Factors affecting the performance of students in sports the case of students in selected secondary schools in mombasa county - kenya

Abstract

Sports are an essential part of the normal school curriculum. However, Education managers and administrators tend to ignore their importance at the expense of academic work. There is generally hardly enough investment made on sports resources in most secondary schools. When the academic work fail to bring success to the students, all crumbles and quite often the school program fails to be of benefit to an individual student. Success in sports is not only beneficial to the individual sports person for the glory of the occasion, but can benefit the academic progress of the individual too. Success in sports has some very basic requirements in its program implementation to benefit not only the individual participants, but the community at large. This piece of work was designed to work on some factors that affect success in sports among the youth with a focus on secondary school students within Mombasa county. The few factors that were being looked at in this study include the sports and games programs implemented in secondary schools, the availability of sports facilities and equipments in secondary schools, training of personnel especially, teachers in sports and games programs, time allocation in the school timetable for sports and games and the attitude for sports and games among the teachers and students. The study established to some extent that some of these factors that influence success in sporting activities among the youth are in inadequate supply to the youth in secondary schools within Mombasa county. The study was designed generally as a descriptive survey, and in particular an ex-post facto because it was not the intention of the researcher to manipulate such variables as the nature of sports facilities and equipment already in use in schools or sex, qualifications or administrative experiences of the respondent school principals, their deputies or the sports teachers. The study established that most administrators (the principals and their deputies) are not trained in sports despite, their position being too crucial in the management and administration of all sports resources. However, majority of games teachers have undergone through some form or level of training in sports. The main undoing in sport within the county is the inadequacy of sports facilities and equipment. Out of the seventeen sports items or activities looked at, the study established that on average each school has only seven items available within the school premises for the student to access. This definitely puts pressure on both the students and the sports staff on how to achieve higher level of performance within the limited time that is shared with academic work. Stake holders are thus recommended to put heads together to improve on the number of facilities, their functionality and accessibility.