What happened to having fun?

As you can tell if you follow our Facebook page, I'm very passionate about youth sports.  My interest in the science behind the development process intrigues me greatly.  As a coach and director of a youth basketball program, my goal is simple.  "Help every child that comes through our program improve and fall in love with the game."  It sounds simple, but influences such as the nature of being competitive, wanting to win and parent expectations cloud that process.  I've quoted the ride to the game and the ride home as the worst experience for any youth player.  Parent's break them down before they get to a practice or game and tear down the work we've done as coaches on the way home.  I'm guilty of it, but I've learned and improved.  I recommend to our parents that the car is a safe place.  You can't talk about sports, the game or anything negative in the car.  I practice this with my own kids and our relationships have grown.

The other area is the desire to win and your very young child to play professional sports.  Think about that... who owns the dream?  You or your child?  What ever happened to having fun first?

Here is some science for you:  According to physical, psychological, and cognitive development, a child should be at least 6 years of age before participating in organized team sport, such as soccer and baseball. Further, an accurate assessment of each child’s individual sports readiness should be performed to assist in determining if a child is prepared to enroll and at which level of competition the child can successfully participate. A mismatch in sports readiness and skill development can lead to anxiety, stress, and ultimately attrition for the young athlete. For the very young “athlete”, the goals of participation are to be active, have fun, and to have a positive sport experience through learning and practice of fundamental skills. An introduction to a variety of activities has been shown to be both physically and psychologically beneficial for the youngster. Sports satisfaction surveys reveal that “having fun” is the main reason that most children like to participate in sports; however, the parents perception of why their children like to play sports is to “win”.

The Institution for the Study of Youth Sports looked at the importance of winning from the child’s perspective, and found that it varied with gender and age, but for the majority of younger children, fairness, participation, and development of skills ranked above winning. It appears that this disconnect amongst young athletes and adults may contribute to stress and unhappiness on the part of the child. Perhaps the adult interpretation of “little league” or “pee wee” sports as a mini-version of adult sports competition has led those who are involved in governing these activities down the wrong path, where winning overrides the fundamentals of youth sports.

Implementation of some of the coaching tactics that were designed for college and professional athletes, such as hard physical practices for punishment, only the best get to play, running up the score, and overplaying celebratory wins has contributed to a negative atmosphere in youth sports.

 The North Georgia Irish Basketball program is by no means perfected what the Youth Sports study has verified, but we are aware and working towards an ideal state.  Perfection does not exist but the pursuit of it does.  We are very excited to be certified by USA Basketball and look forward to developing players the right way in our corner of Georgia.