Youth sports and the guests who refuse to leave

In Until It Hurts, I refer to a "hostile takeover" of sports for kids by adult minders who invited themselves to the party long ago and, like annoying dinner guests, are the last to realize it's time to leave. How long ago did the problems begin? I write about it in this piece for the Pennsylvania Gazette, the alumni magazine of the University of Pennsylvania.

The problem with AAU basketball isn't lax defense

Worthwhile article in the Wall Street Journal on the destructive effects of AAU basketball on top youth talent. Kevin Clark writes: "For some time, coaches have grumbled that the AAU’s emphasis on building stars and playing games over practicing produces a lot of talented prospects who have great physical skills but limited knowledge of the fundamentals." Clark cites the case of Michael Beasley, the No. 2 pick overall in the NBA draft last year, who was woefully unprepared to take the step to the pros in one, um, important aspect. "No one, at any level in his basketball career, had asked him to play defense," Clark writes, "And especially not in AAU. “If you’re playing defense in AAU, you don’t need to be playing,” he [Beasley] says. “I’ve honestly never seen anyone play defense in AAU.”

Interesting that we've reached a point where a youth sports program can be knocked for failing to prepare kids to one day play pro ball. That's not exactly the point of the article, of course. But close enough.

I'm saving my disapproval of AAU for all it does to blur the boundaries between kids sports and the pro game - the opposite point. Clark doesn't dismiss this and, in fact, addresses the point in a paragraph deep in the story: "Shoe companies have sponsored AAU teams as a way to develop early relationships with future superstars. Agents and college coaches have flocked to AAU games, where they can get to know players outside the watchful high-school system. The opportunity to travel across the country and play in front of these kingmakers—often on teams with other top prospects—is something high schools can’t deliver."

That's what's wrong with AAU basketball. Not that it isn't teaching defense.

So three days later, he was out there pitching

One of the most thoughtful articles about Until It Hurts so far - by Bob Blubaugh of the Carroll County Times. Thanks Bob.

Dramatic comeback at the Tee Ball World Series

In case you missed it, another exciting finish last week at the Tee Ball World Series That's right- Tee Ball World Series.

T.J. McCants, 7, slugged a home run. This capped a nine-run rally. And in the championship game, Cantonment upended Northeast Pensacola Blue, 31-29. That's right - 31-29.

Let's be fair. This isn't a true World Series. Teams don't come from Tokyo and Kuwait packing their batting tees and juice boxes. It's an event hosted by a religious organization in Milton, Florida. The teams entered are local. There is no sponsor deal with Coke nor a television package on ESPN - not yet anyway,

But it has been going on for 40 years. And locally, it is a big deal. The Pensacola News Journal assigned a staff photographer and, last Friday, ran a story about the championship game that ran 452 words. Stories about City Council meetings get less coverage in my hometown paper these days.

The big story at this year's Tee Ball Classic was a decision to exclude seven-year-olds from future tournaments. It turns out the veteran ballplayers were hitting too many home runs. As tournament director Tod Brainard told the Pensacola newspaper, "We're trying to get it back to a defensive framework instead of having so many home runs. That's the key in baseball: backing up your pitcher. It's incumbent to stop the ball in order to stop the runs. If everyone's hitting home runs then you're just chewing your glove."

Well said.

In next year's series, players will be 4, 5 and 6. So, I'm guessing, no night games.

The most talked-about event in kids' sports history

Bryce Harper and other can't-miss teen athletes

Raise your hand if you'd heard of Bryce Harper three weeks ago. I hadn't. Then came the Sports Illustrated cover. Then, Sunday, Harper's dad held a news conference to announce that his son, a high school baseball prodigy, maybe THE prodigy of the past 30 years, had opted to drop out of school after his sophomore year (at 16), take the GED, enroll at a community college - all part of an accelerated plan to qualify by 2010 for the Major League Baseball amateur draft.

Ron Harper must have been feeling a bit embattled because he was quoted saying this: "People question your parenting and what you're doing. Honestly, we don't think it's that big a deal. He's not leaving school to go work in a fast food restaurant. Bryce is a good kid. He's smart and he's going to get his education."

Who can say whether this will work out for Bryce. There are LeBrons and Tigers out there who make a strong case that some kids are going to be superstars sooner or later, so why not sooner? Yet when I hear about can't-miss teens, I can't help thinking about the ones who do miss. There are a lot more of those than there are LeBrons and Tigers.

Eight years ago, I wrote an article for BusinessWeek about a golfing phenom, Ty Tryon. Tryon was 17 when he dropped out of high school, signed rich sponsorship deals with Callaway Golf and Target, and headed off for the PGA Tour. It wouldn't have been fair for Ty's parents to hold back their gifted son. He had that much talent. His prospects were so bright. Or so the story went.

Ty is still trying to qualify for the PGA Tour.

Debating whether sports injuries are truly declining

Dan Peterson writes about overuse injuries - with a generous mention of Until It Hurts - at Livescience.com.

Also, take a look at Dan's thoughtful blog on the intersection of sports and science, 80 Percent Mental.

"This is a brain and a head we're talking about"

The most effective public-service announcement I've seen on kids, sports and concussions.

More info at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why not to tamper with your kid's Little League bat

Little League Baseball recently posted a statement on its web site noting that tampering with LL approved bats to "increase their performance" is strictly prohibited.

The statement includes this interesting detail. So far, LL headquarters "has not received any reports of Little League volunteers or players making alterations to bats."

So why issue the statement?

Apparently, it's in response to a tampering trend in college baseball. Several coaches, notably Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin, have questioned whether bats used by players on opposing teams have been doctored. Division I teams got a memo from the NCAA informing them that during the post-season tournament (leading to the College World Series) random bat tests are being conducted.

My question: How do you tamper with a metal bat? Personally, I've never remotely been tempted to tinker with my kids' bats, for reasons both ethical and economic. (i.e., fear of destroying a $300 investment). But college hitters are more than intrigued, according to this very good article in the Birmingham News.

Kudos to Little League for staying ahead of the problem, which, to this point, I guess, isn't a problem.

One evening on the Until It Hurts publicity tour

My friend Stan Charles invited me on to "Inside Press Box" to chat about the book.

Inside PressBox May 17, 2009: Youth Sports from PressBox on Vimeo.

The high school stadium with the corporate name

Interesting read in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette about banks and other financial institutions spending big bucks to slap their corporate logos on high school sports venues. The article cites a local deal in which Commerce Bank & Trust bid $1 million for naming rights at Foley Stadium high school field, now "Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium."

It's easy to decry this as a distressing escalation in the commercialization and professionalization of sports for kids, which it clearly is. But at least the local bank is writing a big check to the school system.

Compare that to the fee schedule over at ESPN. The sports net has been telecasting high school football games going back 20 years. In 2002 ESPN carried possibly the most-watched high school basketball game of all time: the national TV debut of LeBron James while he was still a high school junior. More recently ESPN has made a major push into prep coverage. In 2007, ESPN2 and ESPNU aired 19 high school football games from 15 different states.

For an article in the Sports Business Journal, I interviewed administrators at two Maryland schools - Good Counsel and DeMatha - that had recently played a football game on ESPN. I asked about the payday. Each school received $1,000.

The life and times of a 2-year-old billiards champ

Keith O'Dell Jr.'s parents reveal the following in this news report about their now 25-month-old billiards prodigy.

Their first date was at a pool hall.

Keith Jr. plays two to three hours a day.

They're not pushing him. "He's getting good on his own. We're not really helping him too much," his mom says.



The O'Dells are traveling the media circuit. Here they are recently on Good Morning America. Four adults trying to coax a toddler into performing pool tricks.

Thanks to Jessie Bennett.

This college coach has a lot of explaining to do

More from the overuse-injury desk.

Writing for ESPN Insider, Keith Law reports on a marathon college baseball game and the clueless decisions of the coaches involved.

"By now you've probably read about the 25-inning game yesterday between the University of Texas and Boston College, which featured incredible performances by Texas reliever Austin Wood (13 innings, 169 pitches) and BC reliever Mike Belfiore (9.2 innings, 129 pitches) to keep the game scoreless into the small hours. However, we must not overlook the unconscionable decisions by Texas coach Augie Garrido and BC coach Mikio Aoki to expose two talented young pitchers to potential arm injuries, demonstrating not only poor judgment but willful ignorance of the connection between overuse and arm injuries."

Law goes on to explain that Wood's pitch count was the second highest among college pitchers this year. And it's even worse. Wood had been used the day before, throwing 30 pitches.

I'd be very curious to hear the Texas coach defend this approach, or try to. Imagine asking a major leaguer like CC Sabathia or Zack Greinke to attempt something like this. You'd have a revolt on your hands.

A handy, definitive reference for college baseball pitch counts is Pitch Count Watch.

Thanks to Ben Hyman of Real Baseball Intelligence for the tip.