The Problems In Youth Sports and the Quest of Two Professionals To Fix It
"Sports should be about kids and their passion, not about parents and their goals. We love our kids so much, we want to map out their futures for them so early. For so many, a college (athletic) scholarship is their definition of success. That’s sick thinking, and unfortunately, it’s contagious.” - Mike Matheny, Manager St. Louis Cardinals He is so right. I see kids being pushed and pushed. Some kids playing a sport year round. Some parents are behaving like a mix between prison inmates and wardens in a prison; yelling at their kids, the refs, even coaches at sports played by children, even as young as 6-8 years of age. It’s a game. It’s supposed to be a game. It is not for a parent’s self-esteem or narcissism. It isn’t the child’s responsibility to fulfill the parent’s lost dreams. Yet sadly in so many cases, this is exactly what is happening. We are taking the recreation out of it. It is supposed to be something fun in which children learn the skills o