Selecting A Sport, Part 7

SHOULD MY CHILD JOIN A SELECT TEAM?

Our three boys played on select soccer teams. I coached our youngest son’s team for six years. Though it was a mostly positive experience for us, I’m not sure it would be in today’s select system. My primary concern is that these teams have amped up the time and commitment required. As a result, many youth sports have become serious business. If your child wants to play for one of these teams, consider:

1. Watch Over Your Child’s Whole Development: Just because a child has talent does not mean that you are obliged to enroll her in a select program. As I stated earlier, look at all of your child’s needs and see how that particular commitment fits into her whole development.
2. Watch Out for Specialization: If your child plays one sport nearly all year, it will greatly increase his odds of developing an overuse injury. Even professional baseball pitchers rest their arms during the winter. Furthermore, narrowly focusing on one sport may not even produce the best athletes. A Division I college soccer coach commented: “Hands down, the best kids in our program, ... have been kids who have played three sports, who have had balance, who maybe started late in soccer but they’re really enjoying it and they can develop.”
3. Watch What Develops: Though it may be painful to extricate your child from her commitment to a team, have the courage to live out your convictions. Is the coach too harsh? the schedule too demanding? your child’s academics faltering? Your child may initially object to being withdrawn, but later, when she has her life back, she will probably thank you.
4. Watch Your Motives: Don’t let your child become a surrogate for your dreams. This is his life, not yours!
5. Watch Your Expectations: Parents may view the time and money they spend on their child’s sport as an investment—and investors want returns! After one top athlete in our city underperformed to dad’s expectations, he told her: “If we're going to spend all this money and travel to tournaments, you better work more on your game.” The return that many parents of select athletes are hoping for is a college scholarship. Though NCAA schools award about $1 billion for athletic scholarships they offer over $30 billion dollars for academic scholarships! These statistics led one sports leader to wisely advise: “If you want to get money from a scholarship, go home and read to your children every night!”

 

Selecting A Sport: Part 6

Think About Mental Health

A child’s mental health can be significantly impacted by sports. Here are some issues to consider when helping your young child choose a sport:

• The League: Educator Bruce Svare wisely points out that a “youth sports program should be judged on the basis of how it treats its least talented kids, not on how it treats its most talented kids.” I would avoid a sports program that doesn’t legislate ample playing time for young kids.
• The Coaches: In one study it was found that youth hockey and baseball coaches rated having fun considerably higher than swimming, wrestling, and gymnastics coaches. Furthermore, baseball, basketball, soccer, and hockey coaches rated winning significantly lower than wrestling coaches. These results only suggest trends. It is best to check out a coach to see what emphasis he puts on winning, having fun, and developing skills.
• Advanced vs. Recreational: Children’s sports today are often organized into advanced and recreational leagues. The theory is that grouping athletes with similar skills will produce a more uplifting experience. But one study of 9 year-olds found that kids who participated in recreational leagues viewed themselves more positively than did kids in advanced leagues. Though the research didn’t explore why this was true, could it be that the recreational leagues emphasize winning less? Some kids don’t want to play sports seriously, preferring fewer practices and modest competition. Don’t push them to a greater commitment.
• Stress: Moderate levels of stress usually enhance a child‘s experience—kids enjoy the excitement. But high levels can be damaging to their emotional health. As expected, individual sports create more stress than team sports. If you lose a golf match you can’t blame your teammates. If your golf ball goes out-of-bounds, guess who hit it there?! A study of girls competing in eight different sports found that gymnastics was the most stressful, followed by track and field, swimming, tennis, softball, volleyball, basketball, and field hockey. Do winning athletes handle the stress better? No. Studies have found no correlation between anxiety and a child’s ability. Better athletes may be burdened by higher expectations.

Cathy and I were pleased with our sons’ involvement in soccer, partly because of its lower stress. Standing on a soccer field, a young child can watch the clouds fly by or search for a four-leaf clover, but few (other than the child’s parents!) notice. On the other hand, a former Olympic ice skating champion explained the stress in her sport: “In four minutes of free skating you’re being judged on a whole year of practice. Not many sports put you through that, being the focal point of the entire arena. You’ve got to look like you’re enjoying yourself and accept the judges' decision and not throw a tomato at them. It’s tough.” Because of the stress of individual sports, it might be best to guide your young child toward team sports. She can begin learning the individual sports with minimal direct competition.