Youth sports becoming too professionalized

Youth sports today is not the youth sports of yesteryear.

Sadly, it might be due to the fact that professional sports and their prevailing attitudes about mentality, training, and expectations have taken root across all youth sports domains.

Just last week in the Wall Street Journal, Ben Cohen’s column described how this weekend in Orlando the Jr. NBA Global Championship will transpire – an event featuring the best 13- and 14-year old’s from around the world. Besides spending hours on the hardwood, these kids spent as much if not more hours replaying James Harden and Stephen Curry’s Instagram feeds so they can work on perfecting their 3 pointers, imitating Harden’s nearly impossible step-back 3 pointer along with Curry’s signature shot with his arm beautifully arched above his head.  Understandably, most coaches discourage the shot while others feed these youngsters’ heads with the promise of one day attaining superstar status too.

Sadly, unencumbered free play seems passé. Unstructured play has given way to intensely controlled organized sports leagues, travel team, to home schooling so children can spend hours honing their physical talents.  Yet, the worst part is how the adults are shaping youth sports in ways that go against the best interests of children.

In our book Raising Your Game, Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz concluded that youth sports “has changed for the worse. It’s too specialized, overuse, over abuse, you name, it. And, the one thing that’s saddening is that we’re creating little factories, little prodigies, and we’re not allowing kids to be kids.”

Childhood was supposed to be the time when you had the freedom, fun and opportunity to enjoy sports for the pleasure and competition provided without pressure of focusing on a future career. As we all know the path to superstar status is littered with many bodies broken by overuse and debilitating injuries, burnout, change of heart and focus, as well as personality problems or poor personal choices.

Again, our book Raising Your Game (buy it here) drove home the point that having fun, developing intrinsic motivation, and trying one’s best are the most promising precursors for later success. If only these attributes were the highlight reels for promoting youth sports.