Aspen Institute’s Youth Sports Report Card Worth Reviewing
By Ken Reed
The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program has released a report card on the state of youth sports in the United States, titled State of Play: 2016.
The report card’s overall grade for youth sports in America was a C-.
The report looked at eight areas of youth sports and gave grades for each. Here they are:
1 – Ask Kids What They Want: Understanding the needs of kids and building their voice into the decision-making process around youth sports (D)
2 – Reintroduce Free Play: Making room for less-structured activity (D+)
3 – Encourage Sport Sampling: Exposing kids to a variety of sports, and not asking them to specialize early in any one sport (C-)
4 – Revitalize In-Town Leagues:Supporting community-based options (C)
5 – Think Small: Being creative in the use and development of play spaces (C)
6 – Design for Development: Delivering age-appropriate programs (C-)
7 – Train All Coaches: Training in key competencies in working with kids (C-)
8 – Emphasize Prevention: Preventing brain and other injuries (C-)
A couple troubling things stood out to me.
One, the overall lack of sufficiently trained coaches in the areas of safety, training and education. This is obviously a problem when it comes to the wellbeing of our young athletes but it’s also a problem when it comes to burnout and dropout. The Aspen Institute’s Project Play research showed that only 5% of youth athletes that played for adequately trained coaches quit the sport the next year while the overall attrition rate was 26%.
Two, on the criteria “Ask Kids What They Want,” the grade was a D. The description for this criterion was “Understanding the needs of kids and building their voice into the decision-making process around youth sports.” A “D” grade in this area is shameful. It reinforces my belief that “there’s way too much adult in youth sports.” In survey after survey, kids say having fun in sports is their top priority but youth coaches continually put fun way down the list and place winning on top of the list. All youth sports coaches need to better understand the whole person development needs of the young people they are leading. Part of that development is giving them a voice.
Everyone involved in youth sports — coaches, parents, administrators, policymakers, etc. — should take a look at this report (PDF).
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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