Mel’s Musings – Youth sports, who are they for?

We are reaching the end of the summer season of activities and nearing the beginning of the fall sports season. Before we know it, footballs will be flying and the bite of fall will be in the air. As youngsters put away their shorts and exchange one set of athletic shoes for another, adults should reflect on what the purpose of playing sports actually is.

I coached Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis at Mitchell High School for two years and VFW Teener Baseball (13 year olds, JV and Varsity teams) for three years. I had a very different philosophy depending on which team and level I was coaching.

Beginners in a sport should learn the rules and the fundamentals first and foremost. They should learn the why along with the how of the particular sport they’re playing. The goal should be an understanding of the fundamentals then moving into tactics and execution of strategy. How does one get to the Majors? The same way one gets to Carnegie Hall; practice, practice, practice.

Coaches should recognize that sports should primarily be fun. It is work to become adept at anything but if there are no good times along the way then kids won’t stick with it. That fun includes starting games and more than token playing time. Too often a decision is made On High somewhere that this group of third grade kids will be the varsity starters when they are juniors in high school and all other participants are shunted off to the side. Vince Lombardi is often quoted as saying, Winning isn’t everything it is the only thing when in actuality he said “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.”

Children grow, progress and mature at different rates and so to pass judgment on a child’s athletic abilities so early in their lives is to stunt their interest and skill level in sports. At levels below high school the emphasis should be on more equal playing time and coaching to develop players in a particular sport rather than winning per se. Kids should get to play all positions. It’s summer so let’s talk baseball; how does a coach know a kid can’t play third base if the kid never gets a chance to play third base?

I don’t believe in participation medals. I think they send the wrong message. Losing hurts, losing teaches, losing causes reflection, losing – learned from – leads to winning.

A coach, at lower levels of competition, who plays the same kids in the same positions over and over is a bad coach. Coaching is about teaching fundamentals, working on skills and developing players – in all positions. It’s about having fun, molding a team that works together harmoniously and that gets better. While winning is nice, below the varsity level winning should be a by-product of a well coached, well played game and not the single minded goal in and of itself.

An athletic program is just that, a progression and a program building from beginners in a sport to the goal of championships at the varsity level where the methods and goals change. At the varsity level players should have general skills and ability to play multiple positions but have gravitated to a specialty (quarterback, goalie or point guard as examples). At the varsity level it should no longer really be about building skills but rather about polishing them. At the varsity level the fun now comes from winning, not so much by the mere playing of the game. Hopefully there were some wins along the way to lower levels of competition too but at varsity, winning does become paramount.

At the varsity level is now where we now take people’s hard earned cash for the privilege of being a spectator. At the varsity level is where coaching jobs are at stake as are athletic scholarships for the players. I recognize and accept that as true, but it is patently not true at lower levels of competition and coaches’ egos must not get in the way of the development of players’ skills and interests along the path to reaching varsity status.

Adults should remember that youth sports don’t exist to gratify adults or to allow adults to relive their earlier triumphs or to boost their present day egos. We need a healthier, inclusive approach to coaching, to making up rosters and playing kids in youth sports.