This past weekend, an unhappy parent at a Philadelphia youth football game became disgruntled with the amount of playing time his kid was getting. He attacked the coach and threatened him with a gun (see the following link for the full story).

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15832557.htm#recent_comm

When the referee saw the gun, he herded the five and six-year-olds to a safe distance and had them huddle on the ground. Thank God one authority on the field thought of the kids and their safety first. The coach wasn’t helping, he allowed himself to be drawn into a confrontation with the parent that resulted in the brandishing of a .357 Magnum in full view of five and six-year-old kids. Shawn Henwood, the referee was later quoted: ``I cried thinking about the kids, I can see snapshots of their faces in my mind. ... They were dazed. Their eyes were wide open. They saw what was going on. Are they going to want to play ever again?'' Perhaps not, but psychologists will tell you that if the violence continues, a safety device in the brain will help the kids become desensitized to the violence. Another coach, Jermaine Wilson said, "We get parents like that all the time ... just an unfortunate situation." If we allow our kids to become desensitized to the violence and start to see it as normal, then the inevitable next step will only cause the problem to multiply as the kids start to emulate their parent’s behavior.

First we saw the Little League World Series broadcast nationally on ABC, then ESPN started broadcasting high school football games. Grade school spelling bees can be seen in prime time across the country courtesy of ABC. An eleven-year-old girl got the spotlight and a million dollars this past summer winning the competition, America’s Got Talent by belting like a seasoned Broadway star (ask any vocal teacher how bad that is for her future singing career).

Most of us are probably too young to remember the furor over colleges making TV money from their football and basketball games. Of course, the furor calmed down and the money went up. Now, every NCAA Division I-A college game is not being contested for pride, but big ratings and big bucks.

The trickle down continues.

Some high schools are finding budget-bolstering income from TV. Some high school football teams are, reputedly, earning, as much as, tens of thousands per game. Networks are even paying for the teams’ travel for the right to broadcast the game. It is not just TV getting into the act, but the sponsors, as well. One coach estimates that Nike has put $20,000 a year into his high school football team.

Now, high schools are no longer playing for team pride, but for the Almighty dollar. Is this a bad thing? Is it wrong for budget-starved school districts to take money simply for the right of broadcasting a football game that is going to be played anyway? Of course not, at least, not on the surface. This money is a welcome relief to school districts that have had to cut music and art programs just to keep the base curriculum alive. But are the athletes ready for this? Big money and the potential loss of it is serious business to the adults. But, the athlete is young, and still learning the game. Making mistakes on the field, in front of family and friends, is bad enough, but when you add a national audience, and your mistake becomes fodder for the evening news it has to be devastating for the young player.

These were the same issues parents were arguing back in the fifties when the new networks took an interest in college football. Will opposition stop the trickle down of big network and sponsorship money? I think opposition to the flow of money will have the same effect today that it had in the fifties. Nil. The professional-ization of youth sports is well underway from high school down, hmmm, down how far? Well, when Nike and their kind are pouring millions into sixth-grade basketball teams, then I don’t think there is any limit to financial exploitation in youth sports.

Jerry Carino of the Courier News (Bridgewater NJ) recently interviewed me concerning the latest batch of out-of-control parents in the news (see link below). I was pleasantly surprised when I read the published article that Jerry actually had a plan. He suggested a “Parent Pledge” to be read and signed by each parent before his or her child can participate in an organized youth sport. This idea, in and of itself, is not unique. It has already been implemented in many athletic programs across the country. But, what is unique to Jerry’s plan is the mode of distribution. Instead of adding a new and separate item (subject to being lost before reaching the parent’s hands) to the already abundant collection sent home by both youth organizations and schools, Jerry recommends incorporating this new, educational tool into the permission slip; an existing document that has long been established; a document that parents are already conditioned to sign and return. Jerry suggested that the NJSIAA should consider the idea of a pledge; they also need to consider this simple, yet effective means of distribution. http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060923/SPORTS03/609230351/1002/NEWS06

We have, once again, another fine example of a parent gone out of control in Stockton, California. This story, accompanied with full color video, has captured the nation’s attention. But, we know that this is just one of a multitude of incidences of violence by parents in youth sports. For those of you who may have missed this story, here’s an encapsulation:

An assistant coach of a youth football team, after observing a late hit on his son, attacked the offending player, running into the kid and shoving him to the ground. The kid suffered minor injuries, but the damaging effects of this parent’s attack are reverberating throughout the youth sports world.

It’s not news when kids play a game, have fun, and go home. It’s only news when there is violence, or abuse or kids being damaged in some way. The reality is that these violent parents are a very small percentage of youth sport parents. The overwhelming majority are supportive and helpful. But, wait a minute; this father was a volunteer coach, who was helping to make football available to the youth of his town. Is he a violent man? No, according to police he doesn’t have a record. What went wrong? Well, according to the man’s lawyer, this game was fraught with late hits by the opposing team; one resulting in his other son’s spleen rupturing. So, by the time this parent/coach saw another late hit on his other son, I guess he couldn’t take it anymore. But, he didn’t attack the referee (who did, in fact, make the call on the late hit), or the coach of the offending player; he attacked a kid, and that cannot be tolerated.

The Diocese of Cleveland has stepped up to plate and set minimum playing time standards for CYO basketball. Every fourth through sixth grader will play a minimum of half the game. Seventh grade and up will have to play a minimum of a quarter. This is a bold move that, ultimately, will build better high school teams.

How is that, you say? Consider what happens to many kids who do not develop as quickly as their teammates. In our win-at-all-costs world of sports, only the best get to play, no matter the age. The kids whose bodies have not developed as fast as their teammates often get relegated to the bench, and many of them will never have the opportunity to get off. As their friends get more playing time, they develop better skills. If the benchwarmer doesn't get frustrated and quit, he will find himself lagging further and further behind his teammates. By insisting on balanced playing time for all, the Diocese will have a broader base of talent to draw from when these kids get to high school.

Youth sports should not be about finding the talent, developing them and letting the rest fall by the wayside. Every kid's body grows at a different rate, so a coach may miss out on finding that he has a super guard at ten. If that kid had ridden the bench until then, he may be ready to play at ten, but without the basic skills his teammates have developed over the years, the coach will not see his talent. If this kid had equal playing time, then his skills would be ready when his body is, and this coach will have his star guard.