[Cyr]

I was reading Jariels thread about the $60 million dollar high school football stadium, and it really made me wonder:
Why doesn't high school sport matter in England/ the UK?
I've been a pretty successful rugby player and used to play for my county (like state) in rugby. However, rugby was never that important to me. We'd meet on a Saturday, go to some school in the middle of nowhere, play them with no one watching and then go home. A couple of months ago, I played in the county cup final for my school, and it was such a non event I felt let down. We lost, and it was played on a field with about 100 people watching. They couldn't even hold it in some shitty stadium with a grandstand or something. The best high school footballers are famous and have highlight videos on YouTube. They're even in video games. If a football team wins a state championship, they get championship rings! I won the county cup two years ago and we didn't even get a medal.
I'm interested to know what people's opinion on this are? Why is high school sport so big in America, and why is it so meaningless in Europe?

[Moma]

What about footie, mate? That's big, isn't it? Maybe not Ruggers (if you are in London, don't quote me) but surely footie.

[Cyr]

(02-28-2014 02:04 PM)Moma Wrote:  

What about footie, mate? That's big, isn't it? Maybe not Ruggers (if you are in London, don't quote me) but surely footie.

Nah where I live (Devon), rugbys probably as big as football. I guess being in an (english) football academy is a much bigger deal- I was in the academy of a premiership rugby team for a year and we only trained twice all summer, whereas kids in the Arsenal academy are already picking what colour ferrari they'll get haha.
Im just wondering why (even for football but I don't know that much about it) people dont really care about high school sport and even the people playing dont get that hyped up or train much.

[Statsi]

Even footie doesn't get much investment at the grass roots level. The entire UK education system severely neglects sporting achievement and participation. The vast majority of the UK's athletes come a very small selection of private schools, the rest of the county is lucky to get a single hour of pe a week. Partly I blame the feminization of UK schools, competition and achievement is no longer a priority, and girls tend to hate sport so the boys are fucked.

Oh and for lack of interest I gain think it comes doom to a lack of prioritization at the systemic level. Private schools half regular huge sporting events like the Oxford rowing competitions, or the Eton sporting days. Some of these events pull in huge crowds similar to the USA's high school sports. Even at state schools the once a year school sports day get a good turn out from parents, but there's no comparison between the pathetic state events and the large events at private schools(a skipping race verses a regala on the Thames).

[cardguy]

As far as I know - in America - schools/colleges compete on a state wide basis. So - you get a championship for being the best team in your state.

Well - in America - their states are bigger than the whole of England.

http://www.sarmonster.net/UK.htm [check out this link - America is about 15 times the size of the UK]

I also think America has a stronger sense of civic pride and local community. Probably because it is such a big country that people feel the need to identify more with their local towns.

[LeightonBlackstock]

I dunno man, does it really not matter?

My school schedule was like this for me:

09:00 to 11:00: gEoGgRaPhY
11:00 to 11:20 LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL
11:20 to 'football time': hIsToRy
'football time' to about 14:00 (I forget): LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL
13:58 to 14:00: Shove sandwich down mouth
14:00 to 14:20: Very serious assembly
*random P.E lesson* LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL AGAIN!
15:00 to 16:00: GeOmEtRy

Every time the football could have come out the bag, it came out the fucking bag!

[Cyr]

Dupe

[Cyr]

(02-28-2014 02:17 PM)Statsi Wrote:  

Even footie doesn't get much investment at the grass roots level. The entire UK education system severely neglects sporting achievement and participation. The vast majority of the UK's athletes come a very small selection of private schools, the rest of the county is lucky to get a single hour of pe a week. Partly I blame the feminization of UK schools, competition and achievement is no longer a priority, and girls tend to hate sport so the boys are fucked.

Oh and for lack of interest I gain think it comes doom to a lack of prioritization at the systemic level. Private schools half regular huge sporting events like the Oxford rowing competitions, or the Eton sporting days. Some of these events pull in huge crowds similar to the USA's high school sports. Even at state schools the once a year school sports day get a good turn out from parents, but there's no comparison between the pathetic state events and the large events at private schools(a skipping race verses a regala on the Thames).

I think that even between private schools theres a big difference. The local private school has more in common with a state school than it does with a place like Eton or Harrow.
But I see what youre sayng. A lot of places have traditions that are a big deal.

[PompeyChris]

I could rant for a while on the flaws of our shitty education system.

I personally never got on with it... turned down the chance to go to university to start my own biz.

So:

For years, allotted time for PE has been getting less and less...

Knowledge is seen as more important that sport.

As a culture we're too accepting of average and equality.

Meh.

[Cyr]

(02-28-2014 02:28 PM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  

I dunno man, does it really not matter?

My school schedule was like this for me:

09:00 to 11:00: gEoGgRaPhY
11:00 to 11:20 LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL
11:20 to 'football time': hIsToRy
'football time' to about 14:00 (I forget): LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL
13:58 to 14:00: Shove sandwich down mouth
14:00 to 14:20: Very serious assembly
*random P.E lesson* LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL AGAIN!
15:00 to 16:00: GeOmEtRy

Every time the football could have come out the bag, it came out the fucking bag!

I dont think I was very clear haha. I dont mean that its not fun- I mean the competition isnt that big a deal. No ones really worried about the outcome and people dont train that hard. There isnt tons of pre season training/ intensity. I think the fact I play rugby (and its the main sport my school does) distorts it- footballers in academies have a lot on the line.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

You're looking at it wrong way.

UK is the one with the normal level of sports appreciation and funding.

USA is the crazed behemoth where people get outraged and spend millions on pointless buildings over it.

[The Great Basilisk]

I don't know any other country than US where school sports are big.

[Excelsior]

(02-28-2014 02:48 PM)The Great Basilisk Wrote:  

I don't know any other country than US where school sports are big.

Jamaica

Schoolboy (Under-19) football is huge in Jamaica, at least as big as the top-tier Premier League. At the top tier, schools like St. George's College, Jamaica College, and Wolmers have huge followings and their victories draw major festivities. All of Jamaica's best youth football talent comes through the schools, as there are no true football academies on the island. The schoolboy season is short (3 months in the fall) so the very best players may also compete with senior league clubs in the offseason, but nobody skips schoolboy football. That is where all of the island's star youth players are first identified and build their names.

The same is true in track and field. Jamaica's athletics program depends entirely on the schools to produce talent. The Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls Championships (better known as"Champs", video above) come annually and serve as the main proving ground for Jamaica's best athletes. This athletic meet is arguably the biggest athletic event held on the island in most years.

Again, this high school (U-19) event is central to Jamaican track and field. All of the big names in Jamaican athletics (Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser, etc, etc) and some of the bigger names in athletics elsewhere (Sanya Richards, Germaine Mason) first came to recognition during this competition, and they of course got to the competition by competing for their schools throughout the season. Champs used to be obscure globally, but it has become a big deal now that Jamaica's producing so many dominant performers in athletics. All of the came through Champs, so now the event is a major destination for American University scouts, agents, sponsors, etc, all looking for the next Bolt, Blake, etc.

TL;DR: School sports are a very big deal in Jamaica and the foundation of most of the nation's recent athletic success.