Youth Sports Issues of Today

Youth Sports Issues of Today

Melissa DeWitt

SMGT 2040 002

April 21, 2014

        For decades now, participating in youth sports is just a way of life.  If one is not involved in some type of sport as a child, they are considered to be the “nerd” type or unathletic and anti-social.  Being involved in youth sports has many positive factors on a child, but like everything else in life, almost every positive has a negative side.  

        “Sports do not build character.  They reveal it.” (John Wooden).  Many parents today sign their children up for sports to build character, when they already have character.  Each child has their own personality, but when parent(s) want to “build their character”, that means they want them to change in some way.  Either the child is too shy and the parent(s) wants him or her to be more outgoing, or the child is too obnoxious and the parent(s) wants him or her to learn how to follow directions and listen.  

        Tom Kuyper had the opportunity of working with thousands of children at various levels and sports, ranging from five year olds up to the college level in the past thirty years.  Throughout his experience, he has seen firsthand why most children want to play sports.  His top ten list includes the following:

1. Friends: a great way to incorporate children into their community if they are new to the area, plus friendships are crucial for healthy child development.  
2. Skill improvement: when a child can sense for themselves that they are getting better, they get a sense of self motivation to keep practicing and improving.
3. Affirmation: nothing encourages children more than affirmation.  Being valued for who they are and what they bring to the table should definitely be a high priority for youth coaches.
4. Play together: when a friendship goes beyond playing on the same team it is a plus.  That means it is more than just practice and games.  The children are asking their parents to spend the night at a teammate’s house or just to hangout.  The more teammate’s hangout outside of practice and games, the more likely they will form better relationships and then have better chemistry during games.  Just like a quote Vince Lombardi said, “People who work together win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society”.
5. Winning team: just like college and professional athletes, children also love being on a good and winning team.  Even though it is hard to admit, but winning is fun and is a reason to celebrate.
6. Playing time: along with winning, children do not want to be on a team where they will just sit on the bench and not play.  Many people say they would rather be on a losing team and have playing time than be on a winning team and sit on the bench.
7. Sense of belonging: children need to feel like they are a significant part of a group or team.  The feeling of being accepted and wanted is priceless for children.
8. Scrimmage time: children love to scrimmage instead of doing drill after drill (this is true for athletes at all ages).  Skill development is important during youth ages, but ending practice with a little scrimmage never hurt anyone.  Let the children play and see how they have improved in game-like situations.
9. Parental approval: children want to know that their parents acknowledge and approve that they are trying and having fun.
10. Not be embarrassed: children do not like when their parents are on the sidelines screaming nonstop at the referees or even at them.  Do not ruin the experience for the children (Kuyper).

Above is only a short list of positive factors of involving children in youth sports.  As stated earlier though, there are many negative factors with starting children in sports at a young age.  In their paper, Problems In Youth Sports, James White and Gerald Masterson quoted from Andrew Ferguson’s, Inside the Crazy Culture of Kids Sports, “children who get involved in organized competitive sports at a young age many find themselves tired of the game they once loved” and “young athletes are becoming increasingly stressed because of the pressure they are getting from their parents and coaches” (qtd. White and Masterson).  In today’s era, children are finding themselves getting involved in a number of competitive sports at earlier ages every year.  

“The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) boys and girls basketball, baseball/softball, soccer, football, volleyball, start as young as nine, while Little League Baseball and Softball can start as early as five with tee-ball, Pop Warner, the nation’s oldest football organization, starts at five and the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) has children competing at the age of four” (White and Masterson).

        In these youth leagues, winning may not be the focus for the children, but for the parents it definitely can be.  This goes along with what author Fred Engh states in his book Why Johnny Hates Sports?, “if kids are competitive at early ages, then they may not be trained to fail.  If all the focus is on winning, kids may be scared to fail and make mistakes” (Engh).  Mistakes are part of the learning process and are how people learn to improve themselves.  If children are never allowed to fail, they are pulled every time they do something wrong, then they will never want the ball for the fear of making a mistake and being taken out.