Mahalo for highlighting the concerns and issues described in the recent two-day expose of youth sports in Hawaii (“Special report: Youth Sports,” Star-Advertiser, July 7-8). The scenarios described are familiar for parents of Hawaii’s young athletes, and they also reflect the overall status of youth sport across our country.
While youth sports can provide great benefits for its participants, the evolution of this institution over the years has brought with it many challenges and, more recently, a host of negative trends. Among those: early sport-specialization, the growing “win-at-all-cost” culture at even the youngest levels, a narrower focus on the most talented performers, and the increasing financial burden on families associated with youth sport.
These are developments that give us good reason to reflect on the general state of affairs in youth sports. It is important to assess whether or not our youth sports are truly meeting the needs of our youth. Fortunately, at least on the national level, such an assessment is actually happening right now.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is in the midst of developing a National Youth Sports Strategy, as directed by Executive Order 13824. HHS has invited the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy (https://health.gov/paguidelines/youth-sports-strategy/default.aspx); July 22 is the deadline for submitting commentary on the proposal.
The HHS aims to expand and encourage youth sports participation, and to promote the overall physical fitness, health, and nutrition of all Americans.
According to its report, “Good health, including physical activity and proper nutrition, supports Americans’, particularly children’s, well‑being, growth, and development. Participating in sports allows children to experience the connection between effort and success, and it enhances their academic, economic, and social prospects. Many of America’s leaders attribute their lifetime achievements to lessons learned through sports participation and athletic activity.
“Additionally, youth sports help working parents and guardians by providing their children opportunities to engage in productive, positive activities outside of school. Unfortunately, during the past decade youth participation in team sports has declined. As of 2016, only 37 percent of children played team sports on a regular basis, down from 45 percent in 2008.”
Year over year, the number of participants in organized sport declines tremendously, as kids grow into adolescence. The number of high school sport participants is approximately 6 million. However, that number represents less than 20% of the total number of kids who once played at the youth sport level. Most of our kids are eliminated from sports and will not return.
This rate of “drop-out” from such a healthy outlet, and valuable developmental experience, is problematic. According to HHS, “Particularly troubling is that sports participation disproportionately lags among young girls and children who are from economically distressed areas.” The public health consequences of this situation are compounding, and have a negative economic impact on all of us.
The HHS national youth sports strategy aims to expand children’s participation, encourage regular physical activity, including active play, and promote good nutrition for all Americans. It is intended to focus on children and youth in communities with below-average sports participation and communities with limited access to athletic facilities or recreational areas.
Offering public comment on the draft proposal is the only opportunity that U.S. citizens will have to provide input on the proposed youth sport strategy on the national level. We in Hawaii should closely examine our own backyard, engage in and learn from this national initiative, and seek meaningful ways to offer more youth sports, as a valuable developmental experience, to even more of Hawaii’s youth.
Honolulu resident Robert H. Benham, Ph.D., director of “CoachDevelopment.Services,” is a former K-12 educator and coach educator with the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Michigan State University.
