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Bullying in formative sports teams

 Bullying in formative sports teams

As a coach of a handball team with boys aged twelve thirteen and fourteen I know that sport should be a space for learning friendship and values but I also understand that sometimes inside the team there can be situations of exclusion jokes and emotional abuse which are types of bullying

At this age children are still growing and trying to feel part of a group they are sensitive to how others see them and sometimes if a player is different or not very good at handball other players can start making fun of him or ignoring him and this can hurt a lot

There is a study from Spain about football that says coaches and parents sometimes see bullying but they think it is only a joke or normal behaviour between kids but it is not normal and we should not ignore it because it can continue and become worse if nobody does anything to stop it

Bullying in sport can be when one player is always left out in training or when other kids laugh at someone because he is slower or smaller or when a strong player tries to control or scare others and sometimes the coach does not say anything or thinks it is not serious but that silence is also a problem

As a coach I believe it is not enough to teach how to win or play well we must also help our players to grow as good people and to respect others in the team this means I need to look carefully at the way players treat each other I need to speak with them about respect and team spirit and make rules that say no to bullying and no to bad behaviour

There is a campaign in Spain from football teams that says a team never leaves anyone alone and I think that is true a real team supports all players and helps the ones who feel sad or different because if a player feels afraid or excluded then he cannot enjoy the sport or grow as a person

As a coach I want my handball team to be a place where we accept each other where we can make mistakes without fear and where we solve problems with respect and kindness because this is more important than winning any match



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