July 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 36

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Returning Youth Sports to the Kids
By Joseph Lovell

W

e have all seen the overly aggressive coach on the sideline and the
opinionated parent in the stands. While these situations were rare in
years past, they seem to be the norm in youth sports today. As a society, we are now seeing the fallout of these behaviors and the impact it
is having on our youth.
Multiple research studies indicate that
only 40 percent of today's youth are
participating in sports. This is a sharp
decline from a decade ago when youth
sports participation was around 60 percent. Additional studies indicate 70 percent of participants are dropping out by
the age of 13. These statistics are concerning when you consider the impact
not participating in sports can have on
the health and wellness of future generations. As John O'Sullivan, CEO of the
Changing the Game Project, often states,
" This isn't a sports issue. This is a wellness issue. " As health and wellness is one
of NRPA's Three Pillars, recreation professionals can have a significant impact

34	 Parks & Recreation

on improving youth sports and, thus, improving children's health.
What Kids Want
While some of the decline in participation can be attributed to the rise of
electronics and fewer physical activity
opportunities in schools, there are internal factors professionals need to consider. For the past 20 years, unstructured
play has declined and has been replaced
with a highly structured and competitive sports culture. This culture is further cultivated by coaches and parents
pushing youth to specialize in a single
sport. The idea of playing just for fun
is disappearing. This is a direct contrast

| J U LY 2 0 1 6 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

to why children want to play sports. According to a recent study from George
Washington University, nine out of 10
athletes cite " having fun " as the No. 1
reason for participating in sports. These
findings are further validated by a Michigan State University study that found
the top two reasons youth drop out of
a sport were due to being uninterested
and not having fun.
It's time to return the game to what
kids want by designing experiences that
are fun and engaging. Based on The Aspen Institute's Project Play, what kids
want from sports is to create social bonds
and have access to the action. The best
way for coaches to accomplish these
wants is to treat players with respect, provide equitable playing time and have fun
in practice with opportunities of unstructured play. Dr. Tom Tutko, professor of
psychology at California's San Jose State
University and co-director of the Insti-



July 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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