Youth Sports Spotlight

Washington Area Girls Soccer League, which has participated in PCA's Partnership program and hosted our workshops, appeared in yesterday's article in The Washington Post about banning parents from the sidelines for berating a referee.

Check out the Post's blog on the topic, and if you're moved to comment, make sure to mention your affiliation with Positive Coaching Alliance. Also, check out the Post's poll of readers; we're with the 73 percent who answered, "Yes, the league needs to be firm with parents that misbehave."

In this week's run-up to the 8th Annual National Youth Sports Awards Ceremony sponsored by Deloitte, we are proud to recognize the latest accomplishments of a past Honoring the Game Award winner, the Central Missouri Eagles Youth Hockey Association.

Late last week, the Missouri House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution honoring the Eagles' "squirt" team for winning the state championship and for continuing in the Eagles tradition of conducting community service projects. League leader Doug Abrams and his squad visited the state capitol to receive their latest honor, meaning that the Eagles' focus on teaching life lessons through sports in the form of community service earned them the chance to learn even more life lessons in civics and government.

Congratulations, Eagles!

Thoughts of innocence and experience will echo in the moment of silence before today's Detroit Tigers game in tribute to the late former Tigers pitcher Mark Fidrych. "The Bird," nicknamed for his resemblance to Sesame Street's Big Bird, epitomized pre-steroid, pre-mega-contract baseball.

His famous antics -- kneeling to groom the mound, apparently talking to the ball between pitches -- bespoke an exuberant, spontaneous joy of the game. That's too rarely seen in pro sports these days, and it is a trait that PCA works to preserve even in youth sports.

That very joy, also containing the willingness to work hard for an overzealous coach, was Fidrych's undoing as a pitcher. A rookie at age 21 in 1976, he compiled a 19-9 record, throwing 24 complete games, including five that went into extra-innings. The next season, Fidrych pitched six straight complete games, suffered an inevitable injury in June, and left baseball almost as suddenly as he arrived.

While we hope youth athletes share Fidrych's innocent, unbridled love of the game, we also hope coaches, parents and athletes can heed the cautionary tale of his experience.

What sports parent -- or any parent for that matter -- does not keep in heart and mind the family of Nick Adenhart, the California Angels pitcher tragically killed by an alleged drunk driver earlier today? Adenhart's father, Jim, watched his son make his Big League debut on Wednesday and hours later was mourning him.

This weekend, as you gather for holidays, remember the Adenharts and be safe.

Congratulations to these winners of the 2009 National Youth Sports Awards sponsored by Deloitte:

DOUBLE-GOAL COACH^® AWARD  

Chris Abbott - Headfirst Baseball, Washington, DC

Jamal Adams - Loyola High School Basketball, Los Angeles, CA

Ed Buller - Oak Grove High School Football, San Jose, CA

Ted Gustus - Canarsie High School Basketball, Brooklyn, NY 

Richard Kruse - Ursuline Academy Cross Country and Track, Newark, DE

Karen Ronney - Patrick Henry High School Tennis, San Diego, CA

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), Hawthorne, CA

HONORING THE GAME AWARD

Berkeley Little League (baseball), Bayville, NJ

Kamehameha Schools Hawaii (multiple sports), Kea'au, HI

St. Raphael Football, Naperville, IL

If you came to Youth Sports Nation through our PCA Connector e-newsletter, you know what is so inspring about these award winners, and you can click on the Comments link below to share your reflections. To receive the current and future issues of PCA Connector, click here.