A New Resting Pulse for Youth Sports

CHICAGO - March 7, 2016 - PRLog -- A big conversation is about to happen.  It exists on the horizon for youth sports.  It establishes something called the fourth estate.  This invokes the power of youth sport’s national governing bodies (NGBs) whose polices have long lain dormant, arguably, a result of the "lame duck" approach they have taken to their governance over the policing of youth sports.

Among the first acts of these governing bodies will be to construct the architecture of sound governance in youth sports that has for too long been missing.  Amidst all the calls for reform in youth sports, this one represents a new one that has the makings of a more leveraged brand.  It is one that should allow us, as parents, to witness more actionable change happening instead of just the idea that change in youth sports would be good; an answer too many of us, as youth sports parents, have come to accept as we endure the many mediocre, at best, youth sports experiences of our children.

After their last meeting in Detroit at the Association of Chief Executives for Sport in June of 2015, these governing bodies collectively realized something.  They were all dealing with the same common problem.

They are struggling to keep their sports relevant and accessible.  The problem is they are guilty of watching their sports enjoy the fruits of increased revenues amidst rising costs that we the parents have been asked to absorb.  Their lack of success executing the former has led to their sports developing the most unfavorable of reputations to exist amongst the masses, elitist.

Something has to give

Participation numbers are down for the majority of NGB’s sports, as much as 40%.  They have known their youth sport development approach, even amidst social outcry, to be, in many ways, not good for kids.  But now they face a new reality.  It is not good for their sport either.

They are now forced to fight in order to remain relevant in the eyes of the demanding customers their economic motivations have created.  They must also now begin doing a better job of appealing to a new generation to us, as parents, who have many other options to involve our children in today, sports and otherwise.

Risking profits for progress

USA Hockey stepped up to the challenge and made the ultimate business sacrifice to risk “profits” for progress.  It has been doing so since 2010.

At the meeting, it reported what all the other governing bodies had been waiting to hear.  Evidence that a youth sports reform would not affect revenues.  The experiment paid off.  USA Hockey is now the benchmark for all other NGBs to follow, including the U.S. Olympic Committee that recommended adoption of its boilerplate recommendations to its own 48 NGBs.

How did it do it?  Hockey participation rose 44% by USA Hockey going beyond risking profits for progress and doing what the others wouldn’t, the unthinkable.

USA Hockey recognized interstate travel, year round play and single-sport specialization and elite competition to be more detrimental than developmental.  In lieu of this, it overhauled its youth development program canning its 12-and-under peewee championship and not requiring interstate travel for younger players anymore.  As a part of its boilerplate recommendations, it would also go so far as to promote hockey players to play other sports.

Reigning in the Wild West

As we look forward, the aim of these NGBs will be to reclaim youth sports from the free reign, Wild West they have, in many ways, helped to create.  It is, arguably, their only option.  To do this, they will be faced with the challenge of putting youth sports back into context by returning it to civility, to respectability and to what’s important.

For the first time in a long time, we, as a society, may be able to look to a collective voice for youth sports that exists beyond that of the media.  It has enjoyed playing a policing role, as these NGBs were asleep at the wheel.

New resource is sure to be created from this new brand of youth sports reform. If everything runs its course, as I believe it will, it should go so far as to empower us, as parents, with new knowledge and confidence.  We will then be able to, first-hand, speak truth to the stupid that puts our children at risk.  The whole notion of reigning in the Wild West is not to limit youth sports, but help it create better environments more accountable to checks and balances that are governed by both formal and informal policing agents.

Power of Collective Voice

As parents, teachers and coaches flex the muscle of their collective voice, outliers keen on a more free reign way of doing things will get exposed and be forced to either conform or become extinct.  It will further have the ability to economically affect and disinfect youth sports for the better.  During the transition, a parallel universe will be created that brings much of what is good about youth sports to the surface and leaves the lion’s share of the self-interest that has for too long been the basic resting pulse of youth sports, behind.

A Tipping Point

This is a new resting pulse for youth sports.  A tipping point where youth sport begins to become, in the eyes of society, more easily understood.  A place where parents, teachers and coaches can more recognize and nurture a process that balances athletic talent development and winning.  And further a place where youth sports NGBs do their jobs creating, implementing and enforcing sound policies.  Any less and the chaos of youth sport’s Wild West that exists today, remains.

In the end, it is the Gladwellian equivalent of where everything changes and yet nothing changes.  It is not representative of a democratic sweet spot but reclamation of youth sports, as, again, an honorable endeavor.  Completely contrary to the elitist and professionalized path youth sport is currently on, it is a new resting pulse that  many embattled youth sports parents of today will likely more than welcome.