Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Brain Injury: Our Youth Should Take It Seriously
Back in the day when I played, kids got their “bell” rung and it was no big deal. We were just told to shake it off and take a play or series off. Opps! Maybe we should of taken head injuries more seriously. But who do we blame? The player, the Coach, or the parents. I believe the responsibility falls on all three. A player should know whether or not he/she is feeling light headed or dizzy. The Coach and parents should notice differences about their kids.
In today’s sports setting I believe the awareness of head injuries has risen drastically. Studies have been done from youth players all the way up to professionals. Last year alone 767,225 youth players went to the E.R. for a head injury visit, while 80,715 were hospitalized and 11,200 died due to trauma to their head. (http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=157555)
People, this is a serious matter. We’re talking about the possibility of DEATH! Parents and Coaches need to educate themselves and do what’s right and not think about their success. Once a person shows any symptoms (blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, headaches, sadness, loss of orientation and consciousness, to name a few), they need to be seen by a physician and only they can determine what’s going on. Life is too short to let a head injury take you down because of lack of awareness. A great web-site to look into if you have questions is: www.knowconcussion.org. Don’t let this silent killer, take you or a loved one too early.
Youth Sports Should Be Fun
Who said youth sports should be fun? A lot of people. But why aren’t they, everybody only gets to be a kid once. Why do parents take it over board and push their child to the limit? Is it because they want to live their childhood through their kids or see dollar signs because a coach said that their child will be good, or that the parents failed in sports and want their child to be success? I believe only the parents that act like that know the answers to those questions. As parents some of us put too much pressure on our kids, I know I have been one of those parents, but why I ride my kids is because myself and everyone else knows that they’re slacking and are better than they’re performing at that time and just want them to give it their all and not look back later and say “I should tried and given it my best and maybe we would have won” instead saying “I gave it my best and we just fell short, we’ll get them next time.”
Going through college and receiving a degree in sports and learning about involvement and different other aspects in sports has really opened my eyes and I believe has made me a better coach and a better father/coach. Kids are kids and need to enjoy life while they can, because in a blink of an eye they’ll be moving out and going into the world on their own. So…sit down, put your feet up and enjoy their ride through sports and support them in any way you can.
Social Class in Youth Sports
Does social class really make a difference in whether kids play youth sports? Some say “yes” and some say it only affects girls. I believe social class affects the opportunities kids have, where maybe a kid in the upper social class has the money go to special camps and/or travel where the “premiere” competition is. Also parents could have connections in the sport community and can get their child into the click and/or train with a professional.
As far as the lower class goes, I’m not saying that they are not as good but just less opportunity. There are programs like Boys and Girls Clubs that allow for equal participation and have scholarships for lower income families.
My philosophy is “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Who cares if a child isn’t financially set or comes from an atmosphere when drugs are part of their daily lives, if the child want to learn and grow, then he/she should be given that chance. Sports are so much more than just putting a ball in a hoop or passing it to your teammate; they are outlets for so many different reasons for children. So, if you’re able to contribute to a local program, please do and show these kids that life is alive and that people do care whether or not they do drugs or anything else illegal. Let’s show them that one can be rich in the heart and not just in the pocket books.
Girls in Youth Sports
“Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, the number of girls playing sports has gone from one in twenty-five to one in three. Yet some people still cling to the notion that girls are simply not as interested in sports as boys. Research by the Women's Sports Foundation, however, proves otherwise: a recent study of pre-adolescent boys and girls (those between the ages of 6 and 9), shows that they are equally interested in playing sports.” (Importance of “Sheroes” for Young Female Athletes)
Having the experience of coaching youth girls from the age of 5 through 10, I found that girls can be just as exciting as boys when they want to. I mean this by some girls are just playing because their parents are making them, but then there are others that show that drive and determination. On my kindergarten team we had only two girls, my daughter and another. The other girl was a bigger girl but boy when you told her to get in there with the boys she’d show them up, I didn’t want to be the boy she was aiming for. Then you have my daughter who just wanted to socialize and sit the bench whenever she could.
I’ve always said if I were to receive a coaching position in boy’s high school basketball, I would rather take them to a women’s college game than a men’s game. Why? Because I believe if you take them to a men’s game there is a lot of dunking and flashiness going on. Whereas the women’s game seems to focus on the fundamentals and execution of the game. Girls need to be involved in sports, because sports teach kids more than just to be active (if you have the right coach).
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Pay-to-Pay in Youth Sports
Every sport requires different equipment. Parents pay for new shoes, cleats, shorts, shin guards, and sometimes uniforms. With economies falling by the day, programs are no longer able to fund sports and/or extra activities. A solution to keep sport programs going is pay-to-play strategy. This strategy has every player pay an additional fee (playing fee) so that it can fund the programs. So, now the lack of funds goes off the programs back and onto the parents back, making them the ones to have to sacrifice for their child.
In this case I totally understand why certain programs have to incorporate this policy. I’d rather have this option then not having any opportunity at all. I know one program around my house has incorporated this but instead of charging a fee to play the actually sport, parents have to pay for a membership for their child, even if they’ll never go to this facility any other time. This does take a toll on certain families, but we are blessed in our community that there are certain businesses that will pay for under privileged kids to play sports and go to the facility. Pay-to-play for youth sports is here and it doesn’t look like its going to disappear. I’m for this as long as there is still the opportunity for our youth to be active in sports and anything to keep them physically active.
Video Games vs Sports
Video games have come a long way since the original system (the Atari). Now, one can talk into a microphone and speak to a person all the way across the world and game with them. Also, systems now have wireless controllers and even a certain console has the ability of controller less capability. More and more kids are interacting with video games and the multi functions that the systems itself can produce. Kids would rather rush home from school and “game” than stay after and try-out from their schools athletics.
I believe video games are good for a child when used in moderation. They came become an addiction, make a person a “couch potato”, gain weight, and become very lazy (all of these I know first hand). The huge gamer that I am and I still don’t let my kids play even a third of the time I do. But I’ve taken a huge stand on making a case to play video games even more now than back in the day. The systems are so advance like mentioned before that some are wireless and one is controller-less. The Kinect for the Xbox 360 makes a person get up and move their body to play the game. The Nintendo Wii was the first to come up with the idea and gaming never looked back since. These types of games allow kids that feel like they don’t have what it takes to play and feel comfortable in their own home. It takes those “couch potatoes” and gets them moving and doing physical activity. This type of new age gaming is only going to soar, and I wouldn’t be surprised if sports leagues and P.E. classes engage in this technology.
http://www.youthsportsny.org/2010/02/youth-sports-leagues-find-fewe.html
Youth Sports and Violence
Violence in America is growing like wild fire. Some say it’s the War in the Middle East, others say it’s the poor times going on in the workforce. For youth though it can be a lot of different reasons: abusive family, gang influence, video games, and yes, sports in itself. Some of the most violent acts shown to America in America are violent hits in football, gloves soaring off in hockey, bench clearing brawls, and now arguably one of the most violent sport of all, MMA.
In my opinion violence is what makes sports entertaining. Without it, certain sports wouldn’t be certain sports. With youth though, we as parents and coaches need to teach them that violence is not used at all times but only when necessary. In today’s society violence is a common factor of life, it’s easy to compare it to the past because I remember as a child that I was gone until 10pm playing ball and didn’t have to worry about a thing. Now days, I’m afraid of my oldest to go to the store two blocks away. Violent sports will always be in our youth’s life because of the entertainment factor and that’s all a youth might see.
MMA: The New Youth Sport
Martial Arts have been around from a long time. This sport has many different types from Karate, Judo, Kung Fu, to Grapping. One can go to almost any big city and find tournaments so that they or their child can participate in. Now combine all this different martial arts and you have MMA. A sport where blood is the satisfaction not executing a play and K.O. or submission is the trophy and serves as bragging rights.
IN youth there are many different ways to engage into sport. I believe MMA is a wrong sport for a child because of how violent the sport is. One is taking a child and telling him to bully and kick the other child until he/she can’t any longer or until the child gives up. What happens when the child gets into a fight in a non-controlled environment and seriously hurts someone or themselves? Don’t get me wrong I believe every child has to know how to defend themselves but what are we really teaching the children in MMA besides fighting is OK and good. Fighting should only be used when needed not for sport. In this video the youngest contender was 4 year old, one shot to the head and this kid has a life of people feeding him or to the extreme he goes to sleep and never wakes up due to head trauma. The kid that won this tourney had so much rage during the fight that the referee has to pull the winner off the loser. http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?title=youth-mma-finals-to-determine-nations-most-vicious-child-fighters&videoId=372898. I know this is from comedy central website but this is a real tourney.
Parents and Youth Sports
Parents are the guardians and heroes a child has growing up. But what about sports and in this case youth sports that makes them the villain and embarrassing to be around. Check this video out from Good Morning America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgYm-P7FH5I&feature=related.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying all parents are like this, but it only takes one to start then the cancer spreads. Also I’ve caught myself acting like an aggressive parent but in my case its because my son wasn’t trying or was disrespecting the coach. There are different types of parents: hovering and lollypop to name two. Hovering parents tend to hover around the child’s every move and dictate what they do. Lollypop parents have to suck on a lollypop or chew gum so that it’s a distraction and they don’t get into a confrontation or saying anything demoralizing. I have to admit that I’m probably a lollypop parent, that why I coach so I can yell and not look bad, lol, just kidding.
I’ve coached my kids in almost all their sports, so I deal with parents in a different manner but I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to tell parents to stop and settle down, to where one of my parents went into the opposites teams dugout. Which then caused the opposing coach and I to argue. Finally, something clicked and I realized that my team was watching and this didn’t need to happen in front of them.
Parents try to live their glory days or want their kids to live their glory days that they didn’t get to have. Sometimes they can take it too far. We need to let kids live and have fun until they grow up and have to deal with real life.
Flag Football vs. Tackle Football
Flag Football vs. Tackle Football
Critics on both sides say that the two are so different, are they? The biggest and obvious difference is tackling vs. grabbing for flags. Another is the safety factor. Kid’s bodies and minds are so vital and still developing that one hard hit can cost them for eternity. I didn’t have the chance to play tackle football until I was in middle school, but enjoyed it when I finally got to. During my high school days I was on the wrong end of a hit three times in three years. If I knew then what I know now I probably wouldn’t feel so old.
Anyways, I’m a firm believer in flag football starting the child at K- 6th grade. I’m a father of two boys myself, a 3 year old and 10 year old, and they have and will play flag. My number one reason is safety. Many coaches today focus on winning and not the proper techniques on how to do skill abilities. Tackling is one of the skills that is misdirected and many injuries occur because of poor tackling. Is it the kids fault? No, the kids do and learn from the coaches, so in my opinion it’s the coaches fault and parents need to invest time into making sure their coach is coaching properly. Like mentioned before, I coach flag football but my coaching style is very different because I care about the kids. I teach them the proper technique to breakdown in front of a runner, how to read an offence on defense, back peddle, and throwing and catching the ball. Critics say it’s just pulling a flag from a kid’s hip bouncing back and forth. OK, I agree, but what is the kid learning in the process, hand eye coordination. In my opinion this is a great tool to help a child in learn cognitively and socially.
Here is a video from Outside the Lines, ESPN that views this subject from both sides.
Big Red's Intro
Youth Sports today are very different than when I was a youth. Hi, I’m Big Red and I’m making this Blog as a class project. There are so many aspects and factors that deal with socio-cultural in youth sports. In this blog I will identify and give my opinion on some of these issues and share a link to support my opinion. Feel free to comment on any and all posts. Remember, one only lives once, youth sports are more than competition and medals.
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