The Evolution of Youth Sports Parenting!
Born in December of 1978 I am closer to the 80’s than the 70’s, therefore, I will lay claim to being an 80’s baby. I remember growing up in Montgomery, AL, about 160 miles south of Atlanta, and having a deep desire to join youth sports. I have vivid memories of being a 4 and 5 year old child and anxiously awaiting the age of 6. This age signified my age of eligibility for youth sports. At the time all youth sports from toddler to 6th grade were regulated by YMCA’s. In junior high the sports were regulated by the city Parks and Recreation Department, and high school athletics were regulated by one of two state regulating agencies. Montgomery City Schools operated on a junior high (grades 7-9) approach as opposed to a middle school approach (grades 6-8). Baseball was a little different in that no junior high programs offered baseball teams. Youth baseball was regulated by several different area youth baseball leagues across the city.
At that time the first sport I played was football. My father paid a $35 fee because we were members of the YMCA. Non-members paid a $50 fee. Anyone could sign their child up and they would be placed on a team. The YMCA provided only a jersey and helmet decals. Parents had to go to local sporting goods store to purchase all pads, cleats, and helmets. The expense amounted to roughly $50. Everyone had white pants, white helmets, and a YMCA provided jersey. Your team name and jersey was whatever local business sponsored your uniform. So on any given Saturday you would see Gayfers .vs Aronov Realty. The local corporations took pride in sponsoring teams in all sports.
Not only were uniform allocations and registration processes different, the sports seasons were different. Wait a minute, let me change that. We used to have sports seasons, now each sport is trained and played year round. During my childhood youth football season was from September-November, youth basketball began in December and finished in February, and youth baseball season began in late March and went to June. There were summer baseball all-stars and soccer was played in the Fall and Spring. For the most part there were no organized team activities during the summer months and sports seasons did not overlap. The parents applauded and cheered for their child’s team without cheering against the opponent.
What a difference 30 years makes. At this time youth sports has become big business and in some ways they are losing their innocence. Youth sports used to be an organizational activity designed to teach children the foundation and fundamentals of each sport while teaching them discipline. In this age it seems as though we have gone so far from that Genesis. While there are still youth sports teams associated with YMCAs and recreation centers, those leagues are often viewed as minor leagues. There are now privately youth organizations that recruit players and cheerleaders. The parents of these athletes then spend hundreds of dollars for uniforms and operating expenses of their organizations. These organizations team with other organizations and create leagues of high level competition. It is no longer based on fundamentals and teaching the game, it is now designed to see who can excel and secure bragging rights. The parents now not only cheer for their child’s team they cheer against the opposing team. They often engage in arguments in person or via social media either in preparation for a game or as the result of a game. Sadly, this age of youth sports has also given birth to the age of the sports specialist.
So many of the sports train year round and have other miscellaneous leagues and competition set up outside of the regular season that it makes it difficult for them to play any other sports. For example, my son began playing with a travel basketball team in August of 2016. This team has played every month since August with the exception of December. When he isn’t playing he is practicing to get better. My son is 12. He used to play football and baseball in addition to basketball, but has chosen to “specialize” in basketball. As a parent I encourage him to discover other sports and be a well rounded athlete. There is a growing misconception that the earlier a child specializes the better he will get at a sport and thus he will be much better than the competition. I believe that this couldn’t be further from the truth. I won’t do your research for you, but there is research to support the notion that a child specializing in one sport may stunt their total body development and reduce the range of motion they have in muscles. I don’t think people understand how being a diverse athlete can accentuate all of your positive athletic attributes and improve your more deficient attributes. Some of the most elite professional athletes of this time were excellent multi-sport participants.
The parents of youth athletes have had to endure a total evolution of being a youth sports parent. Parents used to commit to 3-4 days a week of 1.5 hour practices and a game on the weekend. They may play two games a week in baseball. Now parents take their children to team practices, then they splurge for specialized skill training in sports outside of the normal practice time. The parents now pay weekly tournament fees and spend much of the day on Saturday and Sunday in competition. Everything else is put on the backburner, even spiritual obligations as many competitive events are held at times that are during morning and evening service hours. Parents willingly fork over hotel expenses, gas money, and wear and tear on their vehicles attending these events.
The biggest loss I see is family time and the complete loss of the summer season. When I say the summer season, I specifically mean there is little time for children to engage in holistic growth. They are not engaged in the world of academia in preparation for the next year. Their bodies don’t get proper rest which leads to a high incidence of injury and/or burnout. The change in parental attitudes to sports has also been known to drive a wedge between the athlete and parent relationship. Parents are investing more and therefore have higher expectations. There are times when this unregulated pressure provided by parents will cause children to experience burnout. I’m not quite sure how we go to this point, but it must be stopped. We may be hindering a generation of children by encouraging them to specialize.
There is a feeling that the purity of youth sports has been tainted. As is the case with all matters dealing with the youth, the parents have the power to drive youth athletics in the manner that they wish for it to be operated. Having said that, it seems as if the adults are ruining it again for the children…Two J’s and I’m Out!
