Let’s play” is something I constantly say while coaching football. As ever, I’m not quite sure what I mean by this and even less sure what the kids think I mean by it.
I hope they take it as shorthand for “enjoy the game, relax, try to play the beautiful game with confidence and some style”. It means don’t force it, don’t lump it and run, do the things that you enjoy with the football and express yourself. Most of all, I hope they understand it as freedom. “Pretend that all these parents and I weren’t here and there was no pressure, do what you would do then”.
The shorthand hopefully works. “To play” should provide us all with the experience of being a child. “To play” provides us with connections to feelings that we all hopefully retain – especially those who are still children.
This collective experience means that we know what “to play” means and we understand the shared emotion. The recent amendment to the National Planning Policy Framework – to recognise the importance of formal play spaces and giving them the same status as playing fields – should be celebrated by all. Especially those of us who were concerned with the latest data from Sport England’s Active Lives survey (published in December), which showed that participation levels amongst children and young people are flatlining.
To play is to learn so much more than just about play. To play means emotional, social and physical development. The development of play into sport is obviously central to SAPCA’s aims, but we also know that the importance of play runs so much deeper.
We don’t expect people to be able to read Shakespeare without first reading children’s books. Why would we expect to develop emotionally intelligent, resilient and healthy children without the positive impact of play?