Sports crisis a source of delight, not despair
Posted by Boertjie - 10/04/06 at 01:04 am under General DiscussionsThe crisis in all of South Africa’s major sporting codes – rugby, cricket and soccer – should be a source of delight, not despair, writes one of the country’s renowned columnists.
Whatever the agony, it means that long awaited chickens are at last coming home to roost, and that may improve future prospects, writes William Saunderson-Meyer in his Jaundiced Eye column in the Cape Argus under the heading “We should crow when sporting chickens come home to roost.”
Just on a decade ago we were at the top of our game. We had won the 1995 World Cup, had been runners up in the 1995 Cricket World Cup and the national soccer side had won the 1996 African Cup of Nations.
This week South Africa suffered its fifth successive Test cricket defeat by Australia and there is every possibility that Bafana Bafana will not even qualify for the 2008 African Cup of Nations.
Despite a freak win in the 2004 Tri-Nations, SA teams have performed hopelessly in the Super 14 and its previous incarnations going back six years.
Sport used for social engineering
These losses might concentrate the minds of politicians and administrators, giving hope that merit rather than expediency and ideology will hold sway.
The ANC has used the playing fields of especially rugby and cricket as a testing ground for their constantly evolving theories of social engineering.
While few would seriously contest the need for the racial transformation of sporting codes by extending opportunities and challenging residual racism in selection bodies, this had not been the ANC approach.
Quick fix preferred over tradition
It has gone for the quick fix instead of ensuring that the century-long tradition of schoolboy sport in formerly-white state schools is expanded to formerly-black schools through the provision of proper sporting and coaching facilities.
That has meant unrealistic racial quotas in team selection – the antithesis of the merit system that drives sporting excellence – and the dicking around with team composition by successive sports ministers.
Such interference would not be tolerated if sports administrators had even a modicum of testicular fortitude.
Unfortunately, many of the good administrators withdrew from involvement rather than be labelled racists for resisting such interference, while many of those who remained have the featherbedding of themselves and their cronies as their primary motivation.
Intervention in soccer needed
If government interference in rugby and cricket declines as a result of the present performance crisis, well and good. In soccer, however, such government intervention has been strangely missing and is sorely needed.
Successive judicial commissions have identified corruption and maladministration as problems for black-dominated soccer. Remarkably, the government has never dared to interfere, unlike the “white” sports of cricket and rugby where it has been only to keen to stick its nose in.
With the prospect of an embarassing poor performance in the 2010 World Cup, which South Africa is to host, the government may now be forced to intervene to clean out soccer’s rotten administration and consequently risk the wrath of the fans.
This distraction could give rugby and cricket the breathing space they need to get their acts in order, if their sport administrators could only be distracted from their endless internecine campaigns of self-aggrandisement.
April 10th, 2006 at 4:00 am
What is that they say about flying pigs?
April 10th, 2006 at 8:15 am
Jees, this oke is a bit more enthusiastic than me, but maybe he has a point. maybe they will finally wake up. On second thoughts, Nahhhhh, our sport will just continue on a downward spiral, and nothing will change. This is the sad fact of Sport in SA.
April 10th, 2006 at 8:18 am
http://www.superbru.com/petition.asp
Please guys go to the link above and sign the petition that will be send to Sky in order for us Saffas/Kiwis/Aussies to hopefully get some more Super 14 action in the near future.
Someone has taken the initiative and hopefully it will pay off in the near future. Even if you’re in SA sign it just in order to get the numbers up.
Also email it to all your mates and get the word out. I know there are loads of us over in the UK only seeing a few matches per week while sky controls the market. Should hopefully get them to show us more action soon.
April 10th, 2006 at 8:33 am
Interesting point of view
So how long must we- the supporters- be the swaggering Cock -a-doodle doo on the ShyteHaus roof?
I do not want to support shyte- as much as I do not want -not to support shyte- but at least I can make fun of it.
Or must I really play Lego for the rest of my life?
April 10th, 2006 at 9:11 am
What do these people actually want us (as the public) to say.
If you attack the incompetence, you are
branded as a racist whiteman. The sad part is
that nobody really cares who governs the whole
sporting scene, as long as the interests of
the game are taken at heart. Ever since the
political/transformation/quota issue has been
wrongly forced, SArugby has been on a downward
spiral. That that is obviously killing the
sport, considers itself as untouchable, and
reserves the right to just stuff it up even
further. The sad part is that they can’t see
the ballsup they are causing, as it is in
pretty much most sectors of the country, not
only the sport. I can’t handle it…
April 10th, 2006 at 9:33 am
SA Rugby started it downward spiral the moment professionalism came to the table.
When this happened the administrators stepped into the lime light, but were totally incompetent to deal with it. They had neither the knowledge nor the skills to effectively communicate or negotiate with people in teh real business world.
We can say and shout that they were teachers or what ever, but that is no excuse. It doesn’t matter what background you have, you should have the skills to back it up.
Luckily for the administrators the players, most of them, in this initial professional era had the ability and skills to cope with professionalism, because they had tertiary education. The administrators and some coaches could therefore hide behind the results the PLAYERS brought to the table.
The big problem came when the new breed of players came through teh system and did not have the skills or knowledge how to conduct themselves in a professional way. They have all the skills on the rugby field, but they don’t have the backbone to display them and are dominated by the inept administrators and in most cases coaches without vision.
I would hate to play rugby in any team at this stage in South Africa as any initiative or creativity will be smothered. On top of that you will play with teammates that seems to barely have enough off the field skills or motivation, except money, to tie their own shoe laces.
I have been struggling with this thought for a while now, but am glad to see that people are realising that team sport is dying in SA. The sports that will excell is the individuals, who won’t be dependant on teammates who are slapgat because of the general decay of the youth in this country especially under the previously advantaged group.
What is however more schocking when you realise this is that the bottom line means that we as SA can’t worked together as we did previously and that alone raises questions going back to the country as a whole and not only sport.
Incompetancy is not something we can lay at the feet of the administrators, it is also the coaches and the players who seem not to have the general competancy of life (discipline, motivation other than money, heart, hunger to succeed) outside what is required on a rugby field.
And we as supporters must put up with this shit day after day.
April 10th, 2006 at 9:41 am
Now my controversial side will out.
If you want to blame quotas for the rot in SA sport then in my opinion the problem with quota’s is that they were to low, they allowed tockenism instead of helping to drive transformation at the grass roots. Imagine ten years ago sides were given a target that half their players were players of colour by next years world cup. What would have happened? Money would have gone into developing school boy rugby and promoting rugby in previously soccer dominated areas. A boy in grade 8 (std 6) ten years ago is now 23/24. You would be starting to see the fruits of transformation as more players from black communities not just from the eastern Cape came into the game. The support base for rugby would be much broader (even if from lower income groups), more people at games, hence more sponsorhips, thus more money to spend. As an example this year is the first year that FNB is sponsoring a rugby festival for SOWETO schools. A wonderful initiative, but several years to late.
However the problem is not quotas but the old boys club that continue to run Rugby for their own gain, without much thought about actual professionalism from themselves or the players.
Perhaps the author of the post has a point the sooner the shake up comes the better
April 10th, 2006 at 9:43 am
Donner
Good post
April 10th, 2006 at 9:44 am
Welshbok, we must be carefull to only look at the negatives of Quotas, or affirmative action. Government had to do it right after the ANC took over. The mistake they made, was to do only this, not focus enough on changing traditions, or developing skills of the young people. If they had done this, we would’ve had enough qualified people, a long time ago. But AA was needed right after the change of government. There were not enough skilled people back then. There still are not, but I blame government for this, as they focused only on numbers, and not on future development.
April 10th, 2006 at 9:55 am
Helen Zille has obviously emboldened people down in the Cape to comment on the sartorial state of the emperor. A few years ago no columnist (certainly not in the so-called Independent Group stable) would have dared write something like this.
April 10th, 2006 at 10:18 am
OO, I don’t have a problem with playing Lego! As long as it goes “My vrou le, en ek go!”. Sies, vuil voel ek nou!
April 10th, 2006 at 10:39 am
aldo i agree quotas/transformation wahtever nice word we give it was necessary.
davids wrote a brilliant piece on this some time ago.
the problem is also more or less explained with your view on just looking at numbers and not real development.
events such as the hotdog and t-shirts days come to mind where black kids meet their hero’s but that is only one day – what is the point?
administrators were forced into the quota system, being forced unlocks a whole bunch of human emotions which is always not good.
they were not given incentives for development, plain and simple.
there are no programs to encourage development in the sense we are speaking about.
hence coaches and admin dont give a toss and we will keep on seeing the two black wing syndrome.
the government says, do it!
the coaches goes, how?
government does not know they just want to see results, coaches then go and say, cool, where can i hide these poor plonkers i am forced to play?
lose/lose situation, and like donner said very unprofessional.
i did my piece on professionalism yesterday and i believe in a true professional environment the correct incentives can be put in place where coaches/unions get rewarded for developing talent, not raped.
April 10th, 2006 at 10:49 am
Where are the centres of sporting excellence in the townships? Where are the programmes to get sports into township schools? Where are the phys ed teachers at these schools?
No it’s easier to bully the sporting bodies about quotas than to actually deal with the problem.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:02 am
Il Postino, that is something that has irritated me for a long time. Also something I’ve been quite vocal about. If they pay me, I’ll do it for them if they can’t!
April 10th, 2006 at 11:13 am
il postino
You hit the nail on the head.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:13 am
Aldo and Pissant, agree with you on transformation issues, it was important and had to be adressed, but it caused more shit than good, viewing the way it was done.
10 years down the line, we are further backward than ever before, and being stung by wrong actions on both sides of the equasion.
In the way they are trying to adress transformation, they aren’t putting heads together and producing a win/win situation for both transformation and rugby. They are turning it into a choice between the 2, as it was said, a loose /loose has evolved.
Your blue print PA of yesterday would produce the solution, but I suppose there are plenty more dynamics that we aren’t aware of, as you also said.
It’s however being forced to be either one or the other, and rugby (the game) is unfortunately paying dearly, and that is very sad.
I’ll start supporting Jukskei now, no government interference (yet).
April 10th, 2006 at 11:25 am
il postino
Phys Ed teachers in any school is close to non existant. All part of the new education system. Education is now focussed on academics and that alone. No ballance between duty and fun anymore. Result is imbalanced children with no sense of pride or belonging creating their own groups that will do anything negative to get the attention of others. Group pressures are at a all time high.
Add to that parents that is too busy to care and a non chalant approach to raising their kids and whalla: recipy for disater.
I had alot to say about some friends who emigrated to Australia last year under the excuse that there is a better life for their children. Being very naive I immediately thought of job opportunites and disagreed completely. I still believe their is great opportunities for our children in our South Africa.
However I lost sight that opportunities also include being exposed to a system that could help them with the challenges that they face while growing up. Our academic education in SA is great for anyone who is willing to do their part, but when it comes to growing up, SA has allowed the youth of today to face challenges without a system to assist them in dealing with them.
Discipline both at school level and at home has been neglected and traditions killed off under the excuse of reconciliation.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Jees Donner, you really having a go today. All your posts are good, but also longer than normal. You having withdrawel symptoms, due to the KKNK of last week?
April 10th, 2006 at 11:30 am
welshbok,
I totally agree with you and must add.
Not only did they not succeed in developing the talent among the previous disadvantage groups, but they even let the talent allready there amongst the previous advantaged groups to slip through neglect.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Aldo,
Not the withdrawl symptoms you think of. Rather of what I saw with regards to our youth.
Shit we have a hard time ahead as parents in this country and I am specifically referring to the socalled previous advantaged.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Donner, I hope you’re not referring to me. I’m a well behaved young man! But you are right, there is less discipline in todays times than ever before!
April 10th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Aldo,
I couldn’t find a better term for the group younger than 21. Youth to me is now between 7 and 21. Would have loved to say between 15 and 21, but would rather not elaborate.
April 10th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Discipline is all important but it needs to be the kind of discipline that people can use in an ever-changing world, ie the discipline that comes from within.
Children should be encouraged to question everything, but also learn self-discipline and self-reliance as well as the impact of their actions on others. It should not be a case of do as you are told or you will be bliksemed.
You see a lack of this in players in all sports and of all races in SA.
April 10th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Donner,
The decline in the education system started when national service stopped (my conservative opinion however), and Cadets at the schools also came to an end.
That was when all the slapgat, humanistic, no discipline, human rights, no respect for nobody attitude started evolving, and the kids became inactive couch potatoes playing computergames in stead of Rugby / or any competative sport!
Go and look at all the rugby schools (grey, affies, Paarl Gym, boois haai, Paul Roos, etc etc, they are all still tending to the disciplined and proud heritage regime, and it’s no coincidence that they produce good rugby!
April 10th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
Sorry Welshbok, that approach only produces automatons who await instructions before doing anything. That won’t breed self-motivation, self-discipline and creativity.
The thing is that neither are taught at most schools.
April 10th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
I am probably one of these flat earth people though…., and as Posty said, it’s good to use the mind and question things, and to be enlightened in life.
Staaldraad was a bid stupid!
April 10th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
The sad thing is that sport – coached properly – teaches all of these things I referred to better than almost any other school activity. Yet they are qualities that can be used in all facets of life.
April 10th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
South Africa has fallen for the British failure of ‘outcomes based’ education.
We used to have Phys Ed at school and they don’t anymore.
School sports have deteriorated and are now the preserve of schools who can afford to pay a coach as no teachers do coaching of sports anymore.
ps. Britain has now abandoned outcomes based education. In fact every country that ever tried it has eventually abandoined it because of it’s failures to educate properly. We’ll hopefully go the same route eventually.
ps. Postman go to Sandton City, Eastgate, East Rand Mall or any mall for that matter on a Saturday morning or Saturday evening at the movies and see the ‘youth’ our country is producing now… and shudder.
April 10th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Postman
That system of education produced some of the most brilliant thinkers and doers of our time.
If it could produce Mark Shuttleworth then it can’t be all bad.
April 10th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Quoting from Donners post “Australia last year under the excuse that there is a better life for their children.”
Australia for children is an interesting choice. It must have been afew years ago now, but someone came to talk at our church about grief councelling and according to her statistics (and I never checked it out) Australia had the second highest per Capita teenage suicide rate in the world after Japan. Makes you think, everywhere has it bugs to bare, its being able to face up to the challenges head on.
I agree that modern schooling practice teaches cariculum and doen’t educate and universities teach people what they need for their careers, not how to think. Education is a process that requires many facits. I’d love to teach to willing youngsters, but willing is the issue.
And the sooner you give them to me the sooner we can cure the habits that detract from performance later. Its mental discipline, a love of reading and a love of sport. I used to play chess for the my school up to std 7 and played water polo and rugby and I played squash. The broader the sporting variation the beter for the childs physical development. Specialisation shouldn’t happen until after the age of around 16, for team sports. I’ll go and dredge up some ofteh Russian sport science and an article I read recently that says specialisation of player too young leads to shortened careers and poorer performances later on.
April 10th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Ooh I should have run a spell check before I posted that last one. Talking about education
—blush—
April 10th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
POSTIE:
“No it’s easier to bully the sporting bodies about quotas than to actually deal with the problem.”
It is known to me as the Quick Fix syndrome. To build a house you have GOT to start with the foundation. No policy or law will change that. You also need the people with the skills of putting down a foundation, and then building onto it.
This same Quick Fix syndrome is very visible with the Spears dilemma.
A quick one re the author:
No, he has always been very much on the forefront of many controversial issues cutting various ways.
April 10th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Ras,
Can you give us some feedback on the schooling system on Mud isle wrt sports ed?
April 10th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Yuppee,lets giggle along while
the blood flows from our wrists.
What an original thought.
April 10th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Magnus frater spetat te,is it Admin?
April 10th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
et tu?
April 10th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Fair ’nuff.
My humble apologie Oh Fair One.
Spero nos familiares mansuras.
April 10th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Can i call him a stormer?
April 10th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
By all means
You go ahead
April 10th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Cant think of any greater insult anyway.
Just don’t let the Mad Monk hear you!
April 10th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
I heard him.
April 10th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
hehehe
April 10th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I could most certainly think of a few,
however,
when in rome and all that carry on.
In theory, all monks are mad.
Probaly has something to do with abstaining
from one vice only to indulge in another.
Some of the best fermenters are monks.
Makes you wonder about all that idle time.
April 10th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Thought you’d be about
your debaucherous ways,Russian.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
And slainte to you too, Duiwel, my old friend.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
As for debauchery, tis but the spice of life.
How are you, Duiwel, me old mucker.
Seriously now.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Hanging onto my dubious
sanity by a mere thread.
Luckily i shall be in the right place
at the right time ,next year.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Then again,from the state of our
S14 effort,i should be crying
instead of smiling.
I last felt so sad when sugar ray took that
dodgey decision again marvelous marvin.
The Bok is dead Ras?
Everyone is propping up its carcass to make a few more bucks.
Its sad.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
I am seriously considering
apllying for dual nationality.
I have spent the last 15 years more
away than home,
but this last friendship deal with Libiya
has finally made me consider it.
I made two mistakes,
the first was to leave,
the second was to go back.
Being fatalistic i make the second mistake
over and over again.
i miss South Africa daily.
Its just a shame about the south africans.
April 10th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
Duiwel
And we miss you!
Daily!
April 11th, 2006 at 12:07 am
Duiwel,
As per your 11:32, I fully understand.
April 11th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
After 80 minutes and the extra time
in a bruising world cup final,elation
as we emerge victors and a journalist
tries a fast one and he comes back
with a left hook worthy of Ali’s
“no viet cong ever called me nigger.”
At saracens he excelled,as player
and at managing,he is even now preparing
the soil to plant tommorows crop.
For himself arguably.
Like us all.
Ons vir jou Suid afrika is as dead as the Bok.
Quick as light that boy.