Why do kid’s paly sports?  If you are a parent or coach and you haven’t thought about this, ask your kids or the kids you coach as to why they play.   If asked most parents would say that youth sports should emphasize values like teamwork, honesty, discipline and fair play, but if asked what values they think youth sports actuallyreainforce most: competitiveness and the importance of winning.  Which is intertesting because if you go to any youth sporting event, little league baseball, football, you name it, you might be surprised at what you witness and hear.  I’m not talking about the kids, but watch and listen to the parents and coaches.   This is not to say that all parents and coaches act inaproppriately, but this is something that is a rising issue accross the U.S.. 

The comptitiveness of  youth sports seems to getting younger and younger with our youth.  Identifying who is athletically gifted at 8, 9 10 years old is common place for bys and girls, and focusing on the product over the process is also something that is common place.   We have a progressive educational system for our kids, but why not a progressive physical literacy sytem for our kids as well that they have to go through?  We do have one, but it will take time and much effort to implement and put into practice, it’s the Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) model.  USA Hockey and the Titelist Performance Institute are two of the current organizations that follow this system for their junior programs.  

If you are a coach, it is critical that you know as much as possible about the current literatutre and science behind youth athletic development and what is best for kids, and the why behind the LTAD.   The IYCA does a wonderful job as well as the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) as far as current data, research, and practical training for those involved in youth sports. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness has stated: ” The goal of youth sports should be to promote lifelong physical activity, recreation and skills of healthy competition”. 

Why do kids play sports?:  A  20 year study was done by the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, that asked 28,000 boys and girls; “Why do you play sports?”.   Top Answer: To have Fun! , followed by, To do something I’m good at and to improve my skills.  Winning did not crack the top 10.