60, million people in this country why are we so bad at sport?

Question

we are a talented nation in many things but with sport we can not produce the final goods does any one agree

Answer 1

I think the school system is at fault. When I think back on my high school days, there was nothing as boring as sport. Maybe things have changed since then, I don't know. I can recommend the way they do it in Germany. That is, sport is more or less an activity outside of school. They have gym clubs, tennis, soccer, ice hockey...you name it. Most kids join a club. These clubs have a concentrated program, where they can focus more on each child. At the same time, they get the kids off the street. The children learn team sports and are kept busy with additional activities. So no more 40 boring minutes of school sport…they usually meet at least 4-5 times a week for two to three hours per day.

Answer 2

Only to a certain extent. We 'fail' on occasions because we don't believe in ourselves enough (ie Euro 96) or our talented sports stars are just badly organised (last year's Six Nations, this year's football World Cup).

However, are we THAT bad at sport? Let's look at some of our successes over recent years:

2001 - Qualified for the World Cup turning a hopeless start into a glorious finale (winning 5-1 in Germany, as if anyone needed reminding!) Liverpool won the UEFA Cup.

2002 - Did very well in the Winter Olympics (ie curling) and in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

2003 - Won the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup in Australia.

2004 - excelled in the Athens Olympics doing much better than expected (even had our best ever day for winning gold medals).

2005 - Won the Ashes and London won the Olympic bid. Liverpool won the Champions League.

2006 - Arsenal reached the Champions' League final for the first time ever.



We, as a nation need to improve our collective sporting mentality. Britain unfortunately has a pessimism culture; we are far too negative (especially through our media) and this plays on our athletes' minds. We also need to invest a lot more in grass-roots level sport so that our youngsters can hone their skills from an earlier age, and reach higher levels of ability.

In Holland this happens all the time. Their young footballers are taught close control and ball skills on small pitches, from a very early age. When they reach their late teens and are ready to break into sides, their technique is often at a higher level than their British counterparts. This 'production line' effect means that a country with a fairly small population can consistently produce quality footballers. Australia and New Zealand also do the same with their cricketers and rugby teams.

Answer 3

I hope I'm going to be accused of racism but I reckon we have too many foreigners in our soccer teams. Consequently young home grown talent doesn't get a chance to come through. With the aim of winning, top managers would prefer to buy top players from overseas in order to ensure success. They have to!
As far as tennis goes, it's surprising that we're still awaiting a top class player but maybe Murray will do it soon.
Rugby? England are world champs & currently rebuilding for the future, if they can get a good kicker! Admittedly I'm a little ashamed of their recent performances.
Cricket? We won the ashes didn't we. Yes, we're not going great but we will come good again.

Countries like Australia play a far greater attention to sport than we do. From tiny tots right up , they are competitive. In the UK , it's almost an offence to be competitive.

Considering everything, especially the attitudes of our politicians, Britain doesn't do bad.

Answer 4

I agree with golfjunkie, also, it is very expensive to use the facility in the UK and lack of sponsors for individuals. If I remember correctly, some British athletes in the LA Olympics sold their tracksuits to raise money. It is disgusting! More should be done for these hardworking sport people!

Answer 5

it all goes back to when the Torrie's were in power in the 80's forcing the schools to sell off there playing fields thus sport in schools was reduced, meaning there were fewer opportunities for kids to get into sport. the school i went to had 6 football pitches 4 rugby pitches and 6 tennis courts, it wasn't a privet school just a normal comprehensive, now they have none and are surrounded on all sides by housing estates. Maggie also pinched our milk

Answer 6

out of 60 million only about 1,000 english players are actually good anough to get scouted for proffesional and england
(thats a probability anyway)

Answer 7

i blame the weather and overcrowding,its either too cold or too many people about to do anything.