There is no getting away from the fact that sport is now a global business that ranks up there with all of the biggest corporations on the planet. Sport is a corporate entity in its own right with sponsorship deals for clubs from many different sports running into multi million dollars sums per season. All of this money in sport is great news for the average fan as it generally guarantees the survival and development of their favourite team as well as raising the profile of the sport in question. But is all the money that finds its way into sport a good thing? Many teams that are now being paid vast sums of money by sponsors and television companies are spending this money on bringing in new players to their organisations but neglecting to develop any home grown talent. This is great as a quick hit fix but does no good for the long term future of sport, what happens when the money goes away? Where will all the highly paid superstars be then? So what can be done to ensure that a constant stream of home grown sportsmen make it into their chosen sport?

There is no doubt that even though sport is more high profile now and that more kids want to be sports starts when they grow older that fewer and fewer are realising their dreams. So what can we do to make sure that the sports industry does its bit to support young talent and nature the home grown sports stars of the future? One way is to develop the way sport is taught to children from a very young age, many children play sports out of school and these clubs are run by adults who also treat it as a business. Children's sport should not be looked at in this way and should be solely treated as recreation time for the kids.

Taking a group of kids to the local park and kicking a football around, teaching basic skills first and foremost over and above playing a competitive game develops natural talent without the pressure to perform for a prize or goal. Of course, there must be a competitive edge to the game as it is important to install a winning mentality into anyone who may have ideas of playing sport at the highest level, but from an early age the basics are what matter. Many coaches teach kids that winning at all costs is the important thing but in reality it is not. Without some basic skills you cannot win but without developing those skills you will never be a champion. Get a mixture of the two assets in equal measures and you will start to develop and hone talent.

Another sport that is engulfed in vast sums of money and is very difficult to break into is golf. Golf is a hugely competitive game that needs hours and hours of practise to develop skill. Unlike football having a fantastically competitive edge will not guarantee victory, golf is a game of technique and skill. The only way to make it in golf is to practice, practice and practice some more from an early age. As soon as possible it would be wise to buy your child a set of discount golf clubs and get them some expert tuition if they are showing any interest in golf being the game for them. If they take to it then a set of discount golf clubs will be a good starting point and if they do not then you have spent a fraction of the amount of money that you could have spent on a full price set of clubs. A full set of discount golf clubs is also a good starting point as your child will invariably have grown out of them in a year or two and you will have to replace them with another set.

So maybe the answer to ensuring that we have a new crop of young sportsmen and women coming through in the next few years is to make sure that they get taught the correct skills for their sport and not just the will to win, as important as it is, the will to win only helps you win it does not get you to the winning post.