How to get young and old interested in any sport

[DOVEScot]

I have been involved in sports coaching for 30 years

 

Any kid entering any sport can only do so by the help of his parents, a place where he can gain interest or communal place where they are encouraged to go along and learn by taking part

 

Some ideas

1.  Help of parents normally comes from fanciers trying to encourage there kids to keep the tradition going

 

2.  mentors to encourage young people to come along and take part in the sport and see if they like it

 

3.  governing bodies to set up a facility in all the areas where young people can come along and part in the sport to see if people like it

 

Now fit that into any sport and you will see it is how they encourage anyone to take part, why not try it with pigeons :-/

[ALF]

I think the only way we will get youngsters into the sport now is if someone in their family used to have pigeons or they stay next to and see some neighbours birds and get interested that way

[DOVEScot]

they stay next to and see some neighbours birds and get interested that way

 

Go one step further and encourage them in :-/

[Andkar Lofts]

my 7 yr old g/son ( who lives with us )has been keen on the birds since a toddler

but has started to want to watch them fly out,due to fact that my birds are fancy pigeons & not suited to flying out ,i decided to purchase a 2nd loft ,& have a team of racers again so to keep his interest & keeness going ,we can enjoy them as a team flying them out/training etc & under my guidance he will assist me in the daily routine with them ,& with the help of 2,very good friends of mine who are members on here they are providing me with the y/bs to start with ..............

not suggesting to go to the lengths i have,just responding to the topic & hope that when he's adult he will still be as keen then as he is now ,by my encouragement & help ,as was with me 50+ years ago

[Guest spin cycle]

2- 6 bird sections in each club might help give them a chance in a little race. otherwise its straight in against the big widowhood senders ,defeat and dispirited. also small team small costs...might help keep some oaps in to. the other problem with kids in clubs is 'child protection'. would club officials need crb checks? as a parent if i want to help at school or at cubs i needed one ( and a seperate one for each at that).right or wrong its a rules nightmare. :-/  

[ALF]

The sad thing is not many youngsters are interested in the sport anymore :-/ : I think that is all down to playstations nintendo w!!'s and x box 360's they just want to play games with their mates these days

[DOVEScot]

2- 6 bird sections in each club might help give them a chance in a little race. otherwise its straight in against the big widowhood senders ,defeat and dispirited. also small team small costs...might help keep some oaps in to. the other problem with kids in clubs is 'child protection'. would club officials need crb checks? as a parent if i want to help at school or at cubs i needed one ( and a seperate one for each at that).right or wrong its a rules nightmare. :-/  

 

If it was organised then yes you would need to be checked out by child protection, simple proceedure in Scotland is a SCRO check, which is a Scottish criminal records check to see if you have any previous, once you have been checked you need not re apply as long as you stay within that organisation, ie pigeon club, if you change to another they generally check you again

[just ask me]

my belief is we should be trying to encourge youngers yes but its the older pll that where we can really add extra fanicers when a young lad hits 16 18 years old all that on his mind is women and a few drinks come on lads we all rember so its the ppl that retireing and maybe are looking for something too fill there days i hear that they have conventions now for pll retireing maybe the could be some sort of presention put togeather to show our great sport off  just a tought

[DOVEScot]

With the young its not getting them interested its keeping them interested think most of us as parents have been persuaded to get animals for our kids rabbits dogs and how many of us have ended up looking after them when they have lost interest   Unless i was very sure that they were going to stick to it dont think i would be putting up lofts in my back garden especially if i myself didnt have any interest think your post dovescot answers why a lot of youngsters wont be given the chance

 

Lewis aka Cabin Boy was a keen as they come last year, everyday at the birds cleaning etc, then things died back a bit during the cold winter nights, he was 15 in October and now he has discovered a new type of bird, I bought and got gifted some good racers of some good flyers, I have now gifted them to members from the site, if he gets interested in them again I have been promised some young birds back of the members I gifted them to.

 

I used to get a wide variety of success from the promotions I done while coaching, some just looked in and turned around, some sat and watched, some took part for a night, some stayed with me for a month, a year, ten years then found other interests then some came back as adults to continue

My kids all took part but one of the biggest hurdles is being coached by a parent, only one of them continued into the adult classes, now he coaches other sports :-/

[sammy]

Should be added into the school cariculum were children can get educated on how to keep them in a proper manner

[harky]

i think a lot of it is down to pigeon men themselfs .the way we carry on the kids look and say whos want to get involved in all that ,sod it ill play way my playstation instead  .can you blame them it also costs a fortune nowadays

[Merlin]

 

 

 

My own opinion would be have a shared loft location/birds with each fancier having a number of extra birds say 12 birds registered to a junior member age limit/family relative/neighbours child/any youngster really,using existing flyers loft/rescources/with a junior section in clubs for them to compete in,at a very moderate fee. This would eliminate expenses involved/lofts/birds/clock/ also handicap of training,also learning how to maintain care/train/feeding etc, under constant supervision of more established flyer would make it much easier on any wannabe, going to stick at eventually get own set up, a bit of give and take on both sides its a workable project if they do tire of it,no harm done ,no loss.,

[DOVEScot]

 

Think it depends on what you are trying to get kids interested in if its something like swimming or judo fine as a parent your not left with any worrys but when animals are involved its a bit different

 

It is a bit different but the principles of encouraging them into the sport are the same, you just have to adapt or let the sport deminish, as it is doing so.

If one member can encourage two in their lifetime then we will double the numbers each time you create a new member.

Too many members accepting it is in decline :-/

[DOVEScot]

i think a lot of it is down to pigeon men themselfs .the way we carry on the kids look and say whos want to get involved in all that ,sod it ill play way my playstation instead  .can you blame them it also costs a fortune nowadays

 

So does playstations and the games, yes it is down to pigeon men.

[DOVEScot]

 

 

My own opinion would be have a shared loft location/birds with each fancier having a number of extra birds say 12 birds registered to a junior member age limit/family relative/neighbours child/any youngster really,using existing flyers loft/rescources/with a junior section in clubs for them to compete in,at a very moderate fee. This would eliminate expenses involved/lofts/birds/clock/ also handicap of training,also learning how to maintain care/train/feeding etc, under constant supervision of more established flyer would make it much easier on any wannabe, going to stick at eventually get own set up, a bit of give and take on both sides its a workable project if they do tire of it,no harm done ,no loss.,

 

All ideas should be collated and sent to the governing bodies, maybe even a seminar held at Blackpool on them with press coverage. :-/

 

[phelo84]

i got interested by accident a bird landed in my yard with boken leg strapped up to matches to its leg for 2 weeks sortoed and it stayed with us until the sparowhawk attacked and i missed the little fellow so i then decided to build a small loft and get myself a few birds

[Guest chrisss]

anyone else got anything useful to contribute to this thread? :-/ :-/ :-/

[DOVEScot]

Should be added into the school cariculum were children can get educated on how to keep them in a proper manner

 

I don't think it will never come to that Sammy, but there is nothing to stop an appointed person or someone from the area approaching the schools and offering an introduction into pigeons and the sport

 

I was appointed by Scottish Judo to go around the schools and do a one hour introduction to primary seven pupils. At the end I left a stack of leaflets printed by the SJF with all the contact numbers on it, including all the local clubs. I had no affiliation to the clubs as I was appointed by the SJF therefore no politics.

Since I started it, the principle was taken up by a number of sports bodies throughout  Sports Scotland and beyond :-/

 

[Guest TAMMY_1]

anyone else got anything useful to contribute to this thread? :-/ :-/ :-/

 

sure there will be given time

[Guest chrisss]

the problem appears to be on many layers one of which is time,another is expense in setting up,you also have the problem of public perception [lets face it most people think of pigeons as flying rats]parents nowdays will go out and spend a small fortune on games but will not do it on any form of livestock in case they end up having to look after it, when the interest wears off [average time scale approx 1 month or so ;D ;D]sports of any kind have the same problem nowdays when the mere idea of trying to win is verboten [any one seen the english rugby/football/cricket teams] :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[DOVEScot]

the problem appears to be on many layers one of which is time,another is expense in setting up,you also have the problem of public perception [lets face it most people think of pigeons as flying rats]parents nowdays will go out and spend a small fortune on games but will not do it on any form of livestock in case they end up having to look after it, when the interest wears off [average time scale approx 1 month or so ;D ;D]sports of any kind have the same problem nowdays when the mere idea of trying to win is verboten [any one seen the english rugby/football/cricket teams] :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

Aye you are right about the majority, but we will never be a majority sport.

 

Here's another idea

Aproach the lottery and tell them you are going to set up a facility to encourage young people off the street, You are going to give them social skills by encouraging them to become a member of a club. you are going to teach them technical things like setting clocks, setting up ETS, blah blah blah

It might be a lot of sh** but at least throw some and maybe some will stick

[pjc]

Its not only the cost because I think most of us know you don't actualy have to spend a lot of money.

There are plenty of cheap or second hand sheds around, most fanciers are happy to help breed new/young members birds.

The RPRA run a clock loan scheme for young fanciers and a lot of clubs offer ruduced fees or free subs for under 16's!

So, ok, we get a 14 yr old, he gets his shed , birds, clock etc, manages to get in a club (lucky chap or Lass) and starts racing to his parents back garden. He sticks with it and has realy got the bug, he ignores temptations (we all  know what they are!) he then starts work, time is reduced but still sticks with it, then he wants a place of his own!

Now the problem starts, can't afford a decent size house because of the current prices, can afford a flat, no garden or maybe lucky to be a ble to get a mortgage on a new build starter home and suprise suprise, handkerchief garden and covenents preventing the keeping of poultry and pigeons!

Do I need to go on?