A Three-Part Series on Sports, Activities & Academics

Competitive Youth Sports & Activities Gone Wild
The Real Value of Youth Sports & Activities
Academics: Grades & School Work

As we kick off the Fall season, you might be in the thick of youth sports or other competitive activities (music, science, debate, scouts, etc..). Not too long ago, we were in thick of travel baseball and hockey along with competitive football… not to mention academics!  We are blessed that both our boys were highly successful academically and athletically having played varsity high school sports and in college.

Over the next three weeks, we will be sharing and discussing our thoughts (and lessons learned) regarding the importance of perspective when it comes to Sports, Activities and Academics.

This week we are going to focus on maintaining the proper perspective. We begin here because the full value of competitive sports/activities cannot be achieved without it.

The reality of competitive youth sports and activities is that, in all likelihood, a child is not going to get a scholarship to play a sport or music in college; let alone make a career of it.  Yet kids and parents, alike, tend to have rose-colored “Oakley’s” when it comes to their child’s ability and future prospects.  Here are some recent NCAA Statistics to consider which also reflects competitive activities as well:

  • 36,000,000 kids (boys and girls) in the United States participate in youth sports each year.
  • Only 10% or 3.6 million are able to play in High School.
  • Of the 3.6 million High School Athletes, only 24% or about 865,000 consistently start at the varsity level.
  • 187,483 starting High School Seniors go on to play division 3 (no scholarships) in college.
  • 114,541 starting High School Seniors go on to play division 2 (limited/partial scholarships) in college.
  • 178,178 starting High School Seniors go on to play division 1(limited/partial Scholarships) in college.
  • Full scholarships represent less than 2% of all athletic scholarships.
  • Of the nearly 480,000 Colligate athletes, only 2% or about 9560 will play professionally.

In spite of this data, parents and kids often still believe that they are in the .03% that will go on from youth sports/activities to participate professionally.

So, given those meager percentages, should you dash the hopes and dreams of your youngster when they approach you about one day playing for the Boston Philharmonic or quarterback for the Denver Broncos?  Absolutely not!  As parents we need to encourage our children to reach their potential and create an environment for them to thrive in whatever they do.  But it’s typically the parents, in this encouragement, that often lose the proper perspective and take their children down a path that creates an impossible standard and environment that the child can never attain.

So many parents are spending thousands of dollars on private coaching or lessons each year in order to help them get noticed by scouts and recruiters.  And it has become a big business!  Youth sports is a $7 Billion industry and $1.2 Billion is spent on private music lessons each year.  It’s this business side of youth sports/activities that, we believe, fosters and encourages the incorrect perspective that parents (primarily) and children tend to have today.  There are former “professional” athletes and musicians telling (selling) mom, dad, and the youth prospect on how amazingly talented they are in order to maintain their own businesses.  It’s in this false perspective that parents begin to put unrealistic expectations on their children and their child’s coaches.  Meanwhile, kids lose the passion for the sport/activity under the weight of mom and dad’s pressure.  Some even begin to suffer some repetitive use injuries to arms, legs, shoulders, wrists, etc…

Reflecting on our experience with Trevor and Alex, we never paid for private coaching.  Our motto was always to “Have fun.  Then you’ll be able to do your best and reach your potential.”  We never pushed them or set expectations other than doing their best and having fun, which allowed them to develop their own passion for their sports.  On their own initiative, they both spent countless hours in the gym working out and practicing baseball and hockey.  Did they play competitively in college?  Yes.  Did they play professionally? No, but that doesn’t diminish the joy they have for their sport. They still had fun and gained countless benefits in that pursuit.

Next week we will share about many of the benefits kids and families gain through competitive youth sports/activities.

Blessings to your Family,

Shelly and Rich

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