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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Youth Sports

Youth sports.  A place where you see overzealous parents watching under trained and under prepared kids playing on a team or in a league that is fit for the pros.  In many cases, they are playing a pro-type schedule also.  Is it any wonder that studies show that as many as 70% of kids quit organized sports before the age of 13?  To me, this is ridiculous.  Let me explain why I feel this way.

Youth sports should be about development.  Overall development.  Running, jumping, throwing, catching, kicking, moving.  This is not what is happening.  We pigeon hole kids into certain positions based on size, coordination, ability.  Why?  So that the team can win.  Biggger kids in football are made lineman.  In soccer, they are made goalies because they can't run.  You get the picture.  It's all about the W's.

Nobody takes into consideration that these kids mature at different rates.  Just because Little Johnny is the star running back in PeeWee football, doesn't mean he is going to be a star in high school or college.  The opposite is also true.  However, the bigger kids are pushed aside and they get no development until about high school, if then.

Last summer, I was driving around and I saw some activity at local high school football field.  Thinking I was going to see some high schoolers working out, I pulled into the stadium to watch.  Much to my surprise I saw kids, 2nd to 6th grade being put through agility and running drills.  Dressed in full gear, in 90+ degree heat, IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY!!  Hello?  Is there anybody home?  In the coaches defense, there was plenty of water around, so that was no problem.  Some of these kids' helmets were bigger than they were.  Now, I don't have any problem with them being outside in that heat.  What I do have a problem with is that 99% of the kids couldn't do the drills without equipment on, let alone with all of that gear.  What are these people thinking?  This was mini camp to get the players "in shape for the season" which starts August 1st.  Are these people nuts?  Colleges don't start that early.  Also they were using this to find out times for various drills.  You have got to be kidding me?  Why do I need a 40 time on a 4th grader.

If they would have taken off the football gear and practice the different agilities and sprinting techniques, I wouldn't have any problem.  I would have like to have seen more work on skills and learning proper form on bodyweight exercises.  I think then you would have a much more efficient workout.

As I have said before, these leagues are supposed to be about development.  Development of the whole athlete.

 

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