This is YOUR page. We encourage you to submit questions for us to answer in future issues. We
will answer as many questions as possible in the newsletter depending on how broad or
specific the question is.
Q. From a child development point of view,
at what age is it appropriate for youth athletes to become involved in organized athletic
events? The setting I am describing includes paid officials, scores kept and standings
maintained. T.D.
A. As we discussed briefly in the
September/October 1996 issue of CYS there is no easy answer to this question. The problem
is compounded by the fact that we must consider a variety of developmental issues,
including physical development, cognitive development, and psychological-emotional
development. In regard to physical development, the primary areas of concern are typically
contact produced injuries, over-use injuries, and the physical demands placed on the
child. While we stand by our earlier position that contact/collision sports are not the
best choice for very young children, a recent medical study reported that the risk of
severe injury was no greater in youth sport programs than in higher level programs.
Over-use injuries remain a concern. These injuries result from repeating the same movement
over and over again, such as throwing a baseball, hitting a tennis ball, running or
swimming long distances. Unfortunately, these types of injuries may not appear immediately
but rather in later life. Although some sports may produce a degree of cardio-vascular
stress, this is not likely to be harmful and actually should be beneficial for the child.
We encourage parents to have a physician complete a pre-participation physical examination
of the child even if it is not required by the youth sport program. The very formal sport
setting described in the question is more likely to be emotionally stressful, although we
sometimes wonder whether it is the child or the parents who are distressed. The major
potential problem is that these formal settings seem to take the fun out of the activity
more so than less formal programs. On the other hand, many children like the formal
programs because they look and feel more like what the "big boys and girls" play
at the college or professional level. The final decision is dictated by how well you know
your own child and by how much information you can find out about the sport program.
Q. I am planning on coaching students ages
8-10 in basketball. I am looking for some practice drills and advice from the internet.
Does anyone have a direction for me? N.B.
A. It is not within the scope of this
newsletter to directly answer this type of question. However, since our first issue went
on-line, we have added a web site resources page. One of the areas included on this page
is called Specific Sport Information Sources. This is where we will post links to sites
that contain information on coaching specific sports. In searching the internet we have
not yet found very many of these types of sites. Searches done using the name of a
particular sport, such as basketball, tend to identify home pages for college and
professional teams or individual athletes but not information like practice drills or
strategies. We will keep looking and would appreciate it if our readers who find useful
sites would send us the site URL so we can share it with others.
Q: At what age do you think it is
appropriate to have children "tryout" for select sports teams? By trying out I
mean that children will be cut from the team and only the more skilled or
"select" players will make the team. John, VA
A: This question is somewhat similar to the
one answered in the last issue in that there is, unfortunately, no definitive answer.
Children (and probably even adults, eg. pro athletes) who are cut from teams will probably
experience some degree of negative reaction. Hopefully, parents of children trying out for
select (traveling) teams have prepared their children in advance as much as is possible by
explaining the selective nature of the tryout situation. Ideally there are
"house" or non-select teams available for these children to play on if they
don't make the select team so that they still will have an opportunity to participate in
the sport. I believe that this must be the case for elementary school age children and
probably even for middle school/junior high school aged children. As a personal note, I am
opposed to cutting elementary age children. I don't believe that they need to be involved
in that level of competition at that age. I realize that there are a lot of folks who
disagree with this perspective (fortunately there are also many who share it!) but I am a
strong advocate for Fun in youth sports and getting cut is not fun. Not getting to play at
all is even less fun. RKS
Reader needs help:
Q: I will start coaching
elementary school (5th-8th grades) basketball at my school soon. What are the most
important areas to evaluate the children on during try outs? Skills, fundamentals, or
what? Same question for flag football (for future needs)? Victor, IL
A: Try to evaluate a variety of skills,
e.g.,
field goal shooting, free throw shooting, dribbling, passing. More is better. Any readers
who can supply suggestions for Victor send them to CYS
and we will forward them or send them directly to Victor
. Thanks.
Q: Parents were not listed in the Nov/Dec
Feature article about drop outs. Have any studies been done regarding parental abuse in
youth sport? MM
A. Most research involving dropouts includes
parents in the list of possible causes the children in the studies respond to. As was the
case in our study, its not that parents don't cause children to drop out, its just, at
least as far as the children surveyed indicate, that parents are not in the top 5 reasons
cited. In fact in our study parents ranked 20 and 22 out of 23 possible reasons for
dropping out. As you noted, parents are so visible in the sports environment that they are
often blamed for creating adverse situations that don't represent the general pattern of
feelings in children. Unfortunately the most obvious parents create an easily generalized
stereotype, the sport version of the stage mother.
Q. I am considering coaching a 10-11 years
old house team, but wonder how the players (the majority are boys), their parents, and
other coaches will feel about a female coach. Any encouragement or advice would be
appreciated.
A. Do it! Unfortunately, there may well be
some negative reactions from any of the sources you listed. You did not mention if you had
a child on the team, but if you do I think you should ask that child how she or he feels
about it first. The key is to not approach the situation defensively, but rather focus on
what you can do for the team as their coach.
Q: CYS received two questions about coaching
from the sidelines; one question specifically asked about calling pitches for the pitcher;
the other question raised the broader issue of sideline coaching by coaches, parents,
teammates, and even spectators in general. Does this prevent the player from learning to
make their own decisions, does it tell them they are not smart enough to play without
help, or does it embarrass them?
A: In regard to the specific question of
calling pitches, coaches, at all levels, seem to be about evenly divided on this issue. On
the broader question, the partial answer is, yes, it may do any or all of these to the
athlete. One thing sideline coaching most certainly does is distract them for the game
they are trying to play. Much of what is yelled at the athlete from the sideline, however
well intentioned, probably does not produce positive performance changes. Typically the
coach would be more effective by waiting until the athlete is on the sideline and can give
the coach their undivided attention. Parents, teammates, and spectators should be
encouraged to restrict the yelling to "cheerleading", that is being supportive
of the athlete's effort and performance. RKS
Q: CYS has continued to receive questions about
cutting children from select or travel teams and at what age this is appropriate.
A: We refer you to the Question and Answer
section of the March/April issue of CYS for our response. The lack of research into this
topic makes it difficult to give a definitive answer supported by scientific findings. We
continue to encourage leagues and programs to provide opportunities for all children under
the age of 12 who want to participate in a particular sport. If programs fell that it is
necessary to also have select teams in this age range, it must be made clear to the
children trying out that there is only a limited opportunity on these teams. If they are
looking to develop new skills in a sport, particularly if they are new or unskilled in the
sport, they should be encouraged to look to the house (non-traveling) teams where they
will get the experience they need to try for the select teams in the future.
Q: My athletes seem to be only interested in
playing the games. They seem to see little value in practicing and particularly in
practicing well.
A: Unfortunately, some of this attitude
seems to come from the professional sports models some of whom seem to disdain practice
and still play well. What young athletes have to realize is that the pro athletes
practiced hard and well for many years to get where they are. Our articles on goal setting
in this issue also point out the importance of using goal setting to provide direction and
purpose for practicing well.
