MITCHELL JOHNSON: Children’s sport should be about enjoying the journey secialisation comes later

Watching the school ACC athletics carnival this week reminded me why there is enormous value in children being involved in multiple sports.

Some competitors were clearly trained athletes. You could see it in their technique and in the routines they followed before racing, jumping or throwing. They knew how to prepare themselves because they had practised it many times.

Others, including my daughter, had little specific athletics training beyond the occasional school session. Yet some of those untrained children still finished among the best.

My daughter has competed in karate and now focuses mainly on dance outside school, while continuing to participate in school swimming and athletics carnivals. Watching her in the hurdles and high jump, I could see how much dance had helped her.

The jumping, balance and ability to remain light and springy on her feet all transferred across. More importantly, she enjoyed herself while being competitive.

There was no great expectation because athletics was not her main sport. She could compete, try to win and discover what she was capable of without feeling that the result defined her.

That is one of the great benefits of children playing different sports. Every sport teaches them something new physically and mentally. They develop different movements, meet different groups of people and experience being part of both teams and individual competition.

They also have the opportunity to find the sport they genuinely love.

There may come a time when a young person chooses to concentrate on one sport. There is nothing wrong with specialising if that is what the individual truly wants.

But it should be their decision, not one driven by a parent who believes an eight-year-old is already heading for a World Cup or a professional contract. Be there and cheer for them, support and encourage your child. Don’t forget they are kids and learning.

At younger ages, the playing field can be very uneven because children grow and develop at different rates, with hormones also affecting their strength, speed and coordination.

Natural ability can take children a long way, sometimes until years 9 or 10 and even beyond. You can spot those with that little twinkle in their eye and wonder how far they might go, but early talent guarantees nothing.

I learnt that lesson through tennis.

Tennis was my main sport growing up, although I loved playing almost anything. I was naturally good and performed well in tournaments, but I was not a particularly hard worker at training. My training partner was the opposite. I regularly beat him because I had more natural ability, but he continued to work harder than I did.

When we were about 16, he beat me. I could not understand it at the time.

My dad explained why, and although I did not fully appreciate the lesson then, it has remained with me. Eventually, hard work catches natural talent when natural talent is not prepared to work.

Cricket did not become serious for me until I was about 17 and a half and had my meeting with Dennis Lillee. If I had been pushed to specialise as a young child, perhaps I would never have enjoyed the different sports that shaped me before cricket became my career.

Sport can be expensive. Registration fees, uniforms, equipment, and travel all add up, particularly when a child plays several sports. My family could not always afford everything required for tennis. I sometimes played with holes in my shoes, but I had a wonderful coach and club that helped me. In return, I helped coach the younger children.

That community spirit still exists in many clubs, although those opportunities are not available to everyone. School sport therefore matters enormously. Even when organised sport is unaffordable, there is still value in finding a park, grabbing a football, going for a run or simply getting children outside and active.

Parents should encourage, support and be excited by their children’s ability. But we must also remember whose sporting experience it is.

Children initially play for fun, to be with their friends, to compete and, yes, to win. Winning matters, but so does learning how to win and lose graciously, compete hard and fair, support teammates and remain patient when improvement does not happen immediately.

If a child commits to a season, I also believe they should see it through. Commitment is another lesson sport teaches, particularly when teammates are relying on you.

Physical talent will only take an athlete so far. As children grow and the physical differences begin to narrow, the mental side becomes increasingly important. Work, social lives and other interests appear, and the athletes who continue are often those who genuinely want it.

Our children may become champions and they may not. That cannot be known from the sideline at eight years old.

Let them try different sports, enjoy the journey and learn the lessons each one offers. There will be time to specialise later. Childhood should first be their opportunity to play.