Violence in youth sports seems to be on the increase now more than ever. This isn't a new idea. Its even been discussed in this blog previously. Part of what we see happening is that the opposition is becoming the focus of all the agression; viewed as someone that needs to be defeated at all costs and that failure is not tolerated. Players and parents engage in violence against the opponent regardless of the sport. Yes, many sports require some level of agression, but that agression does not need to be turned into violence on or off the playing field.
At some point, these opponents/targets will become fed up with the violence and the screaming parents on the opposing team and give up the sport entirely. What seems to be lost on people today is that without an opponent there would be no competition. Think about what it would be like to try to hit a baseball without a pitcher to pitch it or how much fun it would be to just shoot a puck up and down the ice without anyone on the other side to stop it.
I find it deplorable every time I come across an incident like the man in the Boston, MA area that was accused of assaulting a child outside a hockey rink (
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wcvb/20070323/lo_wcvb/11347444) or a fight in a youth hockey game like this one.
Youth Hockey Fight - Funny bloopers are a click awayNone of this is really called for, but by now you are probably saying to yourself, "Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before...Its part of the game. Tell me something new. Whats the solution?"
There really isn't one whole solution. The solution is a bunch of little things. Things that anyone can do to improve the sporting experience for our youth.
One of the solutions is to take an example from the ancient Greeks. For those of you that have learned about the Greeks in school or maybe watched the movie
300 you know that Greek warriors earned their respect on the battlefield. Their opponents recognized and appreciated the skill that the warrior showed and acknowledged that skill by showing respect to their opponent.
A girls basketball team in Washington state has taken this concept of respect for their opponent to a whole new level in youth sports. They present a sportsmanship medal to a member of the opposing team during every home game. The recipient is selected by the Centennial Middle School team during the fourth quarter of the game and presented after the game. What a refreshing story
this (
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/03/23/100edi_editorial001.cfm) turned out to be. Efforts like this will go a long way to changing the face of youth sports today.
