Make youth sports more about fun and less about winning

I think we should change our priorities in youth sports. It is time we stop pushing our kids to win at all costs. Youth sports should emphasize fun. Parents and coaches need to make fun, not winning, a priority.

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According to the Stop Sports Injuries campaign, 70% of kids quit playing organized sports by age 13. That is a shocking statistic. What can we do to keep young kids from quitting sports?

Our drive to win can manifest in many ways.

• A soccer coach wants to win, so he adds more practices and longer ones, despite the players being more and more tired.
• A youth baseball coach needs to win so that parents bring their kids to play for him, so he starts his one or two good pitchers over and over.
• A parent pushes his son or daughter to play through pain.
• A parent pushes her daughter to train more outside of formal practices, at the expense of schoolwork and friends.

Success in professional, college and high school sports does require hard work and commitment. On the other hand, a serious injury can derail those dreams. And they will never come true if the child quits playing sports altogether.

It’s time we focus on making sports fun for kids again.

Please remember, while I appreciate your questions, I cannot and will not offer specific medical advice by email, online, on my show, or in the comments at the end of these posts. My responses are meant to provide general medical information and education. Please consult your physician or health care provider for your specific medical concerns.

[DrDavidGeier]

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[thecohenclan]

Have you ever coached? What are your credentials in coaching and athletics??? If it is just about having fun, then forget about the uniforms, the participation trophies, the scoring, the groomed fields, the practices, the games, forget it all, just have them run out their and play on a jungle gym and have fun stress free fun. Is getting a strike out fun, is dropping a ball fun, is goofing around on the field during a game fun? Is make tons of mistakes all the time fun for the kids??? I agree sports should be fun, but their are so many other factors in Rec and Comp sports, it is not for everyone, their is so many things to do in life for our kids, the arts, music, dancing, sports is not for everyone, you could also do gymnastics, Karate, Golf, Tennis, Cross Country Running, being on a team sport is tough and the kids that are not into will be left behind. Just like anything their are bad teachers, good teachers, bad doctors great doctors, horrible coaches and amazing coaches. Their is so many incompetent and under trained coaches, in the rec leagues they are all volunteers so it is hit or miss. I have been coaching for 20 years in Soccer, Ice Hockey and Baseball, now I have three boys so I am coaching them, I have extensive experience and expertise specifically in coaching and sports training, but I am in the minority when it comes to coaching. Like I said earlier I agree it should be fun for the child, they should want to be doing that sport, not forced by the parents, but their are many other factors involved, teaching, mentoring, guidance, having highly engaged practices, teaching skills constantly and the game itself, the rules etc... Just to just have fun I don't get that rationale, then just go to a park and play on the swings and fun around and throw a football with your dad, that is always fun and stress-free. Let's not sugar coat this, having fun is not the real world, kids need to know to get something to get better to win, to lose you must train and have some passion in whatever you do. Let the child choose on what is important to them and run with it! My 2 cents.

[fightrrrrr]

Lol more about fun???? It’s more fun when you win Dr. YMCA!