Hi, Everyone!
I wanted to pop in and update you on what has been happening since I wrote the Downfall of Youth Sports series last winter (see the links to the research articles below).
The Downfall of Youth Sports – Part 1: Overuse of Individual Skill Training in Team Sports
The Downfall of Youth Sports – Part 2: The Effects of Not Keeping Score
The Downfall of Youth Sports – Part 3: The Effects of Sport Specialization
Change Will Be Difficult
After writing the series, I continued to talk to sport directors from our local soccer club, our local school district, and from one of our state soccer associations regarding the concerns that I, and many other parents in our community, had regarding youth sports. What I have found is that youth sports is a very adult-driven business, and that it will take a lot for change to happen. There is a lot of money involved in youth sports, politics often prevent change (for example, our district recreational sport director says that he won’t add additional recreational soccer opportunities because he doesn’t want to step on the toes of our local soccer club – a club that refuses to offer recreational opportunities for children 8 years and older), and parents often go along with what is available (because, what else should they do when their child wants to play soccer, or hockey, or basketball, etc.).
Get the Word Out
However, this past August, I spoke to the Director of Education for the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association (MYSA), Andy Coutts, and he asked me to write a research article based on my concerns. He said that he would like to consider the article for the September issue of the Minnesota Soccer Times – a bi-monthly newspaper that goes out to soccer families all over the state of Minnesota. His words to me were:
It’s going to take a lot to change youth sports, but you can always start by getting the word out.
On September 5th, I got an email from Andy notifying me that my article had been published. You can find the two-page spread on pages 12 and 13 of the MN Soccer times (click on image below to view the article).
Andy also wrote a wonderful article, The Mis-Professionalization of Youth Sports: Stealing the Wrong Elements, that I feel compliments the contents of my article very nicely. You can find Andy’s article on page 14 in the link above.
What has been happening in our community?
Many parents were outraged and fed up with the soccer opportunities in our community (myself included), so a group of us decided to throw together a free and open soccer evening for kids 8 yrs. and older (the age group that has no recreational soccer opportunity in our community). Within a week, we had emails from over 80 families who were interested in our offering.
Every Tuesday evening a large group of kids of all ages, abilities, and skill levels have been getting together for grassroots soccer (click here for an explanation of grassroots soccer) at a local park. Grassroots soccer players will be playing in a round-robin tournament next week to culminate the inaugural season. The players will run the games (unless they need moderation from coaches), keep score, and manage the tournament.
Giving the game back to the kids.
Look for a more thorough post about our inaugural grassroots season in the very near future.
Until then, please spread the word about giving the game back to the kids. We can start the change by spreading the word.
Thanks so much for reading!
Erin:)
Congratulations on the article!!!
I’m not there and youth sports where I live is very small and very youth centered. Today I watched young high school kids (9th grade?) run/race around the track at the high school. The coach kept saying, “Help each other.” I couldn’t understand that because a foot race is between individual runners. Two boys were in front, followed by a girl, then three boys running together (helping each other?) some girls barely moving, some smaller boys and a girl just dragging along hating life. I cheered hard (inside) for the girl behind the two boys, “Beat them!” I called out, silently.
All that irrelevance out of the way, I believe in what you’ve written here. I believe youth sports should be, first and foremost, physical games kids play to the best of their ability for fun. <3
Exactly! Thank you so very much for your thoughtful comment, Martha. I would have been cheering on that girl too. 🙂 Last Tuesday I had three girls take on four boys (they were all roughly the same age) during a scrimmage. A couple of the girls were feeling a little nervous about playing again “all boys”. I said, “Hey, all three of you have played soccer together for years. Play your hardest, have fun, and score on them.” The girls didn’t end up scoring on the boys, but the boys didn’t end up scoring on the girls either. It was a great scrimmage, and they all had a lot of fun.
I’m hoping we can get a permanent grassroots league started within the next year. Thanks again for your comment. 🙂
Wow–congrats on the article. The power of a voice! Well done. There’s always a bunch of upheaval within our local league. I stay out of it. Neither of my kids is going to be a professional athlete–so it should be fun! And, you’re right, child-centered. I really don’t know these parents who get so caught up in this stuff and the drama. Ah well. Good job keeping it real–and that grassroots league. How wonderful for everyone involved!
Thanks so much, Rebecca! I love your comment! I do believe there is upheaval all over the country in the youth sports world – thanks to the adults who have made it what it is today. And, you’re exactly right. There are very few kids who will grow up to be professional athletes, so why not make sports fun for all kids. In fact, research states that less than one percent of division 1 athletes will go on to play professionally. I’m hoping this grassroots league will take off in the next few years. I’ve had parents from other school districts contact me regarding playing in the league, so I hope it will keep spreading.
Thanks again for your comment, Rebecca! I really appreciate it.
Keep up the good work Erin ⚽️ I’ve watch the Tuesday night soccer gathering and how the children love playing and learning the skills of the game and all the parents watching there children having fun and learning the sport 😊there scrimmages against each thank you for taking the time to care about the children in the sport of soccer
Thank you so very much. Your comment means a lot. I love seeing the smiles and determination that the grassroots soccer kids have each and every week. Thanks, again! 🙂