Benefits of Being Involved in Youth Sport

Little League baseball is one of the most popular youth sports.

There are several benefits of participation in youth sport in my eyes. I know first hand of the benefits since every Spring I help coach a Little League team in Mercer, PA. Just in that short period of time (late March to the end of June) you can really see how much they grow and mature. In some cases it could be a childs first year of playing Little League baseball and their coordination and athletism is not there, but by the end of the season they have made astronomical strides. In class on September 19th, 2013 we discussed the benefits of participating in sport for youths:

• Develops and maintains fitness
• Preperation for adult hood
• Opportunity to learn values
• Teaches interactive skills
• Provides opportunities for leadership
• Ability to exercise power
• To have fun

These are all prime examples to why children should participate in sport, and I agree with all of these factors since I have seen them first hand in coaching Little League. Also in class we made a list of the most popular sports for youths which surprised me a little. I figured baseball or soccer would be at the top of the list with all of the Little League and youth soccer programs.

 

Most Popular Sports (Ages 6-17) As Discussed in Class 

• Basketball (23 million) 
• Baseball (15 million) 
• Incline Skating (10.4 million) 
• Outdoor Soccer (10.3 million) 
• Football (tackle) (8.9 million) 
• Skateboarding (8.8 million) 
• Football (touch) (6.7 million) 
• Volleyball (5 million)

Connecting the text to the topic of benefits of youth sport. Coakley on page 144 in his book, Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies states, "Research shows that playing youth sports can enhance social and physical development, but it doesn't do this automatically, nor is it likely when programs are not organized to match the overall maturational level of the children who play in them. It's never too early for a child to engage in expressive physical activities in safe environments. In fact, the more activity, the better; and the more socially and physically diverse the activities, the better (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000)." (Coakley 2010 p. 144).



Pee-Wee's and Midgets are still growing, but are facing negativity due to injuries.

This article called National Youth Sports Week Hightlights Benefits of Particpating, written by Marcia Douglas on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. Summarizing the article Marcia goes on to explain the millions of kids who participate in youth sports in the country every year. From outdoor soccer programs to early morning batting practice for Little League. She says that there are far more advantages rather than just the physical ones, "participating in youth sports can build self-esteem and confidence, leadership skills, and self-discipline. It can also teach the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, time management, perseverance, cooperation and more. Plus, and perhaps most importantly for kids, it can be a whole lot of fun" (Douglas). She also discusses that a lot of children end up quitting organized sports groups due to several reasons. From high costs to not having fun anymore. Overall Marcia Douglas really likes the idea of participating in sport starting at the youth level. It sets the ground work for many life lessons and essential characteristics to help us mature.

For the full article follow this link : Benefits of Youth Sport

 



Youth soccer programs still are one of the most popular sports for children.

Value in Images of Non-Athletes

Bill Bradley in his professional photo when he ran for office.

This article relates to my American Sport in the 21st Century class when we discussed the topic of sports and politics on October 3rd, 2013. We talked about how many former star athletes once retired have tried and succeeded in getting voted into office. A few mentioned were J.C. Watts (Oklahoma Sooner Football Coach), Lynn Swann (Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver), Bill Bradley (New York Knicks Guard), Jesse Ventura (WWE Wrestler), Steve Largent (Seattle Seahawks), and Tom Osbourne (Nebraska Head Football Coach). My personal opinion is that with all the fame and fortune of any professional athlete they have an upper advantage just because most people have heard of them and their popularity gets them in the door. Whether they were star athletes or third string in the pros, I believe they still have an advantage, mainly because of their networks and connections. As we talked about in class many former athletes use their athletic successes as a spring board for them to be elected into office, known as a Q ratio. In Coakley's text on page 448 he gives examples and talks about the involvement, "Other former athletes and coaches have been elected to state legislatures and to the U.S. Congress and Senate by using their status from sports and their sport personas to increase their legitimacy as "tough," "hard-working," and "loyal" candidates who are "decisive under pressure" and "dedicated to being winners."(Coakley 2010 p.448). In this article the main idea is that retired non-star athletes are still making moves to better themselves. In Coakley's text he gave an example of how Arnold Schwarzenegger used his fame to become the celebrity governor of California, even though people say he was never an athlete. In the article former NFL athletes are trying to group together to market themselves which has failed in the past. Marketing agency IMG and two other agencies are on board however and think this will be successful this time around.

Bill Bradley, former NBA New York Knicks Guard pulling up for a jump shot. 

 

 

 

Lynn Swann, former NFL Wide Receiver of the Pittsburgh Steelers

 

This article called Key to Settlement: How much value in images of non-stars? is featured in the Sports Business Journal published on August 19th, 2013 on page 7, written by Daniel Kaplan. "Is there a market for retired NFL players? Certainly there’s one for individual stars like Joe Montana or Roger Staubach, but what about for those not considered legends of the game? The answer could go a long way to deciding whether the pending legal settlement in the Dryer v. NFL case is a boon to former players. “We believe that it is a pretty big opportunity in the marketplace,” said Wesley Haynes, senior vice president of licensing at IMG, which will handle the new licensing agency created by the federal court supervised settlement. That agency will try to market former players as a group. Haynes pointed out that many former players remain popular in the markets where they starred
 as collegians, something that meshes with IMG’s robust college licensing business. Several entities have tried group-licensing work with retirees, including NFL Alumni and the NFL Players Association, but with little success. “The NFL Alumni licensing program went on for years closely supported by the NFL and that didn’t work,” said Bob Stein, a lawyer for the case’s six original plaintiffs, who oppose the settlement. NFL Alumni is a league-backed retirees group. Most former players are only valuable as part of their use in NFL Films, Stein contended, and not to corporate America. Stein’s client Fred Dryer, the principally named plaintiff in the case, blasted the agency as a sham designed to distract from what he says is the real issue: that players are not getting paid for their use in NFL Films. Whether former players who take part in the settlement will see benefits from the licensing agency, which will have to find companies willing to pay a group of retirees for their commercial rights, is unclear. The potential, however, was enough of a lure that three marketing agencies, including IMG and Insignia Sports & Entertainment, bid on the business. The identity of the third agency could not be determined. Haynes said IMG will have a dedicated staff for this new business line. “We have talked to a number of the prospective licensees,” Haynes said, “and we know there is interest there.”" You can follow this link to the article: Value in Non-Athletes

Lynn Swann showcasing his abilities in the National Football League.

Problems Facing Youth Sport

There are several problems with the way youth sports are being handled in today's society. In my American Sport in the 21st Century class on September 24th, 2013 we discussed many of the factors that are associated with these issues. Starting at the root of the problem is the parents of the children participating in the sport. As we talked about in class, there is an overemphasis on winning and pressures by significant others to achieve success. Mainly because the parents want their child to be the best one on the field/court. When in reality they should just want their child to do the best they can and accept that. Another topic we talked about was that parents are instilling unrealistic goals of stardom or becoming a professional athlete. This would be great and is one of most young athletes' dreams, but at a certain point you need to put it in perspective. Some children are blessed with talent and one day may be able to go pro, while most will go as far as stardom in high school and a few in collegiate sports. At that point we need to encourage them, yet also embrace them and let them focus on education or their occupation. A huge problem with youth sports is the field of: overuse, injury, overtraining, and burnout. More and more in our society we are hearing about young athletes getting injuried while playing in a sport. They may recover, but what we don't think of is how the injury can effect the individual in their later years when they grow old. In terms of burning out, overtraining, and overuse some young athletes who want to become great, try to do too much. For example, they might be the best football player for their age all the way up through middle school, but by their high school career they are just average. This can be due to many reasons, from injuries in early stages to becoming overconfident and letting the praise and fame get to them. These are all problems facing youth sport with most coming from parents and coaches. As discussed in class and in Coakley's text on page 139 this is the youth sports national report card for the U.S.
 "1. Child-Centered Philosophy: D
   2. Coaching: C
   3. Health and Safety: C+
   4. Officiating: B-
   5. Parental Behavior/ Involvement: D" (Coakley 2010 p.139).

Coaches may need to take a different approach at the youth levels.

 This article, Parent Rage in Youth Sports was written by Gwen Morrison based on parenting. "The emphasis on winning gets out of control when overzealous parents become aggressive in their quest for being number one. Recent events show that parents have become increasingly hostile at youth sporting events, and the results can be devastating. The Pressure to Perform Are parents pushing their children too far when it comes to team sports? Are they pressuring their children to perform for their own personal gratification rather than for the team or the player? Is this causing parents to become overly competitive and often aggressive in their attempts? Is it win at any cost? "The structure of team sports is outdated and broken," says Scott Lancaster of Somers, N.Y., the senior director of youth football development for the National Football League. "Preconditioning children to value only final results in sports competitions robs them from the joy of spontaneous play and learning new skills in a positive environment." Lancaster believes it is the way that youth sports are organized, taught and implemented that is at the very root of the problem. "Kids are forced to play adult versions of games to satisfy an 'adult' thirst for experiencing what they watch on television," says Lancaster, who is best known for revamping the NFL's youth sports programs. "At my son's soccer game, we had a parent who was substituting for a coach [and] insisted on enforcing ALL the rules of the game," says Kathleen Whitfield of Riverside, Calif. "He also divided the team so that all the best players were playing together. He didn't understand why anyone was upset with him as he ran out the clock arranging inbound kicks with his team lined up in precisely the perfect formation." When parents and coaches spend all their time focused on the scoreboard, they are bound to lose sight of their purpose: to teach and guide our youngsters in skill development in their sport of choice, to provide encouragement, to build self-esteem and to have fun! How Serious Is It? Survey USA took a poll of 500 parents in Indianapolis, Ind., in 2001, asking about views of parent violence in youth sports. The survey found the following: 55 percent of parents say they have witnessed other parents engaging in verbal abuse at youth sporting events. 21 percent say they've witnessed a physical altercation between other parents at youth sporting events. 73 percent believe that parents who become verbally or physically abusive during games should be banned from youth sports. 22 percent would allow aggressive parents to remain in the stands. 5 percent aren't sure what to do about parents who are prone to sports-induced tantrums. 27 percent think "silent" games are a good idea. Parent rage in youth sports is becoming a very serious problem. From coast to coast, more and more cases of violence during games are popping up. In Laporte, Ind., a father who was disturbed over his son's lack of playing time threw the league commissioner to the ground as he approached to talk with the angry man. In Athens, Ala., the father of a youth baseball player was charged with assault on another man who had complained that the father was heckling the other 11- and 12-year-old players. A knife was pulled, and one of the dads required more than 100 stitches to his face and back. There are innumerable cases reported throughout the country every month – reports of games turning tragic at the hands of enraged parents. "Children generally become frightened by their parents' rage," says Richard S. Lustberg, a licensed psychologist in Long Island, N.Y. "In addition, depending on the nature of the child, they can also be embarrassed by their parent's behavior." Another concern that Lustberg shares is that these children will grow to model these behaviors in their adult lives. "When parents become overly invested in their children, the child becomes confused as to why and who they are doing the activity for. Thus, in the long run, the child thinks that the activity is more important to the parent than it is to them." The Solution? A growing number of sporting associations are struggling to maintain control of overly aggressive parents at youth sports events. They are looking to enforce new systems that would set forth guidelines of behavioral conduct that would give the game back to the kids. One such program that is gaining widespread appeal is the Parents Association for Youth Sports (PAYS) program offered through the National Alliance for Youth Sports. PAYS is a program for parents that educates and motivates youth league parents to make the sports experience safe and meaningful. One of the most appealing aspects of the program is its emphasis on good sportsmanship, positive reinforcement and keeping sports in its proper perspective. PAYS is essentially a training program for parents. The parents are required to attend a 30-minute clinic where they view a training video, meet other parents, participate in discussions and sign the Parents' Code of Ethics pledge. Positive slogan buttons are distributed to parents to wear at the games. This is intended to remind other parents to also demonstrate good sportsmanship. A quarterly publication is sent to parents that features great information on ways that parents can help their children experience a rewarding sports experience. In Rolling Meadows Park District, a suburb of Chicago, Ill., the rule for behavior at sporting events is very clear. "We told the parents the goal for running the PAYS program was that we want to keep out of the police blotter," says Brian Meyer, the facilities division manager for the Rolling Meadows Park District. "We want everyone to have a positive experience and not open the newspaper and see their name in it ... because that is ridiculous." Meyer explains that the main goal of the PAYS program is to prevent incidents from happening. Including parents in this voluntary program offers a very proactive approach, making it easier on the coaches and encouraging a setting that is harmonious for all involved in the game. Currently, more than 450 communities across the nation have implemented the PAYS program, including more than 30,000 parents who have been through the training. The program helps to educate parents in the rules of the game, which has proven to be a great help in Rolling Meadows. "I've been a referee, and there are always parents yelling 'That's a travel!' and those types of things, and that kind of drives you nuts," Meyer says. "So we educated the parents with a little clinic on commonly-misunderstood basketball calls." As long as the expectations for behavior in the stands is understood from the start, the experience can prove to be a very rich and positive one for everyone involved, especially for the children. After all, isn't that what it's all about? Set an example for your child: Be a good sport."
You can follow this link to the article: Youth Sport Issues

Are Athletes Role Models?

Ryan Braun, the newest star to get busted for performance enhancing drugs.

What makes an athlete a role model? Sports fans all over consider their favorite athletes as their role models. At this day and age the media coverage is a "game-changer" in that every action an athlete makes is put under a microscope. One little mistake can change their image for the rest of their career. For example Alex Rodriguez, of the New York Yankees was once a prolific athlete and is now becoming one of the most-hated professional athletes of the decade. If the technology and mass media coverage was not what it is today he would never have this reputation. More recently Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers has just been found using performance-enhancers and Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder. Now do you want your children having sports figures as their role models? Babe Ruth in his prime may have taken illegal substances, but he got away without any issues and is still considered one of the best players in baseball history. In Coakley's text on page 179 he states, "In fact, research suggests that athletes in past centuries would have taken the same substances that athletes take today if the substances had been available. This makes it difficult to say that money, television, and the erosion of traditional values are the causes of this form of deviance. The use of performance-enhancing substances predates commercial sports and television, and it occurred regularly when so-called traditional values were widely accepted" (Coakley 2010 p.179). Some characteristic we discussed in class on September 12th, 2013 that athletes must posses are: honesty, commitment, fairness, good self-image, sportsmanship, determination, sense of humor, and high moral values. As the article mentions, the argument of letting athletes become role models is easier to justify once they have retired. At that stage the former-athlete has matured and most likely will not ruin their reputation.

Michael Jordan, NBA legend and role model of many young sports fans.

 

This article is from the August 5th, 2013 issue of Sports Business Journal on page 26 written by Arthur Solomon, called When current stars aren't the best choice. "Once again, the risks taken by sports marketers when becoming too closely identified with sports stars and promoting them as role models and product endorsers have proved to be questionable. Some of baseball’s biggest stars have been rejected for inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame. A former National League MVP, Ryan Braun, has been suspended for the rest of the season for violating Major League Baseball’s rules on performance-enhancing drugs. Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and sued or dropped by multiple former sponsors, including the U.S. Postal Service, after he confessed to using performance-enhancers. After tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder, the New England Patriots’ once-proud motto “The Patriot Way” was ridiculed in the media rather than being praised as a formula for success. In addition to descriptions of home runs, first downs, game-winning jump shots and action on the ice, the media on an almost daily basis now reports on another aspect of the sports scene: steroid use, domestic violence, doping, gun charges and DUIs. In football alone, there have been 47 arrests during the offseason involving NFL players. Still, it seems that marketers are mesmerized by current athlete headliners when seeking product spokesmen. Are they even considering that the media darlings of today will be tomorrow’s fallen stars at the hint of a scandal? Sports marketers also seem not to take into consideration that journalism has changed. The days when writers would cover up the antics of a Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle are gone. Even with TMZ Sports and the advent of social media, marketers seem slow to realize that misdoings of athletes are now a staple of sports reporting. Does this mean that marketers or publicists should avoid using athletes to gain publicity for products or events? Not necessarily. However, the following should be capitalized in bold type in every marketing or public relations play book: The most attractive athletes of the moment are not necessarily the best choices. I’ve been involved with the sports scene for many years, first as a sports reporter and then nearly 25 years at Burson-Marsteller. I have witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly on all levels of the sports world, from high school to the Olympics. In the 1970s and ’80s, when managing for eight years the publicity efforts for Gillette’s MLB All-Star Game fan election, I thought there was a safer way of using athletes than following the conformist marketing strategy of partnering with big-name athletes. Despite warnings that my approach would surely fail in gaining the publicity that I said it would, I suggested using retired stars for publicity efforts. Some of the athletes urging fans to vote in elections were Lefty Gomez, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Sparky Anderson and Ralph Kiner. Based on the success of that campaign, Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts and Olympic standout Bob Mathias were recruited in Olympic-related campaigns. There are four main reasons for suggesting retired athletes: • They are easier to come to terms with than current stars. • Current stars are interviewed by reporters frequently, usually not about product endorsements, but about the last or next game. • Nostalgia is a big part of sports reporting, so bringing back stars from another era provides fresh copy. • Importantly, they are less likely to get into trouble that results in bad publicity for a sponsor. So my public relations advice is to consider using well-known athletes who have been out of the media spotlight for awhile. A well-crafted program is sure to gain brand identification publicity and, importantly, the spokesmen are less likely to embarrass sponsors by ending up before an investigating committee or appearing on the police blotter. Arthur Solomon (arthursolomon4pr@juno.com) is a former journalist and Burson-Marsteller senior vice president."
You may follow this link to the actual article: When Current Stars Aren't the Best Choice













Alex Rodriguez, the controversal New York Yankee star third baseman.
 

Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports?

Johnny Manziel getting surrounded by media as he soaks in the limelight.

Johnny Football, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and Quarterback of the Texas A&M Aggies is one college athlete most people have mix thoughts about. As much as everyone loves watching him entertain the crowd on the field, his off-field traits are frowned upon. There have been many suspicions about Mr. Manziel from signing autographs for money and hanging out with all of the celebrity athletes in the off-season. For the first game of the 2013 season Manziel was suspended for the first half of the opener against Rice. NCAA officials never technically found any evidence of him receiving money for signing an autography. Texas A&M and NCAA agreed on the matter to end the investigation with the minuscule punishment. This is not the first case of intercollegiate athletes abusing their talent. Every year there are abuses in college sports, whether it is illegal recruiting, exploitation of athletes, or taking easy majors as we talked about during class on September 24th, 2013. We also discussed the easiest major at most colleges is communication. Schools are altering grades and transcripts in a form of academic corruption in order to ensure the athletes can focus solely on athletics. As discussed in Coakley's text on page 485 states, "Athletes in certain sports are overrepresented in specific courses and majors. This phenomenon is known as clustering. It occurs most often among athletes facing rigid and demanding expectations on their teams"(Coakley 2010 p.485). These are all issues that put a negative outlook on the sports world.

Johnny Football showing his passion for the game and showing emotion for all to see.

 

This article, Johnny Manziel case latest example of NCAA hypocrisy is written by Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe in the August 11th, 2013 edition. "What Johnny Manziel is guilty of is playing the wrong sport on the wrong day of the week. If the Texas A&M quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner were playing on Sundays in the National Football League, instead of Saturdays in the Southeastern Conference, no one would care if he got paid to put pen to pieces of memorabilia. The same would be true if he were playing minor league hockey or baseball, instead of minor league football — that’s what major college football really is, a free feeder system for the NFL. The Internet went into overdrive after an ESPN report last week that an East Coast autograph broker said that he paid Manziel $7,500 to sign helmets back in January. If Manziel’s alleged QB sneak is true it would be a violation of NCAA rules and Johnny Football, the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, would be Johnny Ineligible. This is the fun house mirror-warped reality of big-time college sports, where indentured athletic servitude masquerades as higher education. Indentured servants were provided with housing, clothing, food, and occasionally education, in return for working to make someone else a profit for a contracted period of time. That sounds like a college football scholarship to me. It’s time for the NCAA to stop hiding behind the sham of amateurism and stop placing the burden of maintaining an untenable system on the very student-athletes it exploits. A stipend system to compensate athletes is a solution rife with logistical problems, but there is nothing stopping the NCAA from allowing a player like Manziel to profit from signing his own name. In the current system, it’s acceptable for the NCAA, which until last week was selling Manziel’s nameless jersey online, Texas A&M, and even ESPN to market and profit from Manziel. But it’s sacrilege for Manziel to do the same. That violates the idyllic notion of amateur athletics that remains the intellectual foundation of the NCAA’s self-serving and sanctimonious concept of having “student-athletes” playing its sports. The NCAA originally came up with the term student-athlete in part to avoid liability in workers’ compensation cases for football players, according to an excellent explanatory piece by Taylor Branch in The Atlantic Magazine in 2011. It was never conceived as an apogee of amateurism. It was designed to save money. There are true student-athletes playing football in the Ivy League and the New England Small College Athletic Conference, where sports is put in the proper perspective relative to the college experience. But in the Bowl Championship Series there are only athlete-students, who produce a lucrative product at a low rate. College football is a booming industry, just look at some of the television contracts that conferences are getting or the seismic shifts in college conference realignment, which were driven by Football Almighty and the almighty dollar. The newly formed and comically named College Football Playoff (Really Important College Football Games, as I call it) garnered a television contract from ESPN worth $470 million per year over 12 years. According to the latest Harris Poll, conducted last December, college football ranks as the third-most popular sport in America, behind the NFL and major league baseball. Schools profit from this popularity. In May, Texas A&M announced plans for a $450 million expansion of its stadium, Kyle Field. Coaches profit from it. University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban has a contract that will pay him more than $5.6 million per year. But if Manziel gets $7,500 for autographs it’s triggering the fall of Western civilization. Those who crow about the fact that scholarship college athletes are compensated with a free education, usually neglect to point out that scholarships are non-binding for schools and coaches. It is at the discretion of the coach and school on a yearly basis whether a scholarship is renewed. The player has no say. Running off a few players to create space for more talented ones happens, particularly in college basketball. Manziel would be better off being an undrafted, rookie NFL quarterback than the best player and face of the billion-industry that is college football. The NFL minimum salary for a player with no credited seasons of service is $405,000. Manziel is far more recognizable and valuable — both on the field and off it — than the potential 53d man on an NFL roster. He knows it. The NCAA knows it. Manziel is not without fault, if he solicited payment for signing memorabilia. By media accounts, Manziel is cocky, petulant, and struggling to cope with the fishbowl life of fame. He knew the rules, as unfair as they may be. If he violated them then he will have to accept the consequences. (If Manziel is ineligible one of the players who could replace him is Kenny Hill, son of former major league pitcher and Lynn native Ken Hill.) But I would say the NCAA’s priorities in policing the actions of student-athletes are misplaced. Manziel would be ineligible for getting paid for his John Hancock. But LSU running back Jeremy Hill, who, while already on probation, punched a man from behind in the back of the head in the parking lot of a bar in April, is cleared to play. Hill got probation after he pleaded guilty in 2012 to a misdemeanor charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, stemming from a 2010 incident with a 14-year-old high school classmate. In the fight case, he pleaded guilty to simple battery, but the judge merely extended Hill’s probation. LSU reinstated Hill, the team’s leading rusher last season, hours later. This is the hypocrisy and bureaucracy of the NCAA. Viciously punching people in the head doesn’t threaten a player’s eligibility, but attaching dollar signs to signing your own name is a crime. Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist and the host of Boston Sports Live. he can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @cgasper."
You can view this article at the link: Johnny Manziel