let your child's emotions subside for a while, then compliment them and give them constructive feedback in a loving way."
Brits recommend parents read these three books for more parenting advice:
- Raising Boys
- 10,000 Hours
- Black Box Thinking
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Image: Instagram/ Schalk Brits