© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Sports in Society: Issues & Controversies Chapter 5 Sports and Children: Are Organized Programs Worth the Effort?

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Origins of Organized Youth Sports  Organized youth sports emerged in the 20 th Century  The first programs focused on making boys into men -- “masculinizing” them  Organized youth sports grew rapidly in many industrialized countries after World War II  Programs in the US emphasized competition as preparation for future career success  Girls’ interests generally were ignored

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The parents of baby boomer boys in the 1950s wanted their sons to learn about life through sports.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Social Changes Related to the Growth of Organized Youth Sports  Increase in families with both parents working outside the home  New definitions of what it means to be a “good parent” (control your children, 24/7)  Growing belief that informal activities provide occasions for kids to get into trouble  Growing belief that the world is a dangerous place for children  Increased visibility of high-performance and professional sports in society

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Figure 5.1 The irony of parental commitme nt to youth sports

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Youth Sports: Types of Sponsors 1. Public, tax-supported community recreation programs 2. Public, non-profit community organizations 3. Private, nonprofit sport organizations 4. Private commercial clubs

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Major Trends in Youth Sports Today  Organized programs have become increasingly privatized  Organized programs increasingly emphasize the “performance ethic”  An increased in elite training facilities  Increased parental involvement and concern  Increased participation in “alternative sports”

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Privatization of Youth Sports  Occurs when public programs are cut  Most common in middle- and upper- income areas May reproduce economic and ethnic inequalities & segregation in society  Privatized programs are not accountable in the same way as public programs are May not be committed to gender equity

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Private, commercial programs emphasize performance and competitive success; public, tax-supported programs emphasize inclusion and fun.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The “Performance Ethic”  Refers to emphasizing measured outcomes as indicators of the quality of sport experiences  Fun = becoming better  Emphasized in private programs  Related to parental notions of investing in their children’s future

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Increased Parental Involvement and Concern  In U.S. culture today, children are seen as “products” of the family and parenting  A child’s success in visible and valued activities reaffirms parental moral worth  Thus, parents take youth sports seriously, and assertively advocate the interests of their children, even if they are obnoxious.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. This parent advocates the interests of his daughter even if he must get in the face of coaches and players. If his daughter succeeds in soccer, it will enhance his moral worth as a father.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Elite Sport Training Programs  High performance programs are private and expensive  Emphasize that children can gain important rewards through sports  Children often “work” long hours and become like “laborers,” but programs are not governed by child labor laws  Some programs raise ethical issues about adult-child relationships

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. New Interests in Alternative Sports  A response to highly structured, adult- controlled organized programs  Revolve around desires to be expressive and spontaneous  May have high injury rates and patterns of exclusion related to gender and social class  Are being appropriated by large corporations for advertising purposes

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Different Experiences Formal Sports Emphasize:  Formal rules  Set positions  Systematic guidance by adults  Status and outcomes Informal Sports Emphasize:  Action  Personal involvement  Challenging experiences  Reaffirming friendships

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Formal sports are controlled by adults

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Informal sports are controlled by players

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Different Outcomes Formal Sports Emphasize:  Relationships with authority figures  Learning rules and strategies  Rule-governed teamwork & achievement Informal Sports Emphasize:  Interpersonal & decision-making skills  Cooperation  Improvisation  Problem solving

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. When Are Children Ready to Play Organized, Competitive Sports?  Prior to age 12, many children don’t have the ability to fully understand competitive team sports They play “beehive soccer”  Children must lean how to cooperate before they can learn how to compete  Team sorts require the use of a “third party perspective”

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. “Beehive soccer” is played by children under 8-years old. Between 8 and 12-years old children develop the ability to think and act in terms of a team structure.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. What Are the Dynamics of Family Relationships in Youth Sports?  Sports have the potential to bring families together  Being together does not always mean that close communication occurs  Children may feel pressure from parents  Parent labor in youth sports often reproduces gendered ideas about work and family

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. How Do Social Factors Influence Youth Sport Experiences?  Participation opportunities vary by social class.  Encouragement often varies by gender and ability/disability.  Self-perceptions and social consequences of participation vary by social class, gender, race/ethnicity, ability/disability, and sexuality.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Recommendations for Changing Informal & Alternative Sports  Make play spaces more safe and accessible to as many children as possible Be sensitive to social class and gender patterns  Provide indirect guidance without being controlling  Treat these sports as worthwhile sites for facing challenges and developing competence

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. “Will they let me play with my brace?”  The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requires that all youth sport programs open to the public cannot exclude children unless there are threats to the health and safety of able- bodied participants necessary accommodations would fundamentally alter or cause “undue burden” to a program.  The “performance ethic” often subverts participation among children with disabilities

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Recommendations for Changing Organized Sports  Increase action  Increase personal involvement  Facilitate close scores and realistic challenges  Facilitate friendship formation and maintenance

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Recommendations for Changing High-performance Programs  Establish policies, procedures, and rules to account for the rights and interests of children participants (child labor laws?)  Create less controlling environments designed to promote growth, development, and empowerment

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Figure 5.2 When do children become workers instead of players in youth sports? “How many times have I told you to practice basketball before you do your homework?!”

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Prospects for Change  Often subverted when priority is given to efficiency and organization over age-based developmental concerns  May be subverted by national organizations concerned with standardizing programs  May be subverted by adult administrators with vested interests in the status quo

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Figure 5.3 Most kids wish to remember sports on their own terms “I’ll say this only once, Dad. You turn on the camera, I walk off the court.”

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Coaching Education Programs  Are useful when teach coaches how to Deal with children safely and responsibly Organize practices and teach skills  Are a problem if they foster a “techno- science” approach to controlling children Creating coaches who are “sports efficiency experts” often does not contribute to overall child development