Not a lot of time to talk but here's one for you! If we all believe that kids need to practice day after day after day and, in order to be good, they have to play the same sport year round...then why does the American Samoa pump out more NFL football players (proportionately) than any other region in the world? Did you take a look at the CBS 60 Minutes segment a couple of weeks ago? If you didn't, here it is...take a look! http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6108545n&tag=contentBody;housing.
Lousy fields, lousy equipment and no significant youth program pipeline. Yet, American Samoa is one of the hottest areas for D1 college football and NFL talent. Call it what you want...I call it a reasonable approach to youth athletics. An approach that allows kids to DEVELOP (physically and emotionally). An approach that is inclusive, not exclusive.
We all might learn something from the American Samoa.
Remember...It's About the Kids!
Keep smiling!
Mark
I saw that episode and it was quite compelling. Made me re-consider, "What are the absolute essentials needed in order to create the environment for a positive sports culture?"
ReplyDeleteOn another note, a suggestion: to those who might be unfamiliar with the organization, Positive Coach Alliance is a wonderful group dedicated to changing the youth sports culture. In a recent newsletter they cited a New York Times article on the reason why many youth play sports. Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/sports/31youth.html