NBC Nightly News Takes on Children’s Sports-Related Injuries
As regular readers of the Picket Fence Post well know, the increased rate of children’s sports-related injuries is a pet issue of mine. Why do I have a bee in my bonnet about this issue?
First, I think that many adults — anyone from parents, coaches and those who stand to rake in big bucks from running a bazillion sports leagues, competitions, camps, classes, individual coaching sessions, etc. — push children too hard, particularly with the emphasis on single sport specialization and playing a single sport year-round. While in grade school.
Second, my own daughter has a persistent ankle injury, sustained in January 2008, that still plagues her today. She’s only 10. This spring The Spouse and I decided to tell her she couldn’t play soccer this season because she hasn’t been able to complete a season of either basketball or soccer since the fall of 2007, after which she suffered an ankle injury that hasn’t really healed. She’s had X-rays, an MRI, seen orthopaedic doctors and had physical therapy. And still, it continues to bother her.
So when my sister-in-law called me last night to alert me that NBC Nightly News was starting a two-part series on children’s sports injuries, I dropped everything and tuned in. The first segment pinned the blame for the increase in children’s injuries on overuse and on the fact that ”parents push the kids way too hard.” (Link to the first video here.)
March 31, 2009
Soccer Coach of 6-7 Year-Olds Pens ‘Tongue-in-Cheek’ Letter, Loses Coaching Gig
Some people think I exaggerate when I complain about a youth sports world gone bananas, and lament that some folks take grade school-aged children’s games waaaayy too seriously.
Then I read stories from the Boston Herald and Patriot Ledger about a Massachusetts youth soccer coach for a team of 6-7 year-olds who quit coaching following an uproar over his preseason letter to parents and the kids assigned to his team, named “Green Death.”
Some have defended this guy by saying that his letter was intended to be tongue-in-cheek and that those who got upset about it didn’t get his sarcasm. In his resignation letter, the coach said people “failed to see the humor” in his letter, adding, “It was meant as a satire of those who take youth sports too seriously for the wrong reasons.”
Below I’ve excerpted some portions of the coach’s original letter (original letter is on the Patriot Ledger web site). Judge for yourselves what you think of this whole hub-bub, keeping in mind that the players about whom he’s discussing are SIX and SEVEN, and the refs he mentions that he heckles are around 12 years old:
“Green Death has had a long and colorful history and I fully expect every player and parent to be on board with the team. This is not a team, but a family (some say cult), that you belong to forever. We play fair at all times, but we play tough and physical soccer . . . We . . . prefer the gritty determination of journeymen who bring their lunch pail to work every week, chase every ball and dig in corners like a Michael Vick pit bull.
. . . Some say soccer at this age is about fun and I completely agree. However, I believe winning is fun and losing is for losers . . . While I spent a good Saturday morning listening to the [soccer league's] legal liability BS which included a 30 minute dissertation on how we need to baby the kids and especially the refs, I was disgusted. The kids will run, they will fall, get bumps, bruises and even bleed a little (but I do hope the other team is the one bleeding). If the refs can’t handle a little criticism, then they should turn in their whistle . . . My heckling of the refs is actually helping them develop as people . . . Second place trophies are nothing to be proud of as they serve only as a reminder that you missed your goal . . .
. . . [I]t is imperative that we all fight the good fight, get involved now and resist the urge to become sweat-xedo-wearing yuppies who sit on the sidelines in their LL Bean chairs sipping mocha-latte-half-caf-chinos while discussing reality TV and home decorating with other feeble-minded folks. I want to hear cheering . . .
Lastly, we are all cognizant of the soft bigotry that expects women and especially little girls to be dainty and submissive; I wholeheartedly reject such drivel. My overarching goal is [to] develop ladies who are confident and fearless, who will stand up for their beliefs and challenge the status quo. Girls who will kick ass and take names on the field, off the field and throughout their lives. I want these girls to be winners in the game of life. Who’s with me?”
It should be noted that a league official told the Boston Herald, “He chewed out a 12-year-old [ref] so bad last year she said she won’t referee anymore.”
When contacted by the Herald, the coach said, “I stand by my comments. This isn’t two hours of free babysitting.”
All I can say is that if my SIX or SEVEN-year-old girl was assigned to this “Green DEATH” team, and I had received this letter, I’d insist she be assigned to another team or else she’d sit out the season.
What say you guys? If you’re not sure, read his whole letter in context. I’d love to read your comments.
October 30, 2008
Three for Thursday: Kids Pick the Prez, Bad Sports Mom & Christmas Lists in October
Item #1: Kids Pick the President
We adults cast our votes for the next commander in chief on Tuesday, that is if you haven’t already voted in those states that allow early voting.
But last week, 2.2 million Nickelodeon viewers made their choice: Senator Barack Obama, who won with 51 percent of the vote to Senator John McCain’s 49 percent.
According to United Press International: “Nickelodeon said it has held a kids’ vote every presidential election year since 1988, and children have correctly predicted the winner of four out of the last five U.S. presidential campaigns.”
The last time the kids picked incorrectly? Four years ago, when they selected Senator John Kerry.
Item #2: Bad Sports Mom
My November Parents & Kids column isn’t going to win me any popularity contests with folks on the sidelines of my kids’ sports and after-school activities. Why? Because it’s about what a bad sports mom I am because I don’t like how much of my family’s time the children’s activities consume. And I’m a tad bitter about it.
Item #3: Christmas Lists. In October.
My mother (*waving “Hi” to her as she reads this blog*) called me last night to request a list of Christmas gift recommendations for the Picket Fence Post-lings. As an organized person is wont to do, she would like to get her Christmas shopping done early so she can thoroughly enjoy the Yuletide season without the stress of racing around to stores.
However I wasn’t feeling particularly organized at the moment of her call, as I was still wrangling with The Eldest Boy over his Halloween costume. In fact, the subject of children and gift giving/receiving is a sore one in my household right now as The Spouse and I continue to debate The Eldest Boy’s birthday present. My 10-year-old Alex P. Keaton seems to think he can just return the gift he’d previously said he wanted and take the cash instead. This issue will be the focus of my December Parents & Kids column. (FYI — If you have any good Christmas list/gift anecdotes or suggestions, please post them in the comments section below.)
Therefore, when my unsuspecting mother brought up the topic of Christmas lists last night, my head exploded. Luckily she was on the phone and not at my house. Was a tad messy.
Sorry Mom. The list is going to take a while, unless, of course, you just want to get them clothes, which they really need. Pajamas would be good.
Image credit: Obama/Biden campaign.
Author and columnist Meredith O'Brien gives you a peek behind the picket fences of modern day life and parenting in the 'burbs. With humor and candor, it's her take on real parenting in the real world.
