CURRENT ISSUES IN YOUTH SPORTS

Character Development vs. Physiological Benefits: The Need for Balanced Emphasis

To the limited extent that sports are acknowledged to have intrinsic developmental value, we hear the familiar (if not yet understood) character building tenet: sports can provide a venue for social adjustment, character building, a sense of belonging, usefulness, psychological well-being, and ultimately a springboard to the highest values of citizenship.

But we never hear much about the physiological benefits of sports/exercise; the former are either understated or absent. Perhaps the causal connection between sports participation and health is taken for granted, or maybe the opposite condition exists: a lack of conviction that sports programs are physically demanding enough to make a difference.

It has been pointed out that in a nation of children preoccupied by sports and sports heroes, too few participate in sports. The fact is that overall, youth sports participation is in severe decline. While reasons are too complex to be addressed here, the important point is that this downtrend parallels both an alarming demise of phys ed programs in our schools and a child obesity crisis.

Not long after its creation over a century ago, physical education was abdicated by policymakers, legislators, healthcare providers and the philanthropic community to the public schools, which by the end of the 20th century — had begun to fail abysmally in this obligation. A partial result of this failure is the declining level of youthful physical activity, and a concomitant child obesity crisis that according to some criteria, has achieved epidemic proportions. Nationwide, only about 1 out of 4 teenagers take part in some form of physical education; from 1980 - 1999, the percentage of adolescents who were overweight nearly tripled (from 5% to 14%).

According to the Centers for Disease Control, daily participation in High School physical education classes dropped from 42% in 1991 to 27% in 1997. In a parallel finding, American Sports Data, Inc. reported that in 1987, 23.3% of all children aged 12-17 participated in a fitness activity on at least 100 occasions; by 1997, the figure had dropped to 19.2%. Not only does this de-emphasis of physical education in our schools contribute to what is now publicly characterized as an epidemic of child obesity; vanishing phys ed programs only blunt an already flagging enthusiasm for school sports. Meager, discretionary school budgets — originally intended for athletics or other extracurricular activities — are being diverted for academic use.

To address the crisis of declining physical activity among the nation's youth, two major initiatives are in progress. The PE4LIFE campaign, instituted by leaders in the sporting goods industry and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, played a significant role in the recent passage of the Physical Education For Progress Act (PEP). The legislation allocates $50 million a year to local school districts across the U.S. that initiate and improve PE programs for K-12 students.

In addition, the CDC has recently announced a $125 million Youth Media Campaign to promote physical activity and nutrition among the nation's 9-13 year-olds.

At present, youth development is framed almost exclusively in psychosocial outcomes; physiological payoffs are rarely even acknowledged. Should a greater emphasis be placed on the health and fitness benefits of sports, the latter could more easily shed the metaphor and connect with the reality of youth development.

A Dearth of Qualified Coaches

Many youth sports programs never see the light of day for lack of volunteers. A good number fail because of poorly qualified coaches, or an over-reliance on untrained volunteers. As many as 90% of the nation's 2.5 million volunteer coaches lack formal preparation, according to a study by Ewing, Seefeldt and Brown. With the exception of the National Alliance for Youth Sports, no certification or accreditation agencies exist for this purpose; or at least none have been unearthed by this preliminary research. Even worse, there is also the oxymoron of an acute shortage of unqualified coaches — people simply willing to volunteer.

The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation estimates that 3-5 million children suffer sports-related injuries each year, serious enough to require emergency room treatment. Undoubtedly, many of these injuries are preventable; we can only speculate that a fair number are related to the quality of coaching. The upcoming ASD study on sports injuries will greatly illuminate this general area.

A Shifting Landscape: From Traditional to "Extreme" Sports

The last decade of the 20th century has witnessed vast changes in American values and the popular culture. As part of a larger social and technological transformation, the thinking, lifestyles, and leisure behavior of children have been profoundly affected. And perhaps, as some would argue, the changes in youthful psychology and behavior are transforming the larger society. Whatever the sociological reality, the landscape of youth sports participation is being altered dramatically.

In the new millennium, Baseball, Basketball and Football are still among the most popular participatory sports; but the number of people who participate in these activities is plummeting. In the year 2000, there were 11 million Baseball players in the U.S., 28% fewer than in 1987. Though still a major force, the army of 19.7 million Softball players has dwindled from 31 million in 1987 — a fall of 36%. Volleyball participation is also down by 36% between 1987 - 2000, and during the same period, the pastime of Touch Football declined by 24%. It must be emphasized that much of this decline stems from a drop-off in casual, pickup play. Organized participation is declining less precipitously, while several team sports — notably Soccer and Lacrosse — have grown.

Traditional team sports such as Baseball, Basketball and Football reflect traditional values: cooperation, teamwork, character-building, and healthy competition. Unlike traditional sports, the new genre of so-called "extreme" sports (i.e. In-Line Skating, Skateboarding, BMX, Snowboarding, Paintball, Wakeboarding) is rooted in a diametrically opposite set of values. The common defining feature of these alternative sports is the "adrenaline rush" produced by the thrill and excitement of being "on the edge" — a reflection (if we accept the pop cultural profile) of the new "in-your-face" ethic characterized by fierce individualism, alienation, defiance and inwardly-focused aggressive behavior.

According to the SUPERSTUDY® of Sports Participation by American Sports Data, Inc. Snowboarding (+51%), Skateboarding (+49%) and Wakeboarding (+32%) — three of the so-called extreme or Millennial sports — were the fastest growing in the U.S. during the first year of the New Millennium.

"Extreme," "Millennial" or "Action" sports appear to be an authentic slice of the wider youth culture — the athletic complement of other irreverant elements of attitude, dress, music, humor and general lifestyle that are emblematic of Generation "Y." As such extreme sports cannot be considered a "fad"; but whether or not this statement will make a lasting imprint (as did many aspects of the 1960's counterculture) remains to be seen. In any event, we may be witnessing a seismic shift in sports participation patterns, with enormous implications for the content of youth development sports programs, not to mention the direction of sporting goods product markets.

Quite paradoxically, the argument is heard that many youngsters are defecting to these activities for peace and solitude — to escape not only supervision and authority, but the unbearable pressures inflicted by parents and coaches in traditional team sports.

A Shortage of Athletic Facilities

Paralleling — or perhaps contributing to — the decline of school sports, is an apparent crisis in the availability and condition of athletic fields and facilities. As a corollary to the twin neglect by public school systems of physical education and sports programs, many facilities — particularly in urban areas — are said to be dilapidated and overgrown, some having languished and deteriorated into parking lots. A recent New York City investigation for example, revealed that 54 of the city's 59 high school ball fields are in severe disrepair.

While traditional team sports have lost participants, many dropouts have been pickup players; revealing (with the exception of Baseball) a fairly stable core of organized players. At the same time, the growth of other activities (particularly Soccer, but also Lacrosse, Cheerleading, Golf, and Fast-Pitch Softball) has been amplified by increases in female participation, and collectively, exert intense pressure on existing athletic facilities. In addition, whereas 15 years ago, sports leagues for children under 10 were rare, today, kindergartners routinely play T-Ball and Soccer — on a field. Finally, the new Extreme Sports are mandating non-traditional venues such as Skate parks and Paintball fields.

An overloaded or decaying infrastructure will ultimately strangle youth sports participation. Team rosters are being downsized, the formation of new teams prevented, existing participation undermined by the sheer inconvenience and difficulty associated with unreasonable scheduling, insufficient open spaces and facilities.

A badly needed legislative elixir for this problem has recently come from the House passage of the CARA bill (Conservation and Reinvestment Act) that would provide an annual outlay of $2.8 Billion to acquire and protect open space, construct playing fields and revitalize urban parks.

The Gender-Equity Issue

Statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations reflect massive increases in female participation for various interscholastic sports over the past two decades — unquestionably the result of wider opportunities for girls engendered by the passage of Title IX (of the Federal Education Amendments of 1972), which provided that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance".

Still, male participation in youth sports is by far predominant — a disparity that persists for a complex variety of cultural, physiological and psychological reasons. On the "supply" side, the failure of institutions to fully redress the inequity of opportunity for young women bears only partial responsibility for the continuing gender gap. On the "demand" side, subtle issues of female identity, self-esteem, social awareness and consciousness-raising form a less visible wedge between ideal and reality.

Nonetheless, the progress made by young women in sports is unmistakable. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, young women comprised 42% of all high school athletes in 2000-2001, leaping from only 7% in the pre-Title IX era (1971). In absolute terms, the number of female athletes skyrocketed by 847% during this period. The American Sports Data, Inc. Sector Analysis Report reflected that of the 25 million frequent team sports participants in the year 2000, 43% were female. However, this percentage declined to 40% in 2001, and slipped to 36% in 2002.

But Title IX is not immune to critism. Indeed, while moderate opponents view the legislation as a good idea gone awry, more vocal critics — prominently represented by the male-dominated wrestling community — see Title IX as a once-righteous ideal allowed to mutate toward a lunatic extreme.

The most commonly used Title IX remedy compels universities that accept federal support to maintain proportionality between athletic team rosters and the male-female ratios of student bodies, and the practice has resulted — according to the opposition — in both gross injustices to very talented male athletes, and conversely, outlandish efforts to recruit barely interested females. Detractors of Title IX are fond of citing the effort of a desert-bound Arizona college to form (i.e. recruit from scratch) a women's rowing team! In a less jocular vein, they claim that many talented male athletes — particularly smaller men who are relegated to wrestling, gymnastics or swimming are totally deprived of sports participation opportunities, because in pursuit of gender-parity, schools have eliminated many of the "secondary" teams.

Defenders of Title IX contend that the issue is money; that to redress male-female imbalances, meaningful cuts could be made from bloated male rosters in football and basketball…but feckless administrators dare not trifle with these huge, sacred cash cows.

The courts, while expressing a modicum of sympathy for the male position, have found in favor of Title IX: its abolition — or even significant alteration — would not, it has been decreed, constitute a significant practical remedy for the plaintiffs. Policy-makers in the Bush administration have recently upheld this view.

The Inner-City: Unequal Access to Athletic Facilities

Historically, Inner-City youth sports programs have been inhibited by numerous factors. First and foremost, the dominant presence of large youth organizations such as Little League, AYSO and Pop Warner has perpetuated the widespread (middle-class) belief that youth sports opportunities are abundant, and need not be supplemented with additional (inner-city/lower-income) programs.

Naturally, many private fee-based youth sports opportunities are beyond the reach of low-income youth, and must be augmented in low-income areas by youth service organizations, municipal facilities, neighborhood recreation centers, and of course, informal pickup play.

An important objective of sports research should be to quantify and document the extent to which minority youth rely on not-for-profit athletic facilities and pickup play, vis-à-vis their more affluent counterparts. A comparison of public school-based sports participation between high and low-income neighborhoods should prove equally informative.

An even more compelling hypothesis for research deals with the particularly acute lack of athletic opportunity for African-American and Latino women in low-income communities, who are impeded by the dual barrier of race and gender.

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