Study shows bad coach produces bad people

American research finds that sports coaches are influential in the moral development of their charges. ROSALEEN MACBRAYNE finds out why.

Sports coaches play a more important role in shaping children's lives than they may realise.

An American study says bad coaching can make bad people, although New Zealand experts say the problem is not as great here.

The study suggests that too much emphasis on winning encourages youngsters to become dishonest and selfish adults.

Fostering a positive sports climate is crucial for moral development, says Dr Darren Treasure, an exercise science professor at Arizona State University.

"If winning is everything, an athlete will do anything to win."

And that, he says, is likely to transfer into other aspects of life, particularly the classroom or business world, where winning is still defined as the only form of success.

Mike Chu, a sports psychologist at Massey University in Palmerston North, agrees that if a coach condones or actively encourages violence or verbal abuse, children are likely to imitate that behaviour.

"A lot of the time kids just want to go out and enjoy it," he says. "Winning is nice but it is not the main reason they play."

A good coach needs empathy and rapport with players, and to be clear about what is acceptable and unacceptable, says Mr Chu.

The Chairman of the Secondary Schools Sports Council, Chris Saunders, says there is nothing wrong with the will to win - it is a major purpose of competition.

But fair play and a sense of fun must never be lost.

Culturally, New Zealanders are different from Americans, but they should beware of "highly unhealthy trends" creeping in from the United States, where the desire to win brings out extreme behaviour in some people.

Sue Chalmers, manager of coach education for Sport and Recreation New Zealand (formerly the Hillary Commission), says, "We would never ever promote win-at-all-costs."

She believes children in this country are "inherently fair".

"Everybody likes winning, but what we emphasise is goal setting. You cannot win if you don't develop skills."

Good coaches - whether parents training their children's teams or elite instructors at national level - need to see sport in perspective and develop the athlete as a "whole person", she says.

The American study underscores the importance of finding coaches who value personal development. But, it says, even those with formal training walk a fine line between ensuring youngsters benefit from participating and pleasing parents intent on winning.

In North America, and to a small degree here, there are parents whose goal is to produce a professional athlete for financial reward, rather than to concentrate on raising children with good morals.

Chris Saunders warns: "That so-called mythical pot of gold may never eventuate. What people must keep sight of is that New Zealand cannot offer a huge base for professional sport.

"Realistically, it is only going to be a few who make it."

This is a mass-participation country, where every kid can have a go and sport is not just for the elite, he says.