Youth sports dysfunction, European-style

Once again, the subject is the global reach of youth sports dysfunction. Last week's bad example, Canada. This week's, Great Britain where "touchline dads" are a major headache.

This comes from the London Daily Telegraph.

"Right now, however, in the midst of the inquiry into England's inability to qualify for Euro 2008, the touchline dad has become more than a joke. He is being cited as one of the reasons for our failure to develop good young players. His overbearing presence, it is claimed, is sucking the joy out of the game, producing a generation of leather-lunged hackers, unable to express themselves through skill, brought up to believe the most important thing in football is to "get stuck in". And, indeed, in eight years managing my son's team I have witnessed some terrible things. The father who stepped on to the pitch, grabbed his under-performing son by the shirt front, lifted him off his feet and, spitting with rage, told him, nose-to-nose, that he would be getting it when he got home, was but one."

There is a strong back-to-sportsmanship movement in the UK, led by groups like Positive Coaching Scotland. There's much work to do, apparently.

Thank you, Doug Abrams.

Youth hockey, obscene gestures in Canada

Youth sports dysfunction may seem uniquely American. It isn't. This occurred recently in Ontario.

"A Chatham man received a warning, but no charges, from St. Thomas police after an obscene gesture resulted in a pushing match at a girls minor hockey game on Saturday.

St. Thomas police were called to St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Arena around 2:30 p.m. Saturday to reports of an altercation during a St. Thomas Panthers minor girls hockey game.

Staff Sgt. Randy Mundt of St. Thomas police explained a man made an inappropriate gesture at one of the players on the ice. The teams involved were eight- and nine-year-old girls, he said."

That last sentence stopped me: "The teams involved were eight- and nine-year-old girls."

Go here for a few more details.

Thanks to Doug Abrams for the tip.

Looking back on the year in youth sports -and ahead

As the hours tick down on 2008, I wanted to thank those of you following the blog for your suggestions, interest, input. Thanks also to print and cyber media that have been generous in citing various posts or linking to the blog. These outlets include: BusinessWeek.com, ESPN.com, sportsbusinessjournal.com, Goodhousekeeping.com, Awfulannouncing.com, Beaconbroadside.com, Baltimoresun.com, Courier-journal.com, Dallaschild.com, Trackmom.com, sportsmediasociety.blogspot.com, womenshoopsblog.blogspot.com, title-ix.blogspot.com.

A large thank you goes to my sons Ben, 20, and Eli, 18, for their support. Ben for encouraging me to step up posts to the blog, which went from one every six months to three (and sometimes five a week) in July. Eli for his fantastic technical assistance. If it's on the blog and required even a modicum of technical know-how, chances are Eli is responsible.

2009 should be interesting, with the release of my book in April, a book publicity tour and various writing and reporting assignments on youth sports issues. I hope you'll continue reading and contributing.

Here's a good way to close the year - with Doug Abrams's look back at encouraging youth sports stories from 2008.

Happy New Year, everyone.

A high school runner's lament

I've never met Gabriel Weiss, but I'm already mightily impressed by him. Gabriel is a junior at a Jesuit high school near Dallas. He is a cross country and track athlete. And he is a thoughtful young man who, on the subject of kids and sports, expresses himself well. Last week, Gabriel wrote a piece for the Dallas Morning News about why he continues to play competitive sports. This paragraph stopped me.

"The games have been played the same since my grandfather's era, but a different mentality has taken over. The motivation beneath the helmets of football players and other competitive athletes is heavily influenced by scholarships and intense pressure from coaches and parents. The emphasis put on lengthy practices, which begin long before the season, transforms many high school sports into an almost full-time job. Can this high-stakes, pressure-infused way of playing possibly enhance the game, or is this tainting the true meaning of sports?"

The adults (myself included) may think we've disguised our ambitions and expectations for our kids in competitive sports. As Gabriel points out so well, most of us haven't.

Thanks to Doug Abrams for pointing out Gabriel's commentary.