In a recent blog post, John O’Sullivan, founder of the Changing the Game Project and author of Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes, and Giving Youth Sports Back to our Kids, points out what we all know deep down inside: The overwhelming majority of parents in every community have a solid core value system, which wishes to operate in the best interest of all young athletes. The issue is the distraction of the vocal minority. They are the loudest and willing to go to the mat in defending their own self-serving ways. The problem is not the segment of the community which turns an ear. Complications arise when right minded people get drawn into the vortex of the noise. When this happens, we have a new normal or a new “ab-normal.”
Youth sports do not have to be a war zone of perspectives. Parents must be confident in themselves and trust their own instincts. If it does not seem right to put your child in a travel experience at seven years old, don’t do it. If it seems outlandish to pay for personal one on one skill and performance training, just say no. Children will catch up at the appropriate stages of their own development and last longer in the sport. The goal is not to have a child that peaks at 15 years old, but to develop a young person that can return to the soccer pitch or basketball court as a young adult or at middle age. Those are the most important games — we all know that deep down inside as parents!
Read John’s full post here: