Take Back the Game
How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids' Sports--and Why It Matters
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4.3 • 6 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Longlisted for the Porchlight Business Book Awards 2022
A close look at how big money and high stakes have transformed youth sports, turning once healthy, fun activities for kids into all-consuming endeavors—putting stress on children and families alike
Some 75% of American families want their kids to play sports. Athletics are training grounds for character, friendship, and connection; at their best, sports insulate kids from hardship and prepare them for adult life. But youth sports have changed so dramatically over the last 25 years that they no longer deliver the healthy outcomes everyone wants. Instead, unbeknownst to most parents, kids who play competitive organized sports are more likely to burn out or suffer from overuse injuries than to develop their characters or build healthy habits. What happened to kids' sports? And how can we make them fun again?
In Take Back the Game, coach and journalist Linda Flanagan reveals how the youth sports industry capitalizes on parents’ worry about their kids’ futures, selling the idea that more competitive play is essential in the feeding frenzy over access to colleges and universities. Drawing on her experience as a coach and a parent, along with research and expert analysis, Flanagan delves into a national obsession that has:
Compelled kids to specialize year-round in one sport. Increased the risk of both physical injury and mental health problems.Encouraged egregious behavior by coaches and parents. Reduced access to sports for low-income families. A provocative and timely entrant into a conversation thousands of parents are having on the sidelines, Take Back the Game uncovers how youth sports became a serious business, the consequences of raising the stakes for kids and parents alike--and the changes we need now.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Flanagan, a journalist and former high school cross-country coach, debuts with an alarming take on the state of kids' sports in America. In the 2010s, as her four children began to participate in sports, Flanagan noticed the activities had taken "a turn" from when she was a kid. In the 1970s, she writes, kids' athletics became a multibillion-dollar industry and private clubs hit the scene: "Public investment in community sports dwindled, and private companies filled the gap." Around this time, too, membership in private teams came with a hefty price tag, and star youth athletes became a "reflection of good parenting." Flanagan takes a sharp look at how parents' overinvestment in their children's sports programs often leads to grueling schedules and injuries, and offers up some suggestions for "taking back the game." Coaches should prioritize showing "strength and warmth," local governments ought to allocate public funds to rec facilities to make sports accessible, and a federal Ministry of Sport could "set standards, register teams, offer best practices." A packed bench of experts weigh in throughout—a former NBA player recalls a time when "adults were in the background," while a sports psychologist posits that "the competitive frenzy... can move a parent away from the child's best interest." Coaches and parents on the sidelines, take note.
Customer Reviews
Great Read and Important Topic!
Linda Flanagan’s effortless incorporation of stories and research sheds new light on an often overlooked but vital topic in the rearing of our children. This is truly an essential read for parents, educators, and anyone that cares about athletics.