The Sport and Recreation Pathway
Sport and recreation is an important part of the great kiwi lifestyle. Through sport and recreation we learn, grow, set and achieve goals, develop and master movement skills, find a sense of belonging and community – and excel and win.
The Sport and Recreation Pathway is life-long – made up of various stages and phases described below. As we grow older and gain more experience, we move through the pathway - it’s about stages and progression rather than age. Ultimately, the pathway is about lifelong participation and high performance. These two outcomes are achieved as part of one integrated sport and recreational system.
This Powerpoint presentation also outlines the Sport and Recreation Pathway.
Download the Powerpoint presentation (pdf, 188kb).
Foundation phase
In the ‘foundation’ phase you progress through the ‘explore’ and ‘learn’ stages. This phase recognises that early childhood movement experiences are critical in the development of the skills, attitudes and confidence required to become an active participant in sport and recreation in later life.
This phase also recognises that early sport and recreational experiences need to be structured to meet the needs of children within a planned pathway targeting sequential development and retention in sport and recreation through youth and adult life.
Explore stage
- The majority of children will transition through this stage at some time in the first seven years of life.
- Development is fostered through an environment around the child that is caring, safe and supportive and encourages movement exploration, play and fun.
- Critical to being able to enter sport and recreation (learn stage) is the development at this stage of basic movement patterns and skills confidence in movement and a willingness to attempt new activities.
- Children at this stage need many and varied movement experiences every day.
Learn stage
- Entry level to sport and physical recreation activities.
- Most children will transition through this stage by age twelve.
- Development is fostered through providing playful, fun and supportive environments where children can experience success, develop skills and learn positive attitudes towards sport and recreation.
- A long term approach from coaches, parents and clubs is critical, the development of skills and positive attitudes in every child is more important than winning every week (does not imply that children should not strive to win).
- Specialisation should be avoided.
- Multiple sport/recreational experiences important.
- Multiple positional/roles within sports important.
- Talent identification and representative programmes are not required.
Community Sport and Recreation phase
Participate stage
This phase is about sport and physical recreation for youth and adult life (i.e. beyond childhood). This is a diverse and complex phase where enjoyment and fun are the key drivers for participation and at the same time for many, performance, challenge and improvement are key motivators. During this phase we therefore need to provide for these dual aspirations across a wide age range.
The pathway through this stage is not linear and changes in direction and aspiration are common. It’s therefore important that multiple formats and options are available that cater for the diverse needs of this stage as most participants will change activities throughout their lives and need to “retrain”.
Talented athlete phase
This phase is all about realising performance potential of athletes. In this phase athletes are “identified” with the potential to perform to a very high level in the future (talent identification). These athletes then transition through the perform stage with the ultimate goal of reaching the excel stage and maximising their performance level.
Talent identification
- When to start the process of identification is sport specific but should be based around the following principles;
- should be inclusive rather than exclusive
- conducted at multiple stages throughout the participate stage as individuals will develop at varying rates (long-term process)
- early specialisation should be avoided even with identified athletes as this will lead to athlete burnout / drop out
- clear development programmes need to be implemented around identified individuals with development rather than competition success as the key outcom
Perform stage
- Open age.
- Involvement in multiple sports but only one (or perhaps two) pursued “seriously”.
- Higher frequency of deliberate practice with a focus on skill development.
- Position/roles identified within chosen sports.
- Success and failure both viewed as valuable experiences.
- Long term vision around development of individual is key.
Excel stage
- Open age.
- Athletes who are able to translate their training and technical skills into competing at a world-class level and achieving excellence in one sport.
- Focus of stage is on optimisation of performance.
- Athletes need to be integrated into the decision-making process.
- Need for specialised support to deal with stresses associated with elite competition.
Updated | 27 Feb 2008.
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