Youth sports programs get bad grades

We have “lost the voice of the child.” There can be no more damning indictment of youth sports in this country than this.

That finding came this week in the Citizenship Thorough Sports Alliance report card on sports programs in the U.S. for youth ages 6-14.

That Alliance is comprised of representatives from such groups as the NCAA, NBA, MLB, NHL, the WNBA and others. Started in 1997, the Alliance aims to restore accountability to youth sports with constant reviews and annual reports.

This report card was not one you would want your student to bring home. In this case, it is the report card the parents brought home.

Send them to the corner.

In examining youth sports nationwide, the Alliance graded these categories: child-centered physiology, D; coaching, C-minus; health and safety, C-plus; officiating, B-minus; and parental involvement, D.

Within the confines of this report card were findings that youth sports is far too weighted toward adult (read parental) motives, not kids enjoying playing some games.

As anyone who has been involved in youth games even tangentially knows, parents have highly unrealistic expectations for their kids in sports. Far too many think their child will be the next (fill in the blank). Being that someone isn’t even about excelling at some sport, it is about money.

The report finds the burnout rate for kids in the stratosphere. From mentally exhausted kids tired of racing to meet their parents’ unrealistic goals to physically damaged kids overused by coaches pretending to be (fill in the blank with some media-crazy coach).

The report’s findings are not surprising. What is startling and troubling is that this kind of activity in youth sports has been going on for decades. With everyone knowing that, how can the destructive path still be the one followed?

Maine has taken a lead in finding a new route for kids and their parents through the University of Maine Sport and Coaching Initiative. The Alliance report shows just how important the Maine project is for our state and as a leader for others.

There is a sense that the crass, abusive, and nearly cruel leaning this country has taken in the last decade may finally be coming back to center. Sports plays a big role in this nation, probably more than it should, in defining core attitudes.

The report card of the Alliance is a call to continue the efforts of all those who have sought to re-institute common sense into the games of the young.

What we learn from the report is that the problems are being recognized, not ignored, and that there is much work to be completed.

The task falls to every parent, every coach, and every youth leader.

Above all, the lost voice of the child in the games of the young must be heard and protected.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.