Youth Sports: Ruining our Youth or Enhancing their development?

Youth Sports: Ruining our Youth or Enhancing their development?

Youth football, soccer, wrestling, baseball, tennis, cheer leading, dance, swimming, basketball...travel teams...try-outs & cuts...successes and failures. Championship games...Pee Wee Super Bowls, Little League World Series...a trophy for every kid...over inflated Pee Wee Coaches egos...Parents fighting each other and assaulting referees...Have we lost sight of what our Junior Development Leagues are for? 

What price are our children paying? Burned out by the time they get to High School, many athletes never reach their touted potential. Many children who mature later on, who have suffered exclusion or maybe didn’t make it onto the “crucial travel team” and become turned off to sports without even getting started. 

I am going to put forth several extremely bold statements. You may agree, disagree, love me, hate me, continue to read my blogs or “un-friend” me on Facebook (Yes - I’ve been unfriended before!). Your choice. I am calling attention to this issue is of epidemic proportions and it’s ruining our youth and the whole notion of junior development sports.

My grandfather (born in 1902) was a boxing trainer and even played in for one of the first professional football teams, the Paterson (NJ) Bulldogs. He made a whopping 15 cents per game. He was asked on many occasions to coach the burgeoning “Pop Warner” football and Little League Baseball teams, yet he would not do nor would he let my uncle join the teams. He thought that the kids should learn to play without the interference on adults. My uncle went on to play foot ball in high school and was a stand out receiver making the All-Decade Team for Eastside High.  

The incredible amount of Injuries - concussions, torn acl’s, rotator cuff, “Tommy John” elbow surgery, etc...I was in High School in the ’70’s. I played football, wrestled and ran track in High School. In 4 years of HS Wrestling, I don’t remember one concussions - yet two years ago, I coached a team that had 7 (yes seven) in one year. All of those kids had come up through the junior wrestling program. I had no idea what an “ACL” was, now 2 out 5 of female High School soccer players have injured or completely torn their Anterior Cruciate Ligament. These injuries aren’t contained only to soccer, I have just picked this sport to mention at this point. How is this so? 

The answer is simple. The athletes are de-conditioned, overworked and have not had the proper strength and stability training. The focus is on “making the travel team” or being on the “A-team” instead of learning how their bodies function and having fun with sport. They play the same sport all year long, from a very young age. The parents and the children alike are brainwashed into thinking that this is the only way it should be.

Children should be involved in sport for fun and fundamentals only until 12 or 13, at the earliest. If they compete, it should be on their own terms, not with an adult or coach prompting and pushing them. Getting competitive should really be held off until High School, but at 12 or 13, it’s OK to get the competitive juices flowing. 

Children should be involved in sports and activities that are going to develop their bodies and have their muscles and tendons strengthened. They should partake in swimming, martial arts, gymnastics (non-competitive), track & field, calisthenics and other, body awareness development based activities. All quote “organized sports” with teams, championships and their associated coaches should be abolished and replaced with open sports activities at town fields or other indoor facilities. I could go further into this, but I think that I’ve made my point.