Bernie DeKoven, funsmith: Junkyard Sports - rationale #27(a)

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Junkyard Sports - rationale #27(a)

In this article Ed Clendaniel of the San Jose Mercury News writes:

"...I'm having difficulty accepting the growing notion...that one of the chief goals of youth sports is to create mini-professionals...This push for perfection can be seen in the rapid growth of ultra-competitive club sports and travel teams for children at increasingly younger ages. A generation ago, most youth sports leagues had defined seasons and made an effort to balance winning with the need to let every child play...Today's club teams...use rec programs...to identify the most talented athletes, who then try out for and play on increasingly competitive and elite teams. Some teams play year-round; many travel statewide and nationwide in search of the most competitive games. Sometimes the athletes are as young as 8...The message couldn't be clearer: If you want to get to the Olympics -- or increasingly just to play your favorite sport in high school -- you have to start training single-mindedly when you begin elementary school...Parents now pay an estimated $4.1 billion annually on private sports instruction for their children, and they are increasingly expected to dole out thousands of dollars a year for coaching and weekend jaunts to games and tournaments...Only one Little Leaguer in about 3,000 ever makes it to the major leagues. Basketball is no better. Only one out of every 10,000 youth basketball players makes it to the NBA."

One more good reason for Junkyard Sports, eh what?

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1 Comments:

Gordon Rosenberg said...: Hi Bernie & all,
In a way I've made a lifetime study of organized sports & their effects on us individually & societally .. maybe I should be a sports philosopher or something. Is there such a thing? .. I was quite drawn to athletics as a young child, both watching & playing them. Never highly skilled at most of it, my focus ultimately turned toward spectating & eventually becoming a sports writer & editor through college. It seemed the best way for one of somewhat limited skill to express this strange inner passion I had for at least some level of competition .. or at least I thought then it was about the competition.

Now years later with countless hours of non-competitive activities behind me, I've realized I do in fact have 'skills' which are perfect for me .. though never suitable for any professional sports venue. At 57 I've finally seen through the great myth of organized sports of which this article speaks & I'm pretty content at my active level of play. I see how we're really each here IMHO to discover the playful parts in us which transcend the need to achieve or win anything in our games. I've greatly enjoyed turning people on to their playful parts just a little over the years .. and I've certainly been looked at a few times as if I were crazy when I suggested something so un-competitive, even "silly" perhaps. C'est la vie .. I keep playing & my house is filling up with my toys - some no doubt of the 'junk' nature .. like the couple dozen pairs of old shoes I brought home from a thrift store the other day ... 10 cents a pair - far cry from those $150 treads! .. 'course these aren't to wear but to play games with .. I personally look terrible in size 6 red 4-inch heels ..

Gordon

I am Bernie DeKoven, and I approve these messages.

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