Youth Sports Night in America

05/07/2021

Listen parents...

We have a problem in youth sports. And it begins here ⬇️.

I’m not going to pretend to know the entire situation. It’s possible this kid went to mom and dad and said, “mom, dad...I’m ready for the next level. I’m ready to play 50 games of competitive baseball. I’m not having fun in this rec level bush-league baseball BS.”

Possible...not likely.

What is likely is this kid is having a great time and starts thinking about trucks and frogs and riding his bike midway through the 2nd inning. What is likely is that mom/dad watch from the stands and see a kid who they feel is the best on the team, carries the team and is "better than this". I see and hear it EVERY. SINGLE. WEEKEND. People talk about burnout in youth sports all the time. Burnout starts right here ⬇️.

I’m a big proponent of letting the kid drive (to an extent of course). If your kid comes to you and says, “I want to play more baseball (or any sport). I want to get better.” Listen to them. Have a discussion (without persuasion, even though you’re pumped they want to play at the highest level😉) and go through the different scenarios.

⚫️ What does the time commitment look like? (It’s likely they haven’t thought about that.)
⚫️ How many more times a week will they be practicing and playing games? (It’s likely they haven’t thought about that.)
⚫️ What might they have to sacrifice to play more ball? (It’s likely they haven’t thought about that.)
⚫️ Be candid about the expectations their teammates and coaches will have. (It’s likely they haven’t thought about that.)
⚫️ Is quitting an option? (It’s likely they haven’t thought about that. The answer is NO but “we can reevaluate after the season”.)
⚫️ Share with them your expectations and be honest. (It’s likely they haven’t thought about them.) "What are expectations anyway, mom/dad?"

Allowing the kid to drive means your ego needs to vanish. Hide that thing in the attic. Put it in the box you haven't opened in 6 years. Bury it in the backyard. If your kid says, "I don't want to join another team. I like playing with my friends." Listen. If she says, "I'm not having fun." Listen. It's tough to do when you can see the potential. But if your ego isn't in check, it's damn near impossible then.

It's a very delicate balance folks. We ALL see the potential in our kids when they're playing. We ALL know what we think they are capable of. Some pushing is required. But if we continue to let our ego drive instead of the kids, we'll never see the full potential and little Jimmy won't make it through high school ball. He'll be done by 12.

I see it EVERY. DAMN. WEEKEND.

04/23/2021

Wanna know what’s wrong with youth sports?

Start here...that’s a USED bat, folks.

01/15/2021

Good read!

If children are to be successful at a sport, the drive to specialize and succeed must be of their own choosing.

10/18/2020

Officiated some 3rd grade basketball this morning.

Head coach of one of the teams came to the pregame meeting and introduced himself as “The owner of the team” and asked, “You’re going to call traveling right? This is competitive basketball.”

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I assured him we would call fouls and violations. They won by 40. But all those traveling calls, they certainly had an impact on the outcome.

Anyone else see the problem here?

10/17/2020

Coming soon...

07/04/2020

This is NOT ok. This was published by an organization that provides baseball services (lessons, facilities, tournaments, competitive teams) for amateur (see: youth) baseball players.

This is a scouting report (SCOUTING REPORT) on 10 year old kids. 10 YEARS OLD.

Would love to see where they are in 8 years. Right now, I’ll bet each of the 15 kids listed have a goal to play baseball at the collegiate/pro level. I’d put good money down that 2/3 or more of them don’t finish high school baseball.

If a scouting service offered to build a report for your 10 year old kid, would you allow it? At what age would you allow it?

05/14/2020

Raw and uncut!

Youth Sports Night in America is back baby!!

We have an opportunity ahead of us to make this a great season, or completely squash it for the kids. What choice will you make?

And please share! All sports parents needs a little reminder as they head out to the game this season.

03/11/2020

And not just high school coaches, players and parents. I see all you youth coaches, players and parents too. 😉

“Are you blind?” “You’re missing a good game out there, ref.” “Come on, that was a foul!” “Are you kidding me?” “3 seconds!!!!” “That’s a travel” These are just a few of...

03/02/2020

The following letter is somewhat of a commentary on the current state of the culture surrounding youth sports and also response to a personal experience over the weekend.

*****************
Because of coaches like you...

I write this letter to coaches like you on behalf of my athletes, their parents and my own kids as well as your athletes, their parents, referees and officials, sport organizations and all of youth sports.

In short, you’re behavior was an embarrassment. You yelled this weekend. A lot. If I had kept track, I would wager you yelled at an official on every call that was not in your team’s favor. And in turn, your parents began yelling at officials on nearly every call. And then it carried into your players. Not through their voices, but in their body language.

Very few times in my coaching career have I made comment to a coach mid-game regarding behavior. But this weekend I did. Something had to be said. Normally I just trust the officials to use the tools they have at their disposal and handle difficult situations. They made the unfortunate choice not to, so on behalf of the kids and respect for the game, I did. At one point, your screaming over a no-travel-call became more than I could bear. I simply turned to you on the other end of the court and said, “knock it off” and made a motion with my hands to settle down. You responded to the tune of, “Well?”

The game finally ended and not in our favor, which would have been the ultimate victory for me; to see such a poor sport lose. But, I was glad for your kids, as they played hard and deserved to move on. We simply didn’t handle the ball well and didn’t earn the victory.

I was dreading the post-game handshake line. I was excited for your players but angry at you. I was not excited to shake your hand. But again, out of respect for the game I did. And to my surprise, you apologized for your behavior. It caught me off guard and I said thanks as I walked away. You could tell I wasn’t thrilled and you came back to me and said, “Hey, I’m trying to apologize.”

There should NEVER be an apology needed after a youth sporting contest because of an adult’s behavior. NEVER. So I engaged. You needed to hear what I had to say: “You are what’s wrong with youth sports. Your behavior is embarrassing and out of control.” You said, “I know, but kids were going to get hurt.” It’s rec-level, elementary school aged basketball coach. Not one kid on the floor was ever in any danger. You commented about how bad the officiating was. Again, it’s elementary school basketball. Calls are going to get missed. Our referees were 17 and 70. I reminded you that, because of coaches like you, there is a shortage of officials nationwide. You said, “I know.” I invited you to register to become an official; throw on the stripes and don a whistle. My guess is you never will, because of coaches like you.

You and I stood at half court for nearly 10 minutes after the game and talked about coaches like you. To your credit, you never denied your behavior was awful. You were quite forth coming in fact. But in the end, you tried to make it better and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not the as***le at home that I am on the court.” And then you left to apologize to the officials.

Because of coaches like you, we are seeing a rising number of youth sporting contests being cancelled. Because of coaches like you, we are seeing an increase in security and police presence necessary at youth sporting contests. Because of coaches like you, we are seeing sports burnout in kids at the youngest ages ever. But because of coaches like you, I continue to coach and officiate. A small part of me hopes I can change the mindsets of coaches like you, of officials who want to quit and of parents who don’t want to sign their kids up to play anymore. The more I talk to coaches like you however, the only people who are going to make lasting change in youth sports, are coaches like you.

To be blunt, coaches like you don’t belong in youth sports. Coaches like you need to be watching the game from the stands, behind closed doors where athletes and officials can’t hear you. You aren’t good for youth sports. So I encourage you to change. Be a “coach like you” that kids want to learn from. Be a coach like you that helps sports organizations thrive. Be a coach like you that officials want to work hard for. Be a coach like you that your player’s parents want to support and aren’t embarrassed by each weekend.

10/31/2019

I'm sure the Nationals feel the same way Joe.😂😂😂

10/29/2019

Just as with anything, good and bad will come from this. I wonder how long it will take politicians to find a way to tax the scholarship money athletes receive.

Should the scholarship money be taxed?

What are your thoughts on this?

The change comes weeks after California became the first state to allow student-athletes to sign endorsement deals.