On Saturday, March 27, the world observed the fourth annual Earth Hour, a global event started by the World Wildlife Fund. During Earth Hour, cities, towns and individual families from around the world were encouraged to turn off all non-essential lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. People in more than 92 countries participated in a global call to action for, and to demonstrate the urgency of, climate change. It was amazing to watch coverage on the Sunday Today show of all the cities that powered down their lights, from Paris to Prague.
Sitting quietly in a room lit only by candles I had a chance to ponder the impact on world energy consumption that all of us, acting as individuals, accomplished together. It got me thinking about thinking outside the box to create change and how I could do the same thing to change youth sports, as MomsTeam have been doing since 2000. What could I suggest that individuals could do at the team level that might have an impact across the country?
The first idea that popped into my mind was my suggestion that coaches step out of the coaching box and let the kids themselves run a part of every sports practice. In other words, just let them play. I have been suggesting that coaches let kids run practices on a regular basis for a long time, both in my book Home Team Advantage and on MomsTeam. Here's what I said:
Some of the best practices my teams ever had were those where I followed a "games-based" teaching approach-where I stepped off the field and told the players to take over the practice and do what they wanted, to organize the practice themselves, so long as they had fun. They would usually decide to play a skill game, one of about twenty-five that I use to develop skills without drilling. The only time I stepped in was when I saw that a certain skill could be taught in order to help the play.
As I was thinking about the importance of unstructured play, it just so happened that in my email inbox was a note from a friend in New York who heard about a group at the State University of New York (SUNY) called Youth Sports New York which is organizing an event they are calling SANDLOT DAY 2010TM. According to the group's website, the "goal of Sandlot Day 2010 is to give young ballplayers in organized leagues the gift of pickup baseball that their coaches and parents experienced. From this one day they'll get personal memories that last a lifetime, a sense of ownership of the game, an ability to organize themselves, and so much more."
I think Sandlot Day is an excellent idea, but why just one day? Why not allow the kids to run a part of every practice?
If you coach youth sports, I know what you were thinking: turning over a part of every practice to the kids is simply unworkable. You can't teach the kids what they need to learn unless you micromanage every second of the hour to hour and a half the practice runs, filling every nook and cranny with teaching tips and drills.
But just ask the kids who played on my soccer teams, especially the players who were told by the town travel soccer club that they weren't good enough to play travel soccer but who, after playing on one my teams, went on to play high school varsity soccer. I bet they would say one of the reasons they continued playing was because letting the kids run practices and engage in free play builds team spirit, gives them a chance to experiment without fear of being corrected by the coach, to be creative, to take chances and try new moves, and ultimately to do what kids everywhere have been doing for fun since the beginning of time: play.
As Mother Teresa said, "We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love." Turning over a portion of every sports practice to the kids may sound like a small thing. But given the fact that one of the principal reasons kids drop out of sports is that they aren't having fun, I bet it could go a long way to making practices more fun. If enough coaches made it a regular part of their practice routine, maybe, just maybe, it would catch on across the country. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his best-selling book, The Grassfire Effect, this is how to ignite change.
So, my question to youth sports coaches out there is, Have you ever let your players run a practice? And to parents, I am wondering whether your child been on a team where the coach let the kids run the practice? How did it work out? Let me know at delench@momsteam.com.
A better option for self-directed play?
Hi Brooke,
Although most youth sports experts agree that unstructured/self-directed play is important, it seems that opinions differ on how this play should occur.
Rather than incorporating self-directed play into organized sports practices, I would suggest that children are better served by the traditional neighborhood pickup game. When combined in proper balance with organized sports, these games provide kids with the most benefits.
As you probably recall, the pickup games of our youth were much more than just playing sports. They were also about learning how to interact with other children — without the help of parents or other adults. We learned how to recruit neighborhood kids, organize the game, deal with arguments, balance our individual competitive instincts against the needs of others in the group , and otherwise manage the game so that everyone wanted (or at least continued) to play. Often, it was a balancing act to keep everyone satisfied and the game going. Depending on who was playing and our mood, the games emphasized either relaxed fun or more serious competition. But most importantly, we controlled our experience — we learned to become more self-reliant.
Although providing unstructured play time within an organized sports practice does enable children to choose the type of game (and fun) they want, it does not really provide the other benefits of pickup games.
Certainly there's no harm in the occasional "Sandlot Day" event or practice where a coach turns the kids loose to pick the type of game or skill drill they want to play. This may even stimulate children to think creatively about their play when adults are not around. Finishing each practice with a fun skill game chosen by the players is an approach I often follow in my youth basketball practices. I also believe in providing my players with "ownership" opportunities where possible.
Although you recognize the time constraints faced by coaches, you may not appreciate just how limited the practice time really is in some participation-based programs. For example, in the YMCA youth basketball program within which I coach, we have a single one-hour practice per week and a game on Saturday. There is simply not enough time in this type of league to provide opportunities for self-directed play. And by the way, if the kids had their choice, they would scrimmage for most of the hour! Although fun and filled with teaching moments, this activity would certainly not provide each child with the necessary instruction to fully develop his or her potential.
Adult-run organized sports are what they are. And that's not bad when run by caring parents and coaches who provide a good mix of learning and structured fun.
Instead of attempting to make organized youth sports the end-all of a child's youth sports experience, I suggest that we instead focus more on restoring the balance between organized sports and neighborhood pickup games. Let's try to find and promote safe opportunities for the kids themselves to organize and manage their own pickup games—whether it be in backyards, playgrounds, or at the local YMCA.
Hello, Some good comments
Brooke de Lench
Publisher /Editor In Chief
MomsTeam.com
Author:
Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports