Balance is Better

Ensuring all our young netball participants have balance in their sporting, and physical activities is a cause NNZ is passionate about. As you are aware, Sport New Zealand hosted several webinars, aimed at coaches, administrators, and parents to start thinking about how they can create a great environment for young people in sport. These webinars can now be viewed on the Sport NZ website and include key show notes.

Click on the links below to access the webinars OR click on the 'Balance is Better' button to take you to their website

• Getting child safeguarding right
• Trials and selection processes in youth sport – What does good look like?
• The art and science of coaching young women
• Preparing for a successful season – What do coaches need to know?
• Setting our kids up for success and what it takes to be a Good Sports parent
• Coaches: How do you respond to repeated mistakes​​​​​​​

As the mornings get brighter and the days a little colder, many of you will now be engaged in the winter sport season. It’s an exciting time and young people are often raring to go, looking at which sports they want to play over the winter months. One question that always pops up is while playing a variety of sports is great, how much is too much and how can we support young people to make sure they are looking after themselves and not overloading themselves? Burnout and overload are two very common issues that come up. Multiple trainings, game days, and competing priorities off the sports field can leave rangatahi running on fumes and not taking the time they need to properly rest and recover. As supporters of young people in sport, we know how important it is to understand what young people are looking for in sport but it’s also important to ensure we look out for the signs that they are doing too much.   Balance is Better Champion and former Kiwi League player, Shontayne Hape, speaks about specialising in one sport too early and overload leading to him falling out of love with a particular sport. We know the physical and wellbeing benefits sport can bring but if our young people are doing too much and suffering injury or overload, they won’t get to experience all the skill development that comes with sport.   Here are three simple tips we can takeaway this season to help young people avoid overload: Ensure the competition structures of their chosen sports allow for appropriate rest and recovery in between other sports  Understand and look for signs of overload and injury  Understand the various commitments each player has that season so you can plan appropriately around these  Let’s ensure our rangatahi stay fit and healthy to enjoy an awesome winter season.

​​​​​​​Balance is Better Resources