Fields of dreams

My fondest memories of my youth are those of my sporting past.

Admittedly it was in Nelson, so there were very few weekends where it rained.

But as a coach of a Division 7 football team in Brooklyn, its been a frustrating year with the weather. All to often grounds are closed or games are called off. This is understandable, as its better not to cut the grounds up and miss out on training or not be able to play on those very same grounds for another week or more.

But wouldn’t it be nice if we had better grounds for our junior footballers, rugby players, and hockey teams. I don’t think I am alone in suggesting that it would be a fantastic idea to offer an astro turf for junior players, or substantially improve drainage. Tanera Park in Brooklyn has 3 dedicated junior fields and would be an ideal candidate for such development.

But why should we invest substantial sums of money in improving our playing fields for our youth?

Clearly there is the potential for cost savings, both in water savings and maintenance costs. But the other important factor is youth engagement. And developing playing fields that can be used regularly, is one plank in a much wider youth engagement strategy.

In the UK they have developed a national activity-based social inclusion programme for young people called “positive futures”. It uses sports programs to engage youth (and their families) in positive activities. Steering kids away from crime, graffiti, drugs, and alcohol misuse. There are also other programmes that I have outlined in an earlier posting about our youth.

Providing fields should be part of a wider strategy to provide our youth positive avenues to express themselves and to meet life long friends. Collaboration and partnership with clubs and schools is an equally important part of this strategy. Council needs to provide support in governance and marketing of the various sporting codes — to enable clubs to be attractive options for our youth. And perhaps through collaboration with clubs and other agencies costs can also be shared. The council should not just be a bank. It needs to also be a facilitator of action.

If we can engage our youth early in sports programmes, as they have done in the UK, we too might see a rapid decline in graffiti and youth crime. But it requires a much more proactive approach from our council — that to date we have not seen. In fact the opposite is true. Council youth resources have been under invested and stretched due to financial pressure and funding reductions.

Sadly the impression is that investment in our youth has not received the attention it deserves from our council. And we are seeing it manifest itself in crime, graffiti, and alcohol misuse.

We need to change this.

Its about our youth.

http://communityspacechallenge.org, http://www.posfutures.org.uk, http://www.goplacesdothings.org.uk,

Our youth

What is our council doing for our youth?  Are we using our resources to their full potential? Or has council been silently under resourcing investment in our youth?

Well if library funding cuts are any indication, then yes they are.

We need council policies for youth that provide positive outcomes, not bans that will get them into trouble with the law. As young people become more positive, productive, and independent, the whole community benefits.

Libraries are one aspect of engaging our youth in educational activities. But there are others. Here are a few success stories, that perhaps we could develop in Wellington.

In Nelson they have started up a program that matches troubled teenagers with abandoned animals. And the results are amazing. Teenagers who have had nothing to do apart from wander the streets looking for trouble have found a new purpose in life. This is something our council and local SPCA could also do? Lets make it happen.

In Luton they have developed a community trust in partnership with other charities and central government, to engage with youth in order to improve abandoned and misused spaces, often associated with trouble. By engaging youth to adopt and improve their own spaces, it became their space. And if they own it, then it will be looked after and not be vandalised by graffiti. Because lets face it, graffiti is a reflection of a youth wanting identity, acknowledgement and  purpose.

In the UK they have developed a national activity-based social inclusion programme for young people called “positive futures”. It uses sports programs to engage youth (and their families) in positive activities. Steering kids away from crime, drugs, and alcohol misuse.

In Bristol, the council developed a “go places do things” webpage, and actively engaged with local schools (and parents) to increase participation in activities outside of school. We should be seeking more council brokerage of community opportunities in volunteer and sports activities.

Our council needs to be pro-active in assisting local clubs to grow their memberships. We need to be in active partnership with schools and clubs. And as I have said before, supporting local sports clubs in their governance, administration, and marketing.

Because, if we address the source of our problems, we won’t need to ban anything.

http://communityspacechallenge.org, http://www.posfutures.org.uk, http://www.goplacesdothings.org.uk, http://www.thenelsonark.co.nz/programmes.html

Lets celebrate our success

What a fantastic idea! Lets celebrate the All Whites success and have a ticker tape parade for our heroes. They absolutely deserve it. And its great to be celebrating our football teams success at the home of football – our city Wellington (go the phoenix!).

I coach junior football, and its had a real impact on the kids, not to mention all the adults who have suddenly got into the game. Sport can really bring people together, and its so important for our youth to have an avenue to express themselves and to have the opportunity to meet life long friends.

Its why our council need to do more for the sports community than just provide sports fields. Many clubs are struggling and would benefit from administrative support, mentoring and guidance.

But isn’t it funny that a few weeks ago there were no funds for a carnival, but suddenly council can scrape together funds for a different parade?

Lets hope central government chip in, because this is a national occassion. Not everyday you draw with the current world champions!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/local/3837039/Mayor-calls-for-parade-to-honour-All-Whites