Consider whether any of the following statements might be true:

- Sport can be a factor in people choosing independent education

- Sport can be a factor in choosing which independent school

- Sport is important to parents and pupils who are not outstanding performers

- The website is a first impression of a school

If there is any uncertainty, then the following might be helpful in reaching a decision

"For many parents, the quality of the sports is a defining factor when choosing a school...

Not all children like games. The better the quality of the experience, the higher will be the proportion that do, but that figure will never be 100%. Sometimes it will be the children who are unable to readily master necessary skills, others will not enjoy being outdoors in the cold and some will recognise that many games are structurally ridiculous as human pursuits.

Whilst games undoubtedly have the capacity to capture the imagination of their followers, and to provide participants with rich and rewarding experiences, simply taking part in games does not ensure that these benefits will...

PADSIS 2015

Tony Strudwick - Health, Fitness and Athletic Preparation for Children

This year’s conference was opened at the pre conference dinner on Thursday evening by Tony Strudwick, Manchester United’s head of sports science.

For all the attending guests, he posed the question, what does effective athletic preparation look like for children? In doing so he called into question many of the predominant practices within the football industry, and discussed the effect of the seemingly ubiquitous 10,000 hour myth and resultant early specialisation.

He discussed the overall...