Youth Sports and the Negative Approach Toward Physical Activity

Ladders, Laps, Push-ups... Is anyone able to correlate positive thoughts with their memories of these activities from their days of youth sport?

Me neither.

I cringe anytime I hear about ladders, or having to run miles within a certain time frame.

Physical activity and temporary discomfort from physical exhaustion are not desirable in any circumstance, but now that we are cognizant of the benefits of physical activity in life, it is important that we recognize how we should be using conditioning in youth sports.

Too many times I can remember basketball practices where a teammate (or myself) would use inappropriate language towards another team, or someone would be late, or just poor play, and we would be punished with physical activity. In any sport, it is beneficial to be in good physical condition, but there are many instances where younger athletes' physical condition has a lot to do with negative experiences. Where many youth coaches go wrong is in associating physical activity with punishment, whether they are aware of it or not.

Conditioning should be stressed as a way to compete better in a certain sport, rather than a preventative method towards bad play or behavior. Many children aren't fully able to recognize the lasting benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, and along with that, how quickly the era of organized sports goes by in ones' life. After organized sports, it becomes increasingly difficult to make time for exercise, and if one already has discouraging memories of physical activity, how likely is it that they are going to want to perpetuate a healthy lifestyle?

The physical and psychological benefits of exercise have been well documented to this date, and coaches need to be more cognizant of the approach they are taking towards youth in stressing the necessity of physical activity, especially with the rising childhood obesity rates.

With the privatization of youth sport and in turn, less accessibility for many youth for participation in organized sport, opportunities for educating our youth on the importance of personal health are being minimized, and it needs to be stressed with the coaches that we do have.

Kids in sports really want one thing, to be able to play. So as a form of punishment, it's fairly obvious how to approach such situations. It is much easier to discourage bad behavior through benching a kid than it is to have them run some laps, which is much more temporary.

With athletics budgets being cut in high schools, P.E. classes being dropped in elementary schools, obesity rates rising, and type II diabetes becoming more prevalent, it is starting to become clear that health and wellness are less of a priority than they used to be. Health and wellness need to be a priority again, especially with health care costs rising and life expectancy on the rise.

Youth sports are a good place to start the movement, and it starts with keeping our coaches and parents informed.