There are too many indications that we are a society in crisis.

It’s evident in media coverage and popular television shows.

In-fighting among our leaders runs rampant. The obesity rate continues to climb for all of us. Young men are perfectly satisfied  with mediocrity and feel no sense of drive to even move out of their parents’ homes. Young women lack confidence in their own abilities, and/or character, and follow media examples to defer to what they can offer sexually or how best they can engage in dramatic displays of dysfunctional relationship.

What does this have to do with how we coach young athletes?

IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HOW WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR APPROACH TO KIDS!

The best estimate that I could find for participation in organized youth sports activities in the United States is 30- 40 million children.

That is where we need to go to start building creative, energetic, enthusiastic, well-rounded people who are going to make a positive difference in the world.

Analysts and commentators talk regularly about a seeming lack of leadership.  I contend that there can be no leaders without the freedom to create. Secondly, leaders come from a place of inspiration, and if we squash the efforts of the fledgling leader to explore opportunities for themselves…we will continue to spiral as time goes on.

That’s what’s missing in youth sports, you know. Kids have lost the freedom to be creative, to think for themselves, to make mistakes and find a way to fix the problems all on their own. We are killing kids’ desires to lead.

Dr. Vicki Harber, a Professor in the Faculty of Physical Education & Recreation at the University of Alberta and a member of the Canadian Sport for Life Leadership Team, wrote an article entitled Physical Literacy for Confident, Creative, Healthy Children. In it she discusses the very tragic reality of today’s modern child.

We need to listen to this!  We need to be willing to let go and let kids be who they are meant to be. Our job as parents and coaches is not to mold children like piles of clay into a pre-determined statue. Instead our job is to celebrate the innate abilities that these kids already have and encourage them to explore their potential all on their own.

How do we do that when our youth development has become so structured and programmed?  Kids don’t have the opportunities, or the time, to go out on the playground and imaginatively play. They want to be with their friends who are signed up for teams and activities, so they sign up too.  The problem is, when they get there, the structure remains adult-driven, and what the kids really NEED is lost in the programming.

So build it in…

As coaches of youth teams, how is creative play built in to your practice plan? Schools have recess, choice time, and movement exercises where the kids can form some autonomy.

Why can’t we do that for the sports teams?

Let kids be a part of the practice plan.  Ask them what they want to do, and don’t get annoyed that all they want to do is play games.  All they SHOULD be doing, at most youth levels, is playing games.

Kids are crying out for help. They are dropping out of youth sports at an alarming rate. They are giving up on activity altogether because it was never fun from the start. Be challenged by this. At whatever level you participate: as a parent, as a coach, as an administrator…take a good hard look at how creativity is built into the sports experience and how creative leadership is celebrated for all of the kids who participate.

If we are dissatisfied with where things are, we need to be working to make it better. It’s a matter of principle:

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”

Thomas Jefferson

Our kids deserve more from us. They deserve a chance to be kids…to develop passions…to be celebrated not for doing things just like everyone else, but instead for coming up with a new idea.  Let’s bring that to the sporting arenas!

I know I’ll revisit this topic, and any thoughts on the subject are welcome. The dialogue is necessary, and I hope you’ll engage with comments and suggestions.

For more information on Meagan Frank or her current book project: Choosing to Grow: For the Sport of It you can visit her website:  www.meaganfrank.com

2012 Copyright   Meagan Frank                                                Choosing to Grow