Skis Made for Women!

This past weekend I skied in Vermont. On my first day of skiing, I used a pair of Head demo skiis, designed especially for women. My current skis are also designed for women but this pair was a step up from my beginner skis. Prior to that, I used a pair of shape skis but I always felt I was not in control and was fighting the snow. As I struggle with getting a little older, a little heavier, and a little more cautious, there were times when I wondered about how much longer this intermediate skiier could hold on. The weather cooperated and was mid-30s and sunny. Surprisingly, Killington had several inches of groomed snow and the conditions were great.  All of this combined for an excellent ski experience. I had a fantastic day and remembered why I like to ski! It felt great skimming down the hills over the snow! For anyone who is interested, the Skis were MYA N° 8.

What Age is Appropriate to Play Organized Sports?

Yesterday, I overhead someone's cell phone conversation. It was a father, asking if it was okay for his kindergartener to play on the first and second grade girls lacrosse team. At first, I was excited that a lacrosse team even existed for first and second grader girls. A few years ago, the youngest girls team was comprised of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. I was thinking that these girls would have great skills by the time they entered high school. Then I wondered if these girls might be too young. This got me to thinking about organized sports in general. Gone are the days when I attended local Recreation programs.  We played dodge ball, scooter ball, basically anything with teams and a ball and a winner. There was no obligation to attend every week, there were no set teams and we chose sides each day. We played hard, we played to win, but mainly played for the sake of playing. We learned various skills, sportsmanship, team play, winning and losing, and of course, got our exercise.

My son played flag football in kindergarten, a decision I second guessed many times. He was not so much interested in playing as eating a hot dog at half time (he usually lost interest by the second half). The following year, when he was one of the older kids, he was much more into the game and wanted to play. However, certain players got more playing time, maybe a coincidence, but they were the coaches' children. Or did my son already have the reputation of not being a player? This did not go unnoticed by my son or one of his teammate's who also did not see much playing time. The teammate's parents approached me at one point to see if I noticed what was going on. I did. This teammate never returned to football. How sad it is to discourage a second grader from playing football or any sport. This young man was a good athlete, too, and played soccer and baseball throughout elementary school and high school. My own son played football until he was a sophomore in high school with the exception of fifth grade when he took the year off. There are a few children who are born with natural coordination but for the average 6 and 7 year olds, they want to be part of the team, have fun, wear a uniform. Unfortunately, too much emphasis is put on winning and playing the "best" players. Children develop physically and emotionally at such different rates, that it seems unfair to separate them by ability at such a young age. And the fathers, I mean coaches,  put a lot of emphasis on winning. Not all coaches are like this and my son had many great coaches but it only takes a few to spoil the game, whether they are your coach or the coach of the opposing team. I know my own son matured physically in his early teens, and mentally, too. He played several sports and is now concentrating on his favorite, lacrosse, and is looking forward to his senior season in high school.

I don't think it matters what age kids start playing organized sports, as long as they are active.  Pushing them too early might actually backfire. My own children tried several sports each. My daughter played softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and cheerleading. She did not start cheerleading until she was in the fifth grade and that was the sport she loved most and worked hard at improving her skills. She attended camps, tumbling classes, and was a member of both game and competition squads. She even considered cheerleading in college. My son played baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and wrestled. He started playing lacrosse in the sixth grade and it is the only sport he still plays as a senior in high school. He is considering playing in college. The sports they played at ages 6 and 7 are not the sports they continued with. It could be burnout or just finding the right niche. I have coached many players who suffer from burnout once they get to high school, particularly the ones who played on travel teams prior to entering high school.

My point here is that children should be allowed to participate in sports and progress at their own rate. I wish there were more intramural sports and town recreational sports with less emphasis put on travel teams. Or just be allowed to be kids and play on an empty lot or field. If one of them is a superior athlete, they will get noticed, no matter what.

Linsanity!

Last night, I happened to tune in to the last four minutes of the NY Knicks game. Now I GET what everyone has been talking about. It was so cool to watch Lin calmly let the clock run out (everyone around me was shouting and wondering what he was doing) and then confidently sink the game winning shot. Wow. I haven't been a big fan of professional basketball but I may be persuaded to watch another game or two, thanks to Lin.

Boys/Men's Sports are More Popular Spectator Sports Than Girls/Women's

I don't know why, but boys/men's sports still draw a bigger crowd that their female counterparts. I myself, am guilty of contributing to this phenomenon with certain exceptions. This is not new news but it was definitely underscored last night when two local basketball teams squared off. The two schools are located in the same town and are BIG rivals. Whatever the sport, the teams draw many fans and each team plays it's best, knowing bragging rights are at steak. Sports fans and students know that they are in for a treat. The game was held on Thursday night and tickets for the boy's game went on sale at lunch time in both schools starting on Tuesday. Tickets had to be purchased in advance and would not be sold at the door. Even parents had to pre-purchase their tickets. The gym was sold out and approximately 600 fans were in attendance. Across town, the girl's game drew less than 100 people, including the players and coaches. The picture below shows an empty section of seats across from where I was sitting. The the boys and girls teams from both schools are very competitive and each holds league and state titles. On this particular night, on the boys side, the away team won, bringing the two competing teams, along with a third, into a three-way tie for first place in their division. The win for the away girls team did not decide any titles but even if it did, I wonder if it would have made any difference.

Parental Pressure to Play

Last week I was talking to another coach about the upcoming lacrosse season. One of her players approached her and said that she still wasn't sure whether she could committ to play as she was also on a travel soccer team. We all agreed that the time committment for two sports as well as a rigorous academic schedule was nearly impossible. The player wanted to play lacrosse but said that she was afraid to discuss it with her mother. She is a good soccer player as well as lacrosse player, being the true athlete that she is. Her mother was interested in seeing her pursue soccer in college. This young lady was practical enough to know her abilities and that she would certainly be able to play at the Division III level but not Division I. Her quandry was that she wanted to go to college for her academic skills and mentioned a few Division I schools. She is an honor student with excellent grades and I'm sure she would be accepted to the school of her choice. I could see the stress on her face when she talked about the travel soccer team and the time committment to travel to several weekend tournaments. The tournament dates happened to coincide with the SAT dates. Of course, the spring of Junior year in high school is an important time to take the SAT's to at least get a feel for the test. When this player spoke of playing lacrosse for her high school team instead of soccer, I could see her visibly relax. I suggested that her mother would want her to do what she, the student, wanted and that her mother would want her to be happy and enjoy the season. I was the only one in the room who thought this way and it was pointed out that I was the only one who didn't know her mother. Why was this mother putting so much stress on her daughter? We all want our children to succeed but sometimes we, as parents, have to take a step back and hope that we have given our children the tools to make decisions for themselves. As I look at this student-athlete, I see a confident, intelligent young woman. I think her parents should be proud of her accomplishments so far and hope that they support her in decisions for her future.

Girls Ejected from Game for Fighting - Is it their fault?

This morning, I read an article in the local newspaper about coaches and players being ejected from a basketball game for an "altercation...between players and coaches." At first, I was saddened to read that players got physical (not in a good sense) during the game resulting in several players being thrown out of the game as well as the coaches from both teams. As I read on, though, I was sympathetic to their situation. In November, I attended a panel discussion at New York University, entitled, Head Injuries in Sports: Care, Conflict & Controversy. While much of the discussion centered around professional sports, I reflected on my experiences as a parent and as a coach. The popularity of youth and high school sports has increased tremendously in recent years. As new sports are added at these levels, there is a definite lack of experienced coaches and referees. This causes a perfect storm for injury for players involved. Emotion runs high during a normal competition and when someone feels consistently pushed or fouled, even the most level headed players and coaches start to lose their cool. A few years ago, I had to ask a referee at a girls lacrosse match to please make the calls before the girls killed each other. Of course, the discipline is placed on the coaches as well as the referees but not all coaches think alike. I digress. This is not about injury but sportsmanship and competitiveness. Around here, basketball is not a new sport and I would expect that generally, the referees and coaches have years of experience. I was not at that game, but I know that I always like to see the referees set the tone at the beginning of a game/match/set by making tight calls. And coaches need to know when to take a player out to settle them down. If the players are wrong, I agree that they should pay the price. In this case, if it is true that one of the ejected players was only trying to pull her teammate out of the melee, I hope that the team wins their appeal and the team is able to advance to the state playoffs. Maybe without their other teammate and coach. Either way, a lesson is learned. Which is what sports are about, right?

http://www.njherald.com/story/16681647/2012/02/05/kittatinny-girls-may-miss-tourney