Tom Farrey asks tough questions…and not just when interviewing Miguel Tejada for the episode of ESPN’s E:60 that aired last night.
Farrey, the two-time Master of Ceremonies for PCA’s National Youth Sports Awards also asks hard questions in his new book, Game On: The All-American Race to make Champions of our Children.
Among them: How did we get to the point where youth sports performance is more important than participation at even the youngest age levels? And, most importantly, how do we correct that situation?
While we urge you to read Game On, scheduled for release May 6, feel free to consider those questions and leave your answers right here, right now, by clicking on the comments link below.
Posted by David Jacobson at 04/23/2008 01:31:21 PM |
So a course was fixed and a start was made. The hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his disrespect for the tortoise, he laid down to have a nap. The tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the hare awoke from his nap, he saw the tortoise nearing the finish line and he could not catch up in time to save the race. So the tortoise won…..(Source Aesop)
Are we really teaching students the tortoise won or are we teaching them the hare won?
Youth sports performance is more important than participation because the current generation of parents are teaching their kids the same thing people taught them in school or on the playground. Performance equals winning!
These parents have been exposed to things like: The Presidential Physical Fitness Awards (the idol of physical education), unstructured competitive playground games and a system of grading based on physical performance. All of these factors taught the same lesson: Perform well and stand out, perform poorly and hide in the tube slide.
To correct this situation, we need to discontinue the old ways of doing things!
Posted by: Greg Baney ( Email: | Visit ) at 4/25/2008 4:29 AM
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Seems obvious but it takes a fully integrated effort from parents-coaches-administrators-and professional athletes. As powerful as this trend is today, it will take all of us to turn the tide.
In a word, it will take a "movement". It would be a great boost to get more support of this from the professional/ESPN culture.
Posted by: jamie gallagher ( Email: ) at 4/27/2008 5:47 PM
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Jamie Gallagher makes a great point, - it will take a ‘movement’ to truly produce any real differences in youth sports. ESPN on-air personalities may toss out nice “feel-good” comments from time to time. But ultimately their ratings are just like everyone else’s - tied to winners.
A recent documentary entitled “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” released by the producers of Michael Moore’s “9/11,” comes to a disturbing conclusion. Considering the steroid culture in professional and top-level amateur sports, their conclusion was, “Steroids are not the problem. They are just the side effect of being American.”
American culture today is actually “hard wired” to only respect, pay attention to, and spend their money on winners. Legislation, fines, sanctions and asterisks will never accomplish from the outside what a true internal shift in emotions, traditions and personal values will genuinely produce. But that will take time. Perhaps a new generation will have to come along.
Sixty-three year old coaches are not going to be a part of that shift. Thirty-two year old professional athletes aren’t going to alter the world they’re profiting in. Even seventeen year old high school stars have been drinking the Kool–Aid too long.
No, the ‘movement’ that will transform the Win-At-All-Costs sports culture will have its beginnings and eventual credibility in the lives of today’s Little Leaguers, eleven year old junior golfers and youth soccer players who are fortunate enough to have parents and coaches that understand and embrace the big picture.
PCA has a goal of transforming youth sports. Hopefully those transformed young people, as they mature and take their places as adults, will begin to repair not only the landscape of the American sports scene, but the way of thinking within our common culture.
Posted by: Art Noyes ( Email: ) at 6/1/2008 9:09 PM
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my nephew has a talent in sports, may it be any sport he has a gift to succeed.im looking for the right guidence for him,for he is only seven years old. hopefully somebdy could lead me in the right direction.I feel he could go a long way with his gift with the right person
Posted by: joel nabel ( Email: ) at 3/25/2009 10:04 PM
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