Just Let the Kids Play by Bob Bigelow, Tom Moroney and Linda Hall

Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child's Fun and Success in Youth Sports

In Just Let the Kids Play authors Bob Bigelow, Tom Moroney and Linda Hall discuss how the modern sports systems have affected young children. They believe current youth sports organizations over-emphasize "talent", specialization and elite teams, thus hurting both the children who make it and those who don't. They make the case for changing the systems and provide details on how to make the recommended changes.

Youth sports has come out of the backyard and playgrounds and has become a system of organized teams. Coaches scout players as early as elementary school to build elite teams and win, sometimes at all costs. Which little ones are going to be stars? Children are spending inordinate amounts of time traveling to out of district, even out of state games.

Bigelow, Moroney and Hall believe children are missing out – all children. Those that aren't “good enough” may just be later bloomers (did you know Michael Jordan was cut from his High School basketball team as a sophmore?). Those that are “top players” are pressured to be better. Neither is much fun.

Meanwhile, what else is happening on the fields and the courts? Parents are screaming and yelling. They yell at their children -- try harder, do better, take the shot, catch the ball. They yell at the coaches -- put their kids in and take the other “losers” out. They yell at the officials – bad call. And worse, they fight, literally with fists flying, sometimes escalating in brawls. Officials have to be escorted off the fields for their own safety.

All this over youth sports – games that are supposed to be fun for the children while they socialize, develop skills and build their bodies. Funny thing is, the kids don't care nearly as much. They just want to have fun!

This book outlines how to put the fun back into youth sports. Recommendations such as no elite teams for young players, no cuts, no drafts, no tryouts, no tournament results. Teams can be built on skill, but only by balancing the teams so they are evenly matched. Around seventh grade, league standing can be kept, but still no cuts. Games, play areas and equipment should be adjusted to be age appropriate. Above all, keep the kids moving, playing and involved.

Opponents of these ideas believe it will take the competitiveness out of the games and water down the prospects for high school varsity, college and pro teams. The authors believe it puts youth sports in perspective and also allows children to develop skills more naturally, without the pressure or fear of making mistakes or being cut. They believe the less intense atmosphere of sports at a younger age will keep more children in the game and develop better players.

This book is somewhat of a dry read, but very solid in presentation. The authors make a solid case for the harm to our children being done by the current sports system and what needs to be done to fix it. What really impressed me about this book is that the authors not only outlined the problems as they see them, they also address the solutions. They make recommendations for organizing teams, helping our children to participate and even age-by-age steps for various children sports that anyone can implement – anyone, that is, who is willing to take the challenge of changing youth sports for the better.

Don't believe it can be done? In addition to some examples throughout the text, the authors conclude the book with several success stories. Organizations, teams and individuals who have made a difference and helped bring the fun back to youth sports.

If you've seen children giving up because they aren't good enough, children quitting because they are burnt out, parents putting pressure on kids or coaches, coaches fighting for the win at all costs, then you've seen what concerns Bigelow, Moroney and Hall. Read Just Let the Kids Play, and find out what you can do to get involved.