Community sports programs across the nation are failing to address “the goals of children”—to have fun, make friends, and learn how to play sports, a panel of youth-sports experts said last week.
The “2005 Youth Sports National Report Card” is available from the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance.
Youth sports put too much emphasis on “adult-centered motives, such as winning” and are dominated by parents who fail to “behave in a way that promotes the development of their own children and others,” the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance said in what it billed as its first “report card.”
Programs need to improve the way they teach sportsmanship, provide opportunities for participants to have fun and make friends, and give all players the chance to develop their skills, says the Kansas City, Mo.-based organization.
The alliance is a coalition that includes the National Federation of High School Associations and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, as well as professional sports leagues and college sports associations.
