Northern Region Football began working on their Good Sports strategy to change sideline attitudes and behaviours from the grassroots level in 2019, making strides to better experiences for tamariki and rangatahi.

The organisation now requires individuals from each club to attend educational Good Sports presentations on a yearly basis; working to educate parents, coaches, administrators and players around the importance of respect for one another, as well as giving young players the opportunity to develop their skills and have fun participating without pressure.

Placing emphasis on improving sideline behaviour has resulted in significant improvements, especially at junior levels. Dave Alabaster of Northern Region Football has recognised a huge decrease in disruptive behaviour from spectators, parents, and coaches – creating a better environment for our tamariki and rangatahi to enjoy playing sport. It can be difficult to change the attitudes of adults, but alongside the educational workshops, Dave acknowledges one of the most beneficial methods for creating attitudinal changes towards referees is getting parents and coaches to volunteer as referees themselves, flipping their perspective on the game.

Dave also reflects on how coaching has become more athlete-centred, where an enormous aspect is asking players questions – what they want to improve; what they want to learn; asking them, “what could you have done differently in that situation?”. This promotes deeper thought and understanding into the tactical methods within football. It allows players to develop their thought processes in a positive environment – not one where mistakes are dwelled upon, and instead seen as an opportunity to learn and improve. Providing this learning environment develops players with a higher game intelligence and a better attitude towards making mistakes. 

Additionally, the organisation has embraced cross-code collaboration, adjusting season length/dates to better suit participants. Northern Region Football’s season operates from term 2 until the end of term 3, leaving all of term 1 and 4 for tamariki and rangatahi to explore summer sports with complete flexibility. This adjustment works especially well for the large percentage of football players who are also involved in cricket throughout the summer months.

If you want to learn more about Good Sports visit https://aktive.org.nz/what-we-do/good-sports/, or if you’d like to take it further in your club or code contact Joey Yovich, Sport Northland’s Regional Connector at josephy@sportnorth.co.nz