Current Problems in Youth Sport

In my American Sport in the 21^st Century class, we spent a week discussing the state of Youth Sports. One of the subjects we discussed during the September 25^th lecture was the major problems concerning Youth Sports. One of the major problems that we focused on in class was how the growth of private organized programs is having a negative impact on Youth Sport. Private sport organizations promote and focus on winning and developing children to be elite athletes. On page 139 in Sports in Society, Coakley outlines the 5 major problems that are a result of private sport organizations. I have also listed the CTSA’s Youth Sports National Report Card to show the poor state of today’s Youth Sports.       

Major Problems in Youth Sport

1. Lost their child-centered focus. There is too much emphasis on winning and too little on the child’s experience.

2. Parents who have unrealistic expectations for their children. They undermine their own child’s and the other children’s benefits of playing sports.

3. The failure to adequately evaluate and train the youth coaches.

4. Overemphasis in early sports specialization, leading to: potential burnouts, overuse injuries, and a hypercompetitive culture.

5. Ignored the interests and developmental abilities of children who view sports as a source of fun, friends, physical action, and skill development.

Youth Sports National Report Card

1. Child-Centered Philosophy: D

2. Coaching: C

3. Health and Safety: C+

4. Officiating: B-

5. Parental Behavior/Involvement: D

* A panel of experts brought together by the CTSA used their collective knowledge to issue grades for 25 elements of existing sport programs. These elements were then divided into the 5 categories that make up the report card seen above.

As seen in both of these figures from page 139 of our class text, the major problems in Youth Sport begin with private sport organizations, but are fueled by the coaches, trainers, and involved parents. I completely agree with the points made by Coakley, and in my opinion children play Youth Sports for a variety of reasons, but the consensus #1 reason they play is to have FUN! When winning is overemphasized and the expectations are set to unreachable standards, then sports are no longer fun. Michigan State University published an article that discussed the atmosphere surrounding Youth Sports and the psychological impact it has on its participant; http://www.educ.msu.edu/ysi/news/2012-Jan-25-YES.htm. The main focus is that the actions of the coaches create a positive or negative team culture, which has a very important influence on the personal development of the youth participants. In order to keep our kids involved in sports it has to start with an improvement of our current Youth systems. The best ways to improve is for the youth coaches to create a positive atmoshpere that is filled with encouragement, to wait until the high school level to start putting emphasis on winning and excellence, and to emphasis FUN in the Youth game.