Are Sports Good for Kids? On one hand you've got physical fitness and "the building of character". On the other, injuries and an overemphasis on winning. Are sports good for our kids?
In an age where parents punch out game officials and tight budgets force cuts in other programs, it's a good time to examine our obsession with kids' sports here in Michigan.
What's been your experience with kids and sports?
Jack talks with Eve Claar, the Assistant Athletic Director at Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School; John Johnson from the Michigan High School Athletic Association; and Daniel Gould who is the Director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University.
I wonder if most, or any, of your listeners know that the MHSAA (Michigan High School Ath Assoc) standard for eligibility is pass 4 classes/D-. Many schools have raised that standard (including mine), but I don't think anyone has really taken a good look at the issue. There are many sides to this, but as a school board memeber I initiated raising it, and ended up compromising with a pass 5 C avg. The teams have not suffered because of it (implemented 10 years ago or so), and it proves once again that kids can perform to higher standards when they have the encouragement and resources to do so.
Posted by: karen gregory | September 22, 2005 at 12:05 PM
Great idea for a show.
Posted by: George Brach | September 22, 2005 at 02:18 PM
I think something people, who in general might want to instill lifelong exercise habits in people, don't talk about enough, is the alienating effect of the switch from the low-pressure, fun oriented treatment of sports activities up through junior high to the high pressure, highly hierarchical "varsity" treatment of sports starting in high school. I used to love basketball and recess and sports in general in school up through junior high--sports were fun, you learned good skills and teamwork. But then basketball and other sports became "serious" in high school, too hightly regimented, overly competitive, and no longer fun to a lot of people. I and a lot of other people were turned off by this super-competitive and regimented treatment of sports starting in high school--this is no way to instill good exercise habits in young people. The demand and need for a less competitive treatment of sports in high school I think can be seen with the rising popularity among adults in "unconventional" and "fun-oriented" team sports like dodgeball, kickball, and ultimate frisbee, which emphasize fun and social interaction. (As opposed to, on the varsity track, pressure to constantly win and dedicate all your time to the sport, in part to get on track to become a professional athlete, and make lots of money for colleges and professional sports teams, advertisers, and TV networks). Perhaps high schools should provide fun, low-pressure basketball, football, etc. teams and sports such as kickball and dodgeball (carry them over from junior high instead of getting rid of them in high school), and offer sports such as ultimate frisbee, as an alternative for those students who like sports for fun and exercise, and who have no interest in a varsity/professional athletics track? I think this would encourage the benefits of exercise and the development of social skills through team sports for all students, whereas now those with no interest in the hyper-competitive nature and huge time commitment of varsity sports are quite out of luck.
Posted by: Stephen | September 22, 2005 at 02:23 PM
I am a big believer in sandlot games and informal play. Unfortunately, one of Jack's guests ruled that out as a thing of the past because "you don't want your kid ending up on a milk carton".
That is a big problem in our society, but it is not a crime problem. It is a problem of parental paranoia. Parents watch way too much TV these days, and are out of touch with reality. Before making an assumption like that, call the FBI and ask for the actual statistics. I believe that every major crime indicator is down from the early '70s. The guest's comments only served to perpetuate a myth that sells commercials.
One of the hardest parts of being a parent is to let go of your children and avoid micromanaging their lives. Modern parents don't do very well at this, and they're getting worse.
Posted by: Harold Kirchen | September 22, 2005 at 02:38 PM
While playing sports for fun may be beneficial, most of the benefits could be obtained with other less detrimental activities.
Physical Education should be just that. Teach our children the latest up to date findings on exercise and nutrition. Teach them a lifestyle of exercise ect.
Sports are just remnants of our primtive past. Just ritualized warfare. Sports encourage agressive behaviour, competition for arbitrary goals. Most sports participants are worked up into a frenzy, remeniscent of chimpanzees. Sports people are put up on pedestals where they don't deserve to be. They have achieved nothing but arbitrary goals. Would we hold someone that flicked a booger the furthest on a pedestal?
The real people that should be held on a pestetal are the ones that the sports people usually pick on. The Geeks! The geeks are the ones that grow up and give us are the things we take for granted. T.v.s, computer, automobiles etc. We all ride on the backs of these great people. Why not get sports out of our schools and place the real great people where they belong. Lets teach our kids how to compete for real goals, not arbitrary ones. Some of the colleges now compete with robots and other such things. But they dont' get any attention. Don't let the big sports companies program us anymore. Lets shed our old animal ways and act like the humans we think we are. Let's try to be like the geeks.
Posted by: Stan Sengel | September 22, 2005 at 10:08 PM