Have we lost the line? The line between bringing organization and structure to ensure positive youth sports experiences and allowing kids the time and space to pursue those experiences on their own terms.
“Youth Sports has become very efficient economically for the businesses, and what’s happened as a result is that kids don’t have what I had, which was a lot of time to fill up with cool stuff that were like games that we made up,” Steve Young told me on Ep 9 of “Extra Points.”
Much has been written about unstructured play. Reflecting on my own youth, I see as much value in backyard games as in playing organized sports.
- Fun Was Our Purpose: We played for the pure enjoyment of sports in a low-pressure environment, and when it wasn’t fun, we made it fun.
- Creative Thinking Was Required: We modified game rules to fit changing numbers of players or limited space, developed fun ways to practice, and created our own skills competitions.
- We Developed Social Skills: It was best when it was fun for all, so we learned to negotiate rules, resolve conflicts, and conduct ourselves.
- Winning (and Losing) With Grace: We learned how to be better opponents when the other team was made up of our friends.
- Our Game Got Better: As great as our coaches were, most of us would say we made as much improvement playing in the backyard, amongst friends, with no adults around.
To Steve Young’s point, today’s kids are over-programmed. About 70% drop out of sports by age 13 because it’s no longer fun.
Now with Pop Warner, I’m regularly reviewing our rulebook and the maximum amount of organized play per week. Under our governance, we aim to ensure sufficient preparation and proper training for each athlete, as well as competitive balance among teams. All the while, leaving some margin for our kids to pursue the sport on their own, amongst themselves.
Why leave some margin? Kids who play for joy are more likely to stay involved long term, reducing burnout and dropout.
Listen to the entire conversation with Steve Young on Ep 9 of “Extra Points.” Available now wherever you get your podcasts. Or stream here: https://extrapoints.transistor.fm/