It is widely understood that youth sports is a dress rehearsal for life.
Inside a relatively safe environment are many of life’s essential lessons: winning, losing, roles, responsibility, feedback, communication, teamwork and more. Few would argue the positive impact youth sport has on building community, the village it takes to raise our children.
Yet despite the evidence-based benefits, youth sport has come under increasing pressure over the past decade through what many are calling the monetization and specialization of play. We’ve turned play into work for millions of kids, and in doing so are now watching millions of kids stop working.
Socially, youth sport was built on the foundation of fun, an opportunity to try new pursuits over new seasons, meet new friends and engage in friendly competition.
But if you were to head down to the local diamond, pitch or, most notoriously, arena, you may be hard pressed to call what’s unfolding in front of your eyes “fun.” You’d likely see a large percentage of kids sitting on the bench as coaches try to get the youth-/sport-/career-defining win; a large percentage of parents yelling at their kids, officials or coaches; and a large percentage of organizations doing things the way they’ve always been done in a world that changes weekly.
Many of our youth sport systems are no longer about development (the process), they are about the victory (the outcome). We’re watching the early specialization of sports where single sports are condoning year-round programming under the guise of greater rewards on the other end. Statistics are showing the exact opposite. The very college institutions we have made the focus for our 10-year-olds have gone as far as publishing articles outlining how they prefer to recruit multi-sport athletes.
Economically, many are now thriving from the business of youth sport specialization: prestigious camps, private lessons, elite clubs and now academies where, for the right price, you can increase your kid’s chances at getting to the big leagues starting at age 12. Sadly, few parents (the decision makers) educate or care to educate themselves on the reality that fewer than six out of every 100 high school athletes will go on to play a college sport, and less than 2% of those will continue to the next level.
In hockey alone, there are minor associations, private clubs and academies selling the dream to those willing to pull out their pocketbooks. Hockey is now a year-round staple, as is soccer, and if parents don’t like what they see close to home, kids are shipped to other communities to get that elusive “edge.”
With this, what steps should we be taking to support youth sport development in our communities? Some recommendations:
• Focus on fun. Don’t ruin our kids’ youth sport journey by making their experience feel like work.
• Enjoy watching your kids play. You have a small window, so as often as possible, let your child know how much you enjoy watching them play sports. “I love watching you play” is the most powerful sentence you can speak.
• Educate yourself. There is research and science on long-term athlete development. Use it to inform your decision making as a parent, coach or organization, and hold people accountable.
• Recognize the process of athlete development versus the immediate gratification of outcome/score. The score reveals very little about how athletes are progressing.
• Introduce/expose your kids to as many sports as possible. Avoid being fooled into believing there is only one sport for them.
Our youth sports systems are integral aspects of the community ecosystem. We must consider doing more to preserve their existence and future sustainability.
Matt Young is a community coach, Top 40U40 Business Award recipient and member of the B.C. and Canadian Physical Literacy Strategy groups.
