Balance is Better philosophy

Coaches

3 Min

Are we beating them into a system?

This article is shared by Player Development Project Systems tend to dominate organisational thinking in the modern age. So how do these systems potentially harm player development and participation? Co-founder...

Balance is Better in Action

5 Min

Play them all – Former Tall Black, Dillon Boucher

Former New Zealand basketballer Dillon Boucher knows all about the pressure to perform and succeed in sport.  But it’s not from his own experiences – it’s from the expectation of others that his four children will follow...

Coaches

6 Min

Breaking the Machine

This article is shared by Player Development Project The machine that is premature professionalism in youth sport is a growing problem. Environments created to replicate professional sport, ‘elite’ pathways at...

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Balance is Better in Action

7 Min

Case Study: Netball New Zealand

Every weekend over the winter season thousands of Kiwi kids gather on netball courts around the country. From the outside, the sport is as strong as always with netball continuing...

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Parents

2 Min

Keep up with the play: the case for taking youth sport less seriously

Sport NZ and five of the largest participation sports in New Zealand – Rugby, Cricket, Football, Netball and Hockey – have launched a major public awareness campaign calling for enablers...

Balance is Better in Action

2 Min

Sports Bodies Join Together to Change Youth Sport

Youth sport is set to undergo a dramatic shake-up as the leaders of Sport NZ and the country’s five largest participation sports speak out in a united front against negative...

Balance is Better in Action

3 Min

Case Study: Auckland Football Federation

In 2017, Auckland Football Federation was facing two interrelated problems. For the last 65 years, the federation had been selecting representative teams to attend the Weir Rose Bowl Tournament, an...

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Balance is Better in Action

5 Min

Case Study: New Zealand Cricket’s new social innovation: Yeah! Girls

Cricket is one of New Zealand’s quintessential summer sports, with young and old lining up wickets and fast bowls on backyard cricket pitches around the country. It is a sport...

Balance is Better in Action

3 Min

Case Study: Tasman Rugby aim for fair play

Poor behaviour from fellow players, coaches, parents and spectators can have a devastating effect on our young people’s experience of sport. Bullying, harassment, aggression and a disregard for the concept...