Youth Sports

[basketballguy]

Okay, so i know we have brought this up a couple times but we haven't really had a discussion about it in a thread dedicated to just this. So the question is...

Should kids in little league/peanut football/and basketball play competitively? Should kids actually be on a team and play those best or should all the kids have their fair share at playing time no matter their skill level?

My opinion is that if the sport has a regular season (similar to little league) that kids should get similar playing time. there is always that one child who just doesn't belong playing but their parents force their kids to play to be " Daddy/ Mommy's little superstar".

However if you are playing on a all star team or traveling team then i think it should be treated as a competitive team. In other words to do all they can to win. Im not saying to just play the same 9 kids in baseball or same 5 kids in basketball but in certain situations like close games you probably wouldn't want to put your worst player in there to play after paying money to play in the tournament.

Opinions?

[Rocky]

I think you are perfectly correct, i wouldnt have agreed with you when i was playing youth sports though, i was ruthless. especially P-nut football dear lord i killed some of those poor kids. during the regular season every kid should get equal playing time. this is the best time for those kids/parents to learn and understand the game and if their child should even be out there. All stars is a totally different thing though, the best should be out there. good post and good opinion i say

[cuuvapitt]

Kids in little league/peanut football/and basketball (not talking about t-ball or the lowest youth soccer or the very beginning basketball such as Pre-K through 2nd or 3rd grade) should play competitively and score should always be kept...everyone should get their playing time but they should be competitive games...all of this no keeping score and everyone gets a trophy at the end of the year sets a bad example and see kids later in their schooling feel entitled for things and have no idea how to handle adversity.

Games can be fun yet remain competitive as they use to be treated and not 'dumbed down' if you will of the no keeping score as 'everyone wins' which is just not realistic and teaches nothing...it would be like rewarding everyone A's in the classroom no matter how many right answers are given.

Travel ball of course will always be competitive as usually those teams are comprised of the most talented players.

[Rocky]

Kids in little league/peanut football/and basketball should play competitively and score should always be kept...everyone should get their playing time but they should be competitive games...all of this no keeping score and everyone gets a trophy at the end of the year sets a bad example and see kids later in their schooling feel entitled for things and have no idea how to handle adversity.

Games can be fun yet remain competitive as they use to be treated and not 'dumbed down' if you will of the no keeping score as 'everyone wins' which is just not realistic and teaches nothing...it would be like rewarding everyone A's in the classroom no matter how many right answers are given.

Travel ball of course will always be competitive as usually those teams are comprised of the most talented players.

oh yeah there should always be a clear winner but i think every kid should get equal playing time. there are many late bloomers out there who without the youth leagues wouldnt have developed the skills to become great athletes later in life. playing a sport without some competiveness is like kissing your cousin or something

[cuuvapitt]

oh yeah there should always be a clear winner but i think every kid should get equal playing time. there are many late bloomers out there who without the youth leagues wouldnt have developed the skills to become great athletes later in life. playing a sport without some competiveness is like kissing your cousin or something

Right I believe as I said in equal time as you never know as some of those not as interested may just get interested...just notice with all the no keeping score and everyone is a winner that the kids no longer have nearly as much drive to get better or play hard in a lot of cases...

[R13]

I don't really think keeping score or anything in the youth leagues really matters, I personally don't think any of them care or that it makes the least bit of difference.

[starbuck]

oh yeah, that young they should all get equal playing time (as much as can be) No kid should play the last 30 seconds of the game so the coach can say all played. that age you should be encouraging interest in the game and teaching. you find out which kids are talented and which really want to go on with this to upper levels. if you only play the best kids at that age you limit what you get at the JV and Varsity levels. you have kids that may take longer to catch on quit before they ever get to the JV level.

now I'm just not sure about "all star" teams that are picked. I'd like to hear some others chime in and take in the discussion.

[Rocky]

Well i personally know a few guys, one in particular who had a kid playing baseball that just wasnt into it. his kid would be sitting out in the field picking flowers and making dirt mounds while the game was going on around him. He talked about how much he had worked with his kid and how he deserved to be out there all the time because "he was the best on the team, they just had him in the wrong spot" dude even got into a confrontation with the coach about it saying he needed to move him. situations like this is when the parents need to understand that it just isnt going to happen or its going to happen later. i couldnt stand to coach youth league, and ive thought about it often and even turned down a few offers to help people out. Parents are what makes or breaks a kids fun/learning in youth sports.

[basketballguy]

Parents single handedly ruin leagues.

also another question is picking teams for leagues. My opinion is that kids should have a "try-out" one day prior to the season and let allt he coaches attend and have the kids do simple drills like shooting jumpshot/layups/ and play a small pickup game maybe... you all get the picture. then from that point after let the coaches have a mini-draft where all the kids are chosen on a team.

[CoeburnCane]

Parents single handedly ruin leagues.

This.

People who are grooming their child to be an athlete from day one need to simply keep their kids in travel leagues, and out of Little League/P-Nut/Pop Warner/etc.

The by-laws of most of the leagues like LL/P-Nut/PW have something to the effect of being an "instructional league" in them. Not so w/AAU and that sort of thing. If you're in it to win at all costs--go to the league that's geared toward that. If you're in it to have your child have a good experience with team sports and care that they get a fair chance at playing time, keep them in the more instructional-type leagues.

I had some good youth league coaches growing up, ones that taught me not only a lot about sports but how to be a good person. I also had coaches who taught me how NOT to be, and most of those were the ones that would have been better served to go AAU.

I've always said I'd like to take control of a youth league and give everybody a rude awakening--and base all playing time off of report cards. If you're not dedicated in the classroom, then you won't get to see the field--plain & simple. You can see the difference in a lot of today's kids that are recruited to go play a sport on the D1 level. If their grades aren't good enough--they get passed thru b/c they can play that sport, not because they're a good student along with being an athlete. Wonder what would happen if we started making kids accountable for their grades by divvying out playing time according to their grades?