There is a strong tendency in our society to view participation in sports in the most favorable light. Children are encouraged to participate in organized youth sports programs because they are thought to promote such fundamental values as character, teamwork, determination and commitment.
I myself have posted a number of times via this very blog about all the positives in youth sport. You can access those articles via these links youth-empowerment-through-sport.html empowering-future-leaders-through-youth-sports.html But this bias can be troublesome if it prevents us from seeing that problems in youth sports exist. The news is filled with examples of professional athletes who have serious problems, things like drug and alcohol abuse, spousal violence, and acts of sexual aggression, we have been much slower to recognize the problems that have developed in youth sports. Some of these problems are more significant than others but in the end they are all impacting the sports experience that kids face through their participation in sport. From my personal experiences, these are some of the more important issues that are problem areas in youth sport. Everyone; parents, kids, coaches who have been on the sidelines has seen instances of emotional abuse that are too common in the world of youth sports: the mortified child whose mother is screaming at the referee about a "blown call", or the despondent child who is being verbally attacked by his or her parent or coach for some perceived lack of effort or for making a "dumb" mistake. It has become fashionable to blame "pushy parents" for many of the excesses seen in children's sports. I think that this is a mistake to make that simple generalization that everything comes down to the parent being too-involved etc. Again here, I have posted about the issues related to parents. coaches-and-parents-not-always-easy.html handling-the-parent-issues.html when-parents-are-too-involved-in-their-kids-sports.html the-over-involved-parent.html However, even with all the opinions that I share in those posts above and comments that every coach has heard and made about parents, has anyone ever asked themselves this very simply question ? Why do, time and again, well-meaning parents begin to act out of character as they get caught up in the emotional roller coaster of their child's competitive situation? Not to oversimplify, because the issue of sports-parents is huge but in my humble opinion, the answer to the above question can be related to three fundamental factors. Essentially the issue is that for parents, the youth sports experience ....
The question is often asked, is competition bad for children? We should also ask be asking, "Is being a parent of a competitive youth sports participant bad for parents?" Sometimes, a child isn't old enough for a parent to handle the stress of competition. Another huge problem that is ever growing in youth sport is the notion of sports-specialization. The trend toward early specialization makes me uneasy. The issue of specialization in youth sports is often associated with some of the more high-profile and individual sports as figure skating, gymnastics, tennis or golf. However the potential is present whenever a family faces decisions on how to help a talented child progress to the next level. The potential for exploitation is high whenever youngsters become involved in high-intensity training programs. It is difficult for many thirteen-year-olds to remain committed to such a program, whether the sport is gymnastics, football, swimming, or pretty much any sport which is seemed as a gateway to university scholarship, professional payday or Olympic glory, but it is more likely when a determined parent insists that the child continue or risk being labeled a "quitter." Here are some questions to ponder:
It is disturbing how the numbers of kids are dropping out of sport at alarming rates. This is due to many reasons including the perception of instant gratification, availability of other options, dependence of video games etc, but the fact remains that kids aren't playing sports as they once did. Ask these kids why they are quitting sports and you will probably get answer like;
Now those three are the most obvious and common of the negatives in youth sports, the ones that actually are probably known about and in the larger picture, might not have lasting effects on a child's development or leave long last issues in their lives. However, more and more, in the news we are hearing about three other problems and in my opinion significantly more troubling problems in sport. Problems that do seriously affect the health, welfare and well being of kids and into their adult lives. What are these three problems? - The endangerment of young athlete's health, both physical and mental - The cases of sexual abuse. - Violence in youth sport. So if we take each of those one at a time. The aspect of young athlete's health and some of the related situation seem to have grown in recent years. Or perhaps they were always just as present but are simply more reported and with the growth of social media, the news spreads quickly. There certainly seems to be a much higher incidence of such problems as eating disorders, overuse injuries, use of performance enhancing drugs, and alcohol abuse.
These serious health problems would be cause for concern even if they affected only older, more committed athletes. But when we see evidence that these problems are filtering down to younger athletes and even at less competitive levels, we should be deeply concerned. No trophy or medal or national championship is worth destroying the health of even one child. Cases of Sexual abuse; The US gymnastics scandal involving their federation approved doctor, the Canadian ski coach, the recent news in my sport with the former Whitecaps and U20 national team coach, go back to Graham James in hockey, these are just a few small examples of abuse suffered by younger athletes, at the hands of their coaches. One of the worst violations of the trust we place in the youth sports system is when young athletes are sexually abused. Coaching youth athletes is an important responsibility precisely because coaches are in a position of power in their relationships with children and adolescents. Coaches who abuse that power and have sex with young athletes are a very small minority (although, due in part to the shame and secrecy associated with such abuses of power, it is hard to know how extensive the problem is). Their existence requires that parents keep a watchful eye on their children. Parents who shirk their responsibilities for their child and allow the young athlete to live with, or be in the care of, a top coach may be making a much more serious mistake than the overinvolved parent. Finally, violence in sport: A few simply examples of the violence in youth sports. Parents influencing their kids to "get" opponents by encouraging physical play, parents screaming at official and refs, must of whom in youth sport are teenagers themselves, parents confronting coaches about decisions, playing time and favoritism, parents from opposing team getting into verbal or even physical confrontations on the sidelines, these are but a few. Apologists for this sort of behavior point out that professional sports on television are often violent, such as some the big hits we see in hockey and football. But this argument really has nothing to do with the violence associated with youth sports. The parents just mentioned are not imitating the pro athletes they see on television - that violence takes place within the game. What is disturbing about the violent behavior we see on the sidelines and in the stands is that it takes place outside the game. Once again, these parents are out of control, behaving in blind response to feelings of anger and frustration generated by watching youth sports. Despite these problems, I still believe that youth sports programs can do a great deal of good for children and for families. There are many positive aspects of organized sports for children. But if we are to improve the programs we offer to our children, we need to acknowledge and confront the problems. Not only do we need to understand that youth sports are not just "games for kids," but we also need to understand the important roles they play in our society and the powerful psychological pressures they exert on children, families, and communities. We need to realize that youth sports programs are for adults as much as children - perhaps more so. Until we recognize this fact, we will not be able to organize programs that meet the needs of these involved adults and best meet the children's needs.
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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