Agreed and I do feel that the problem is much larger, deeper and ultimately extends to a certain culture that (often inevitably) absorbs the kids at some stage. Point in case; when not on the spinning bike (see what I did there) I often gym at a nice new facility right next to Loftus in Pretoria. A lot of boys from surrounding "rugby schools" train at the gym, many of them rugby players. In addition, the gym (as with most others) attracts a certain kind of muscle fitness athlete (the kind who takes part in acronym-named competitions - I can never remember the meanings of those acronyms). Almost without exception, they have a distinct appearance; cut to the bone or bulked to the max with veins all over, dark pink complexion, blood-shod eyes and often problematic integumentary occurrences. These are the okes you don't argue with when they request a spot at the cables... The sad thing - do you know how many schoolboys in that gym start out the season looking naturally fit and end up looking like the latter example. I'm talking guys playing 1st team rugby at the BIG schools. An the pattern is always the same...they start out gymming alone, then join one of the "big" okes for training sessions and before long they are massive. And I'm not talking tuna, chicken breasts and basmati rices massive... What I'm saying is that this is as much about perception as it is about performance. There exists a perception that bigger is better, bigger is more beautiful and bigger is more powerful. And, to put it bluntly, these young, impressionable guys often have very questionable role models who feed them not only with unhealthy products but also distorted perceptions of what a successful sportsman should look like - on and off the field. En pappa betaal...
