Adults hurting youth sports

From: Subject: Adults hurting youth sports Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2008 23:21:14 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C866BB.784A6C80" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3198 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C866BB.784A6C80 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.busc.org/docs/article-1-05.htm Adults hurting youth sports Adults hurting youth sports, report=20 says
PANEL CITES PARENTS' = BEHAVIOR,=20 OVER-EMPHASIS ON WINNING
By Mark Emmons
Mercury News

A national report card released Wednesday probably = only=20 confirmed what many parents who enroll their children in athletic = programs=20 already suspected.

There are serious problems in the world of youth = sports.

And the finger of blame is being pointed squarely at = adults for=20 spoiling the fun.

The first Youth Sports National Report Card, prepared = by a group=20 called Citizenship Through Sports Alliance, issued low grades for = parents'=20 behavior and a win-at-all-cost mentality fostered by the grown-ups who = oversee=20 kids' sports.

"We really hope that this will be a wake-up call,'' = said Jim=20 Thompson, executive director of Stanford's Positive Coaching Alliance. = "This is=20 such an important part of kids' lives. And if there's something wrong = with youth=20 sports, then we ought to start thinking about the ways we can change = it.''

A panel of experts based its results on evaluations of = youth=20 sports programs for children 6 to 14. But the report is a sharp rebuke = of=20 adults. The worst grades -- Ds -- were issued in the categories of = parental=20 behavior and "child-centered'' philosophy. And a C-minus was given for=20 coaching.

The report card indicates that adults are = micro-managing their=20 kids' sports careers, placing too much emphasis on winning and setting = bad=20 examples with their own poor sportsmanship.

This assessment of kids' sports doesn't come as a = surprise.=20 Reports of violence at events -- usually perpetrated by angry parents -- = have=20 become more common. And even if those incidents remain the exception and = not the=20 rule, any parent of a sports-playing child probably has witnessed = uncomfortable=20 scenes in which adults took the game too seriously.

"Nearly all the problems in youth sports are caused by = people=20 over the age of 18,'' said panel member Doug Abrams, a University of = Missouri=20 School of Law professor. "I coach hockey and I know some parents can = learn from=20 the behavior of their 7-year-olds. The kids are the role models.''

The panelists indicated there are some bright spots: = They gave a=20 B-minus for officiating and a C-plus for health and safety.

But overall, the assessment was negative.

"There is a real silent majority of parents who don't = like=20 what's going on and are uncomfortable with the direction youth sports = has=20 taken,'' said Thompson, a member of the panel. "Yet even though they = have this=20 anxiety, they also don't know what to do.''

Dan Gould, director of Michigan State's Institute for = the Study=20 of Youth Sports, said part of the problem is what he calls the=20 "professionalization'' of children's athletics. Adults are applying a=20 professional model of training at ever-younger ages.

An investigative series in the Mercury News in April = also showed=20 how the growing emphasis on earning college scholarships -- although = only about=20 1 in 100 high school seniors actually receive one -- has played a key = role in=20 heightening the pressure.

Even parents who are interested solely in a healthy = experience=20 for their kids can find themselves navigating a system where the = philosophy is=20 shifting away from making sure all kids get to play and toward = developing only=20 the most talented youngsters.

That's evident in the growing phenomenon of traveling = teams and=20 club sports, for which parents shell out thousands of dollars so their = kids can=20 compete year-round and receive the best training.

"Youth sports has become an arms race,'' Abrams said. = "If some=20 team has nicer uniforms than ours, then we've got to get better ones = next year.=20 If they play 20 games, then we've got to play 25. Next thing you know, = you have=20 year-round specialization with 75 games a season and all the problems = that come=20 with it.''

John Murphy, chairman of the Pleasanton-based = California Youth=20 Soccer Association, had mixed feelings about the report card. He agreed = with the=20 criticism directed at the "elite'' programs that stress winning. But he = noted=20 that the vast majority of the 217,000 kids and 25,000 or so adults in = CYSA are=20 involved at the recreation level.

"We're a volunteer organization and most of our adults = are in=20 this for the right reasons,'' said Murphy, whose three grown children = all played=20 soccer. "We're not trying to put anyone on the U.S. World Cup = team.''

One concern that all youth sports experts share is = research that=20 shows 70 percent of kids drop out of sports by 13 -- and the primary = reason is=20 pressure exerted by adults. That age is about when kids begin to face = the=20 influences of drugs and alcohol.

"This is exactly the time we should be encouraging = kids to=20 participate in sports,'' Abrams said.

Both Thompson and Abrams said there is more good than = bad in=20 youth sports. But they also defended the report card's negative = tone.

"There are coaches and parents all across the country = who are=20 doing great things in youth sports,'' Thompson said. "But that's not the = trend.''

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