"Recruiting Practices in Youth
Sports:
Who's Winning?"
by
Dr. Daniel Frankl
Associate Professor
The Department of Kinesiology and Nutritional Science
California State University, Los Angeles
DISCUSSION
As a long-time coach of youth sports, I’d like to
become involved in this discussion. Here are my thoughts on the
material presented by Dr. Frankl.
1) What procedures other than those
discussed above exist that may be used to facilitate a child centered
environment in youth sports?
The idea of creating a “child-centered” sports environment
for youth (under 12 years of age) requires an examination of sports
in general. In my opinion, youth sports should not emphasize the
competitive aspects of the sport, but should, instead, concentrate
on developing athletic skills in boys and girls. As such, youth
sports should not mirror the adult versions, as most currently do.
For example, with respect to AYSO, which is probably the more progressive
of youth leagues, children as young as 6 and 7 are placed on “teams”
and encouraged to act as a team in order to put the ball between
goal posts. The leagues try to minimize the emphasis on competitiveness
by adopting some version of a “doesn’t count” philosophy. However,
the damage is already done simply by having a “team” that is expected
to compete against another. Even the idea of handling the ball as
a team should be considered too advanced for children at this age,
who typically enjoy picking the grass more than they do kicking
the ball. From my experience, perhaps two or three of these athletes
ever get to handle the ball consistently to actually develop meaningful
ball-handling skills. Instead, for the case of the AYSO, I would
recommend a non-competitive skills development program for ages
6-10, with a team development program for ages 10-12. By the time
they reach their thirteenth birthday, the children should be anxious
to compete and should also be well prepared. At that point (post
13 years of age) the recruiting that we see currently taking place
(and the theme of Dr. Frankl’ dissertation) should be allowed to
take place, perhaps in a more controlled manner. My main point here,
however, is that youth sports need to stop mirroring the adult versions
and should instead provide for building the skills necessary for
later (adult) competition. Presently they do not and that is, in
my opinion, the root cause of the lack of a “child-centered” environment
in youth sports today
2) Are you aware of recruiting and/or
team-building practices in your local youth sport league? How are
the rules broken and what is done to control such behaviors?
Recruiting and team-building represent a natural instinct in people.
As a coach, I realize that my duty is to develop a “winning” team.
When I look at the material I have to work with (players’ talents),
I develop my own definition of “winning team”. It may be that I
have all unskilled players and so I may set a goal of either winning
at least one game, or simply having everyone on the team score at
least once during the season or perhaps some even lesser goal. In
any case, the goal I set for myself to represent “winning” allows
me to keep the players motivated. At some higher lever of play (say,
high school or college) I would, of necessity, set my sights on
actually winning as many games as possible; i.e., scoring more points
than the opponents. So, not unexpectedly, in the competitive environment
of youth sports today (see my reply to question one above) both
parents and coaches are looking for ways to “win”. Even in the classroom,
I have noticed parents who lobby to have their children placed in
advanced programs or perhaps be placed with teachers known for their
teaching ability. So, even outside the sports field I see this kind
of activity taking place. Where I live, some HS coaches and some
parents actively seek to place players outside of their school district
in order to benefit from a program or, in the case of the coach,
to get a good player. As long as we institute a competitive environment,
we should expect that coaches and parents will seek to give their
players and their teams an advantage. This will happen no matter
how many rules are implemented to “level the field”. I think it’s
a healthy thing as long as we accept the competitive nature of sports.
3) Should league administrators
organize pre-season tournaments after which team roster readjustments
would take place? How would you suggest implementing such procedures?
In case your answer is "no," explain your reasons.
Please see my answer to question number one as my entire
philosophy rests on creating a skills development program that is
not competitive. Once you take the competitive nature out of a sports
program (for ages 6-13), there is no need for “roster” readjustments
or equalization of players. However, in a competitive environment,
I think current rules as I have experienced them in various sports
(including recruiting) are more than fair and I think prove adequate
for children post 13 years of age.
4) Should volunteer coaches be allowed
to keep last year's dominating champions or should the talent be
redistributed at the onset of each season? Explain your view.
This is an interesting question because, as a coach in
the AYSO program, I was faced with “losing” several players to either
a club team or a “plus” team. In those cases, I realized that the
club or the district commissioner had a hand in recruiting the players
away from me. This despite the fact that the parents thought highly
of my coaching ability and the players themselves would have preferred
to play under me. However, philosophically, I think at the competitive
stage of development (see my answer to question one above) it’s
good to develop teams that are more highly developed. Many players
who develop very good skills and then bring those skills to winning
teams by way of good team work, establish a very good rapport with
their winning teammates. I think breaking up these winning teams
every year is a bad thing for the athlete’s development of team
play. A case in point is my older son who now plays on his HS basketball
team. Many of his teammates are people with whom he played National
Junior Basketball (NJB) for several years before. As a result, the
ability of his team at the HS level is evident when these former
teammates are on the court at the same time. They seem to have instinctively
learned each other’s moves and they are very competitive. However,
when the coach mixes the players with those who have been together
only this year, their level of play drops several notches. So, I
am very much in favor of developing “champion” teams if only to
serve as role models for both the other coaches and the other players.
A “Champion” team may be looked upon as the “best” of the league
and, in my opinion, will have a more positive influence on everyone
participating in the league.
1) What procedures other than those discussed
above exist that may be used to facilitate a child centered environment
in youth sports?
2) Are you aware of recruiting and/or team-building
practices in your local youth sport league? How are the rules
broken and what is done to control such behaviors?
3) Should league administrators organize pre-season
tournaments after which team roster readjustments would take place?
How would you suggest implementing such procedures? In case your
answer is "no," explain your reasons.
4) Should volunteer coaches be allowed to keep
last year's dominating champions or should the talent be redistributed
at the onset of each season? Explain your vie
How to participate with
the discussion ?
- just copy and paste the above questions into your
e-mail program and submit your answers to: guy.vandamme@skynet.be
- he collects your replies.
- The author reads your ideas/reactions and if needed
will add his feedback.
- This all - your reactions and feedback - will be
posted again onto the list.
February 2002 - Dr. Lee E. Brown will start with
a new article. .
Have a good discussion,
co-ordinator
Guy Van Damme