Welcome to the Educated Sports Parent! Here you will find information on a wide range of issues having to do with youth sports, including Readiness for Participation, Benefits of Participation, Developmentally Appropriate Program Modifications, Overuse Injuries, Supplements, and much more. This site is for parents, coaches, league administrators, or anyone who is interested in helping children to have the best youth sports experience possible.
You do not have to look far to find examples of what is wrong with youth sports. In fact, the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance gives youth sports a less than acceptable grade in its most recent report card. The Educated Sports Parent is aimed at giving those involved with youth sports the knowledge and tools to make the youth sports experience an enjoyable one for all involved.
The most important goal of any youth sports organization should be that every single participant has a fun and enjoyable time. Making youth sports fun for kids helps turn them on to a lifetime of physical activity. The current obesity epidemic among both children and adults underscores the need for keeping kids turned on to physical activity. We cannot afford to allow youth sports to be a negative experience that leaves children with little desire to continue being active as adults. Unfortunately, for many children it is.
I challenge you to browse through this site with an open mind. Many of the concepts and ideas may be new to you. They may be the opposite of everything society seems to tell us is important about sports. It is essential that we do everything in our power to ensure that youth sports leagues are meeting the needs of our children. I challenge you to hold them accountable.
The Educated Sports Parent
Should My Child Specialize?
Popular culture seems to be pushing the notion that in order to succeed at sports, kids need to be put into sports before they are even out of diapers, and then as soon as they get out of diapers they have to know what sport they want to commit themselves to for the...
Is My Child Ready for Sports?
The answer to this question is more complex than you might think. Readiness for sports does not come with a certain birthday. And just because a program offers sports teams for 4 and 5 yr-olds does not mean that you should feel compelled to sign your child up for the...
Child Growth and Sports
Childhood is a unique time. Children are growing and learning at a fast pace. Children are different than adults, and the structure of the youth sports environment should reflect this. These articles from The Educated Sports Parent relate to how to accommodate the...
Competition vs Cooperation
Do Sports Teach Cooperation or Competition? Sports are by nature competitive, but recently, the over-competitive nature youth sports seem to have taken on has led to cause for concern. The issue has caused debate over competition vs. cooperation. In this debate there...
Pros and Cons of Participation Trophies
Should Every Kid Get a Trophy? There appear to be two philosophies when it comes to awards and trophies: those who want to hand out participation trophies for every little accomplishment, and those who think a pat on the back is just about right. So which side is...
Winning – It’s All Relative
It’s been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It turns out that the same can be said for winning (although saying “winning is in the eye of the beholder” doesn’t sound quite as poetic). Traditionally when most of us think of...