Kids and Sports
Interesting article about the pressure on kids to "specialize" in a sport from the Steve Nash Youth Basketball blog, called The Race to Nowhere in Youth Sports.
We had mixed experiences with sports with both our boys. Great Little League experience (especially with the son with a disability).
Great rec soccer experience for my younger son. (He did try one year of select soccer - too expensive, too much travel, too much pressure. My son, who had real talent, was the one to say no.) We had great parents on our team but some teams had win-at-all-costs parents and to hear them and their coaches scream at kids was astonishing.
Both played Ultimate Frisbee in SPS. Mixed bag as one son was at a school - that shall remain nameless - that had a no-cut policy but also, basically, a no-play policy if you were not a star. Really hurt his feelings to be told he would never play in a game - not even for 5 minutes because they had a "competitive" team and want to go to playoffs. (I also think Ultimate should be a real sport in SPS - very inclusive - boys and girls on the team - cheap and fun.)
What is very troubling is the number of articles about kids who play a sport very hard and blow out their knees by high school. That's just crazy to me. I recall one NY Times article that quoted a mom - talking about her soccer-playing daughter - "sure she'll have knee problems in her '40s but she needs to get a college scholarship now." That's one way to get your kid to college.
And, as always, there is the issue of sports within a school district. It's kind of like trying to assess the costs of a major league sports team in a city - is it really worth it? Hard to say. The U.S. is a sports-crazy nation so I don't see sports going away from our high schools but it seems like it would be better to direct those dollars towards the physical health of ALL students. I'm not advocating getting rid of high school sports but just throwing that out for discussion.
Any thoughts?
We had mixed experiences with sports with both our boys. Great Little League experience (especially with the son with a disability).
Great rec soccer experience for my younger son. (He did try one year of select soccer - too expensive, too much travel, too much pressure. My son, who had real talent, was the one to say no.) We had great parents on our team but some teams had win-at-all-costs parents and to hear them and their coaches scream at kids was astonishing.
Both played Ultimate Frisbee in SPS. Mixed bag as one son was at a school - that shall remain nameless - that had a no-cut policy but also, basically, a no-play policy if you were not a star. Really hurt his feelings to be told he would never play in a game - not even for 5 minutes because they had a "competitive" team and want to go to playoffs. (I also think Ultimate should be a real sport in SPS - very inclusive - boys and girls on the team - cheap and fun.)
What is very troubling is the number of articles about kids who play a sport very hard and blow out their knees by high school. That's just crazy to me. I recall one NY Times article that quoted a mom - talking about her soccer-playing daughter - "sure she'll have knee problems in her '40s but she needs to get a college scholarship now." That's one way to get your kid to college.
And, as always, there is the issue of sports within a school district. It's kind of like trying to assess the costs of a major league sports team in a city - is it really worth it? Hard to say. The U.S. is a sports-crazy nation so I don't see sports going away from our high schools but it seems like it would be better to direct those dollars towards the physical health of ALL students. I'm not advocating getting rid of high school sports but just throwing that out for discussion.
Any thoughts?
Comments
Everyone goes on about the importance of 'team work' and all the important things their kids are going to learn from being in a team, and how much their kids love it but half the time I think its the parents living vicariously through the kids (reliving their own glory days on the field), or keeping up the with Jones, or hoping the sport will be their entree into college.
Sports seems to be such a big time commitment from such a young age here. I disagree that things like school start times seem to be impacted by the desire to preserve afternoons for practices. The best academic practice for ALL kids should not be dictated by the needs of the sporting set.
Which brings me to another thing, one thing that has been shown in research is that countries that outperform the US in education have far less emphasis on youth sports. You can see here how kids are really lauded for their sporting achievements, families rearrange their life to accommodate their kids sports, teams expect a lot from their youth players from a young age, and it can be very competitive. Imagine if more of that time and energy and enthusiasm went into academics - then perhaps we'd be doing better.
Not sporty
I think kids aren't necessarily getting enough learning in that realm at school (and, potentially shouldn't be, because, learning in school should not be a competition between students). So, I like sports for that.
zb
And, I don't like school-sponsored sports. I played in them through high school, and they have a role, but for too few students. I'd rather the funds go into academics and things that benefit all the kids in the school.
- Rah Rah
I tell all the parents at the elementary of my younger child how much I appreciate the program, that I'm so glad that there is no middle school contact football, how well the co-ed works, how great it is that they learn to self-ref. I have found Ultimate to be the best representation of middle school sports and I'm glad SPS and DiscNW support it.
After school sports also does not cut into our family life the way rec/club sports does, so another plus.
Point #1: When there are 4-5 levels of a "select" team, its no longer a select team....more than likely they just want your money. It has turned into a huge money-maker that promises all kinds of things that it can't deliver
Point #2: Kids that practice 2x/day, day-in and day-out at younger and younger ages are much more likely to either get injured or just start hating the sport so much that they quit by Junior year in high school
Point #3: Colleges do not want burned-out athletes at the age of 18 that have reached their top potential and have no room for growth/improvement
Point #4: The decision to compete has to be 150% the kid's decision. I can remember a friend of mine that had all the talent in the world (never came to practice and still beat everyone when she showed up for competitions) but actually was only doing the sport for her dad. She finally walked away after Junior year in high school with no regrets, despite numerous college offers to compete in Division I.
Competing at an elite level can gain you entry into a prestigious college. There have been swimmers, divers, runners, soccer players etc. from SPS that have been accepted into Yale, Princeton and Harvard. They likely would not have gained access without their sport. However, that is the absolute top kid in the state - no questions asked - it is not the kid that has played on the select team for 6 years but isn't the star.
Sports can teach a lot of invaluable lessons, but my advice is absolutely do not push. Serious level play should not happen until 8th-9th grade and should be at the request of the athlete.
Otherwise, the recreational opportunities are so great and keep sports fun and are completely adequate for 90% of the kids out there.
-"Old" college athlete
She still has the flexibility to ski and play other sports so that's great, and our family emphasizes exercise twice a week (PE at school doesn't cut it) so my kids are required to do something physical twice a week, soccer or swimming or basketball, whatever. I really believe exercising on a regular basis makes a big difference academically, emotionally, physically and sports are fun exercise (for us).
I wish SPS had well run sports teams that were more accessible for all kids, honestly, soccer and basketball at our middle school are not that accessible or well run. I would rather they play at school but that's nor really an option.
-Just being honest
At our middle school, the requirement during any sport season is to have the student fill out a weekly grade sheet that they ask every teacher to sign. This is done whether or not there is a game that week. Students must have at least a C in every class for academics (not a C average) and must have at least a C grade in each class for citizenship. The school administration tells me that all of this is a district requirement. To me, it seems like an awful lot of work for the students, teachers and coaches to be asking every teacher every week in every class to sign a grade sheet. Is that what other Seattle middle schools require? I'd appreciate the name of the school if anyone responds. Thank you!
--Athletics and Paperwork Parent
The administration says this is a district requirement. To me it seems like a huge amount of paperwork for all the students, teachers and coaches. Do other middle schools require this each week? And do other schools require a C or higher in each class? I'd appreciate the names of schools if others respond.
Sports and Paperwork Parent
The emphasis on college sports also frustrates me. Sports are great extracurriculars -- an excellent way for college students to let off steam -- but too many colleges have grossly abused varsity sports.
Sports: an excellent supplement to academics, but never a substitute.
A plug for ultimate frisbee: Seattle Times article about Bailey Gatzert's great ultimate frisbee team a few years ago. Melissa also commented on it.
I think many reader of this blog would be fascinated by Ratey's work.
Active Mom
I think that tossing out all team sports because of a few bad actors is like demonizing all teachers and the current school system because of a few bad examples.
Right now, Ultimate and Lacrosse are club sports and not supported by the district as a sport but at Hale they are no cut. I don't know if they have different levels or not.
Hale's Boys Ultimate team just won state championship vs Franklin. A super win for all of SPS because Northwest was finally beaten.
HP
In middle school, you seem to either end up with tryouts and cuts--in which case those kids who also play on club teams have a distinct advantage--or you end up with no-cut teams that are often too large for anyone's good. It's frustrating to play on a large team--and spend weekends at out-of-town tournaments--when you only get to be on the field a few minutes each game.
Logistics can be a real challenge though. At Hamilton this year there was so much interest in Ultimate Frisbee that 6th grade boys were only allowed to play for 2 weeks each. It's hard to get that "team" experience--and the associated benefits and learning that we hope kids get--when the girls play for the season but a random group of boys rotates through for what are essentially "guest" spots on the team. The coaches are great and I love to see Ultimate so popular, but it's not a great situation when the schools can't accommodate the level of interest.
The whole club/select vs rec issue also creates an unfortunate challenge. I'm sure parents are sometimes the driving force behind their kids' participation in select, but I think we've also set up a system whereby there aren't good options from which to choose. From what we've observed over the years, the more skilled players tend to play club sports, which tend to be more competitive (and expensive, time consuming, and intense). Rec teams, then, tend to draw more of the players who aren't as skilled, or who only have a mild interest in the sport. This creates a real challenge for the player who is skilled at and loves a particular sport, and who wants to play hard but just for fun. To me, this seems like exactly the sort of attitude we'd like to encourage as parents--play hard and have fun!--but there isn't really a venue for it. I'd love to see something more along the lines of club sports that focused on scrimmages rather than league games and tournaments and travel. Maybe highly organized pick-up leagues or something like that.
Youth sports have sure come a long way since I was a kid, but I'm not sure it all feels like progress...
HalfFull
I just don't think that is right at eleme
ntary ages, and maybe even middle school ages. But all these teams and leagues are big business nowdays. And everyone has their eye on a sports scholarship.
Although.....Academic scholarships are actually easier to obtain and worth more $- so maybe some of the time and energy that goes into sports would be better spent on academics, or the sports fees would be better put into a college saving account?
Not sporty
Cheer Mom
So yes, he was "on the team."
I personally have never seen a cheer team that wasn't a cut sport. The sheer costs and logistics would make it difficult.
I don't think Ultimate is cut anymore but I'll ask. I'll ask about play time too.
HP
However, i have an only child. I signed her up for sports mostly for the socialization aspect. I wanted her to learn how to be part of a team, how to share, the satisfaction of working at something and getting better at it, that sometimes other kids are better than you at certain things and sometime you are better than other kids, etc. And to get exercise.
She played rec soccer for 4 years and middle school soccer for 1 year. She also played Little League softball for 5 years. She had some great coaches and made some good friends that she's still friends with today. I consider that a successful sports experience.
Sped Parent
For kids with disabilities, there is a Soccer United team. Some of the other schools also have a Basketball United team. Also, the cheer squad has a member of the team who is in special ed. She does all the cheers and dance routines as well as stunting. She is an integral part of the squad and well liked.
I agree, that it is unfortunate that Hale Ultimate did not let players play in the past. It is disappointing to me, in that not letting players play is against the code of Ultimate. I am glad to see that it has expanded to allow more kids to play. Hopefully, the coaching staff has changed too.
HP
Students with disabilities should not have to be stuck with an all volunteer, no fidelity (eg, they don't play the real games), step sister program (Unified), when they could just play regular sports if not for being "good enough". Heck, Unified basketball gets the courts like once a month, and only get to play half-court. Seriously. An all volunteer, "do it if we can" and "we'll make up our own rules" program can not be a substitute for a sports program, and is no way equitable to opportunities other kids get. In regular sports, there is a presumption that there will be a coach, and that kids CAN learn to play. Yes, Unified is a fine start. Yes, maybe it is a great ends for some - but really. It's second class. Why should people with disabilities be stuck in a "disabilities" venue?
And, as to Ultimate. Having a JV team, or multiple JV teams still does not guarantee kids playing time. That was the case for my kid. I wasn't trying to get him to play "Varsity" (laughable because Ultimate is a "club" sport), just to have an opportunity to play at all. The real game, with real peers, with the real rules.
Sped Parent
Not perfect but better than it was several years ago.
HP
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