'It wasn't like that in my day.'

'Kids these days are set up to fail - they're taught to be soft.'

'They're more worried about hurt feelings than they are rewarding kids for being good at something!'

If you haven't heard this kind of banter at a kids' sports day, we suspect you weren't listening...

But is there a reason schools and clubs around the country are so big on handing out participation prizes?

Bond University Assistant Professor Shawna Campbell is a psychologist whose research focuses on the prevention of the development of psychopathology in young people.

We invited her in to answer the question: why are all the kids going home with a prize?

When Jackson Silvester-Lee arrived in Australia in 2017, he'd recently been picked in the Canada West rugby squad and things were looking up. After years of struggling for attention from selectors, he'd finally been seen - he was finally on the radar. Studying at Bond University would be the [perfect next step - he'd play for the Bull Sharks and earn a degree in Exercise and Sport Science at the same time. It was the perfect time to ramp things up so he could one day represent his country.

Then a severe back injury ruined everything. His rugby career was done just as it was getting going.

But through his postgraduate work as a strength and conditioning coach, he discovered netball. And that's led to not just a new sporting passion but also a burning desire to teach kids how to get the best out of themselves for the right reasons.

You can learn more about Jackson Silvester-Lee here.

Jo Fargus has always been an achiever.

Her swimming talent was identified early. By the age of 12 she was spending 20 hours a week in the pool and another 15 hours weekly in the gym, on the track, or enduring physical therapy to hone her talent. Her hard work paid off. She swam for University of Bath and University of Southern California (where she earned a Bachelor of Communication degree). She represented Great Britain at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, swam at the World Aquatic Championships, and won Commonwealth Games medals for Great Britain in Manchester in 2002 and for Australia in Melbourne in 2006 .

But when things didn't fall her way ahead of the 2008 Olympic Trials and she missed Australian team selection, she retired. And for a while there, adrift in a post-competition void, her world fell apart.

Later she'd enrol in a Masters of Communication program at Bond University. Her dissertation was titled 'Self Identity and belonging during the transition out of elite sport'. Writing it was cathartic - it allowed her to dive deeply into the reasons why so many elite athletes - herself included - struggle to transition from life in sport to the life that follows.

It also highlighted gaps in sporting administrative process the filling of which could make life a lot less confusing and traumatic for retiring elite sportspeople whose identities are forged by the games they play.

CONTENT WARNING: THIS EPISODE DISCUSSES MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE.

Bond University Head of Football Andy Lovell played 164 games at two AFL clubs.

He's also coached at the Gold Coast Suns, Geelong, St Kilda and the West Coast Eagles.

During his time at the Eagles, a young Adam Selwood fell under his wing.

News of Adam's sudden death, just months after Adam's twin brother Troy took his own life, hit Lovell hard.

He's determined to encourage young athletes to take their mental health seriously, so they are equipped to cope with the post-career lows that follow the in-career highs.

In previous episodes of So your kid wants to play sport... we’ve looked at strength training for developing sportspeople and injury prevention. We've also taken an in-depth look at nutrition for younger athletes.

This time around we talk about teaching them.

After a stellar netball career, a pair of battle-weary knees nudged Bec Stower towards life as a coach. She's led Bond University’s State League Sapphire team for the past two years, and last season, for the first time in a long time, she successfully steered the Bull Sharks to finals action. Bec has also enjoyed success at National Championship level. She steered the Queensland

Andy Lovell played 164 AFL games across eleven seasons for first Melbourne then later West Coast. He’s coached in the VFL and was an Assistant Coach at West Coast and the Gold Coast Suns. Last year 'Chopper', as he’s affectionately known, joined Bond University as Director of Football and head coach of Bond's QAFLW side. They were Premiers last year and runners up this season.

Here Bec and Andy join Bond's Broadcast Manager, Matt Webber, to discuss generational shifts in coaching style, managing participant and parental expectations, communication skills and setting achievable goals and standards.

In Part 2 of a series on nutrition for young athletes, Matt Webber speaks to Bond alumnus and dietician, Matt Hart, about fuelling before, during and after training and competition.

You wouldn't drive to Perth on half a tank of unleaded. Why then do so many of give human fuel such short shrift?

Do we take nutrition seriously enough?

For young people, nutrition can be a minefield. Social media and discerning online fact from fiction, aspirationalism, the power of influencers, peer pressure, and self esteem are but a few issues that can make life tough.

Disordered eating affects 19-25 year olds the most. It has big health ramifications. Leaving aside immediate impacts like fatigue, lethargy and reduced brain function, disordered eating is linked to diabetes, poor bone health, digestive problems, migraines, anemia, menstrual problems and even polycystic ovarian syndrome.

For active, athletic kids, pressure to 'make the weight' or to be 'lighter on your feet' or 'lean and mean' is constant. But it can lead to problematic nutrition practices.

Mitzi Adamson completed a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science earlier this year. She recently started her Masters of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice at Bond University. She plays AFLW with the Bond University Bull Sharks.

Here, in Part 1 of a So Your Kid Wants to Play Sport two-part nutrition special feature, Mitzi shares her personal nutrition story.

Links:

bond.edu.au/program/master-of-n…d-dietetic-practice
bond.edu.au/program/bachelor-of…-and-sports-science

These days, more than ever, young athletes are encouraged to supplement their participation in sport with strength programs. usually, these programs will involve lifting weights or undertaking resistance-based exercises.

But do they need it as much as they, their coaches or their parents think they do? What happens to young bodies under the stress of strength training? How much is too much? And what is best practice for younger athletes?

This Bond University podcast delves into issues relevant to younger athletes - youth mindset, injury management, training and playing load, weights and resistance training, diet, and rest and recovery, among other things.

In this debut episode, broadcaster Matt Webber speaks with Bond University Doctor of Physiotherapy and Founder of the Gold Coast Knee Group about why so many young athletes rupture their ACL.

Why is it a particularly big problem in Australia?

What can young people do to avoid ACL injury?

What is best practice treatment for young victims of ACL rupture?

You can learn more about the Gold Coast Knee Group here: www.gckneegroup.com.au

You can learn more about studying at Bond University here: www.bond.edu.au

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