Murrysville SportZone & Dek Hockey
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Image of youth sports takes another hit
Youth sports experts say that reactions are rarely this extreme but that thousands of coaches nationwide put unwelcome pressure on children.
Fred Engh, founder of the National Alliance for Youth Sports and the author of Why Johnny Hates Sports, says many children complain of psychological and verbal abuse by coaches. "Every time ... we have competition, you're going to raise the emotions," he says.
A few communities require both parents and coaches to sign codes of conduct. Others, such as St. Mary's County, Md., threaten to kick out leagues that register a lot of complaints about adults.
"We have seen an increase in the volatility," says Phil Rollins, the county's director of recreation. A postgame brawl there in November prompted the county to institute background checks and mandatory training for coaches as well as parental contracts.
"It's not out of control, but it's over the top," says Shane Murphy, a psychologist in Trumbull, Conn., and author of The Cheers and the Tears: A Healthy Alternative to the Dark Side of Youth Sports Today. He and others say youth sports are often too parent-focused and emphasize competition over skill-building and fun. Many European nations, he says, don't even put kids in competitive soccer, for instance, until age 13. "It's not so much that we have crazy parents. We have a crazy sports system."
He teaches a sports psychology course at Western Connecticut State University, and he asks his 18- and 19-year-old students about their experiences. "I'm always amazed," he says. "At least half the class will say, 'It was very negative because of my coaches and adults.' "
Key Words JEFF: Skill-Building and FUN.....
You need to wake up JEFF!
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Putting policies ahead of the kids. The smaller the organization, the larger the mistake this is. Policies are made to be followed, within reason. Some flexibility with originzation, particularly in a small place, is important. An even bigger mistake is standing behind policies at the expense of losing loyal parents. Weigh the significance of standing behind your policy in each situation. If it is a matter of physical safety or security, policies must be upheld. However, in many other instances, there are reasonable solutions that will not alienate.
Wake up Jeff 1 n 2
I would like to thank everyone for their support of Murrysville Dek Hockey and continured support.
When we began the draft process five seasons ago, we also established that there are no promises made to place any kid on a particular team. We have held that process and to foster growth have allowed some groups to come in a the coaches, showing great sportsmanship have allowed friends and neighbor's to draft other friends and with that in mind keeping it as fair as possible.
Many of you know that a lot our kids have moved on to play Ice Hockey through the Allegheny Hockey Association Learn to Play and North Hills Amatuer Developmental programs. We were approahed in the summer season with an opportunity to have some ice hockey players still in development to bring a group of kids in and play as a group, which was allowed with five players in the Beaver Division. Their coach, showing great integrity asked to take mostly new kids to the program to balance his team and for an opportunity to teach, which I commend him for and put alot of our Beaver coaches at ease, in lieu of the experince in the Mid-West Regional tournament.
Murrysville Dek Hockey in now over 200 kids for the third straight season and an outreach of nearly 400 players in less than two years. We have done so with great integrity and a spirit of volunterism second to none in youth sports. Anyone who doesn't believe it should give it a shot, beacause it's the people and the players who make it special and I am very fortunate to be apart of it. I look forward to Saturdays and Sunday and helping the kids in the program to grow with it !
Thanks
Jeff