Watch Out For These Youth Sports Red Flags
Time to put on your skepticism-colored glasses.
Good Game is just about to turn six months old (!!), and I can’t thank you all enough for supporting what is truly a project of passion and, I believe, need. I’ve already learned so much from delving deeper into the youth sports space, and hopefully, this newsletter has presented you with some intriguing food for thought.
[Oh hey, since we’re spreading the love, what a great time to ask you to subscribe to Good Game if you haven’t already, and pass us on to a youth sports-invested friend!]
One of my favorite youth sports hubs these days is a Facebook group called Confessions of a Sports Mama. It’s rich in sass, empathy, advice, and general community building. It’s also sprinkled with anonymous members posing a number of treacherous-sounding scenarios. Something like this: My U10 kid only plays 5% of the time on her soccer team? Is that normal? Yes, that is 5 as in a single digit, and no it’s not normal. It got me thinking about red flags, glaring or not.
The most obvious red flag in youth sports is a newly unhappy sports child. The kid who doesn’t want to participate, that’s lost some of their sparkle. Perhaps it’s extended to school. Grades are falling, so is the desire to hang with friends. This can happen, of course, for a number of reasons including an undiagnosed mental health condition or even hormonal changes inherent with puberty. But red flags in youth sports can come in a number of forms given the varying authority figures, intense emotions, and general pressure to succeed. Every kid is on a different developmental plane, and every family has a different threshold of what constitutes crossing the line. Below are my red flags which I’m guessing apply to most, but not all, of you. If any of these are part of the deal, it may be time to…
Nepotism
Most parent coaches are out there because they want a deeper hand in their own kid’s development. This is admirable and can be great for the kid. (It can also be toxic but that’s a different column.) A parent coach who’s there for the right reasons will devote equal time to the other kids, too. They’ll care about how other kids develop, and work hard to foster team unity.
The red flag coaches are the ones who spend significantly more time with their kid at practice and put them on an unwarranted pedestal. They also yell at them more. In the games, it’s the coach’s kid that plays the prime positions and has the most playing time. Sometimes that kid is the team’s best player and putting them in certain spots makes sense, but oftentimes it does not.
Winning At All Costs (Especially in Rec)
The professionalization of youth sports has skewed everything. Top travel teams and clubs attract players based on metrics like regularity of championships won and win-loss percentage. The more players they get, the more selective they can be, and eventually they can maybe even expand their empire, equaling more profits.
Of course anyone at any level wants to win. But programs that want to win so much they are regularly trotting out a pitcher to toss over 95 pitches a game, or bringing their star setter back early from injury, should be flagged.
Before joined an “elite” team, ask yourself (and the coach) this: What is the development plan for my kid? Then watch what happens after the first loss. Are the kids despondent or resilient? Are they being sent to run?
Forced early specialization
There are no absolutes for when kids should specialize. A number of factors like sport, age, position, and overall goals come into play.
If your athlete is still in the discovery phase of their sports persona, don’t let some single-minded coach bully them into quitting, or feeling guilty for playing, other sports. It’s one thing to tell an 11-year-old that misses one of two weekly practices in one sport because it conflicts with another sport that they’ll start on the bench or have some playing time reduced. It’s another to browbeat specialization by having club mandates or even trashtalking the other sport/s. Young athletes should be encouraged to try as many sports as they want. There’s no mulligan on a childhood.
Overtraining
On a somewhat related note, there’s no reason for overdoing formal training. I know a few soccer clubs that hold four high intensity practices a week. Many of those parents add on private training too so as not to feel like their kid is falling behind. Even if your kid is OBSESSED with soccer, this culture of overtraining just screams injury-risk and burnout. If your kid really wants to play the sport every day of the week, find some low key, friend meet up opportunities. Or chill at home and watch some EPL or NWSL.
Teaching improper tackling techniques
This one is football specific and extremely important. USA Football has changed their tackling recommendations over the past decade for, duh, health and safety reasons. USA Football-endorsed tackling techniques target the shoulder with the goal of taking the head out of the equation. There are a number of videos showing this technique and explaining the philosophy.
Hopefully, most leagues and teams are also limiting full-contact in practice but there are still plenty of “old school” programs that refuse to modernize. Make sure your kid’s team isn’t implementing tools like the Oklahoma drill where players line up three yards apart and go at it until one of them is on the ground. Any known concussion is cause for alarm (especially in practice) but don’t forget the sub-concussive hits that can be lethal over time.
Unproductive coach to kid ratio
Anyone who has coached kids under the age of 10 knows what happens when the kids are just standing around waiting and waiting. Absolute chaos. If only there was an extra coach to engage them in a drill, to help all the kids get more reps. Unfortunately in community ball this is commonplace given that the coaches are usually volunteers. It’s also commonplace on no-cut school teams.
But when it comes to club level, be very skeptical if your team is carrying too many kids. An AAU team with a 16 players, a baseball team with 18 kids. Um, just no. There should be roster limits and at least a minimum for playing time. After all, you’re paying a pretty penny for the development in practice and thrill of competition.
Sordid organizational history
Have you ever Googled your kid’s club or foundation? You’ll probably just find the typical website and other basic information, and have nothing to fear. But what if there’s more? A money-laundering scandal, a coach breaking governing body rules by poaching kids, or much much worse. It’s worth a quick check juuuuuust in case.
None of this is intended to scare you. But the day-to-day of youth sports can move at such an alarming rate, it’s important to take a deep breath and survey your kid’s surrounding. Then exhale and enjoy.
Coming next week: An important convo on a subject that impacts EVERY athlete. Cannot wait to share!
As always Melissa - nailed it!