THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF YOUTH SPORTS

Sport touches just about every corner of society and its significance cannot be underestimated. Sport influences how we interact in our businesses, our communities, our relationships and our families. Billions of dollars are spent annually either participating in or watching sporting events and when compared to what is spent on education, healthcare and work, it’s apparent how important sport is to us as a country. We may all have differing opinions of why teams win or lose or why we play, but no one can argue with one point: Americans love sports. And it all begins with youth sports. 

The fact is sport is a microcosm of society. We can neither separate it nor isolate it from broader societal issues. Our behavior, in many respects, is formed through our experiences in youth sport. The attitudes acquired through those experiences help shape and mold our character, both individually and collectively. Sport has evolved from activities promoting healthy lifestyles, social skills and physical development to the ultra-competitive belief where the ends justify the means. As long as we win, it doesn’t matter how we do it. For many, “Winning-at-all-costs” has been accepted in the way people live their lives.

There are more kids playing youth sports than ever, but fewer kids are playing high school sports than ever before. There’s a significant drop in participation in the 7th grade and another in the 10th grade. Kids who play high school sports are more likely to graduate from high school, have higher grades, more likely to attend and graduate college whereas kids who don’t participate are more likely to use drugs, alcohol and tobacco, more likely to engage in criminal and high risk behavior, are 37% more likely to become teen parents, and 27% more likely to be arrested. 

Kids drop out of youth sports for many reasons, but there are seven primary reasons. The 7 Deadly Sins of Youth Sports — Misguided Motivation, Overtraining, Specialization, Overscheduling, Boundaries, Expectations and Modeling — are committed by parents, coaches and youth athletes themselves depriving them of invaluable learning experiences and opportunities to shape life-long character traits. The author provides tools and strategies to combat each deadly sin along with proposing a new model for youth sports. The 7 Deadly Sins of Youth Sports is endorsed by Olympians and Hall of Fame college coaches.