Support networks for sportspeople

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Ben:
The support that families provide is really about the resources that they hold. Now when we think of resources we often think of money. Now money is important in buying equipment, in providing money for entry fees and providing lodging when they’re away from home and so forth, so money is one aspect but not the only aspect.

The other resource is transport. Different families have different amount of number of parents and a different number of cars, some people don’t even have a private car, so getting transport to venues for training, for competitions and eventually travelling around the country and maybe around Europe, that’s another resource.

The third resource is time, all of this takes a lot of time. Now some families have more time available to them and some families have less time available. If you come from a family with, you know, a number of children, the parents are going to be pulled all sorts of ways.

Venus:
Well my mum’s encouraged me to keep going because when I’m in competitions, she just says, “Come on, Venus!” She yells for me and she just makes me feel much better and confident to do it so I won’t fall and I’ll just, all I’ll think about is just doing a normal routine, but in training just do one routine and it’s over.

Ben:
People who have, you know, less resources from their family, and Ashley’s perhaps a case in point there, in his case he’s got great support from a club network and some really, you know, coaches who really want him to improve and nurture him, and mentors as well. So clubs, coaches can often, you know, step in and fill some of those roles.

Ashley:
I think in sports you can meet a lot of friends and you know they’re behind you. There’s a good five people in WJC what are my boys, like actual my boys.

Ben:
We often forget that young people, they get a lot out of sport, from, just by making great friends and the social side, so I think coaches and families need to recognise that not everyone’s doing it just to win to start with, they’re doing it because of the friendships and the social aspects.