Dark Side of Youth Sports

Six Major Problem Areas

By SHANE MURPHY, PH.D.
alcohol abuse

dropouts
early specialization
eating disorders
exploitation
Out-of-Control Parents
out-of-control parents
overuse injuries
sexual abuse
Shane Murphy, Ph.D.
steroids
Team of Experts
violence

Rose-colored glasses
There is a strong tendency in our
society to view participation in
sports in the most favorable light.
Children
are
encouraged
to
participate in organized youth sports
programs because they are thought
to promote such fundamental values
as character, teamwork, determination and commitment .
But this bias can be troublesome if it prevents us from seeing that problems in youth

sports exist. While we have recently come to realize that some professional athletes have
serious problems - drug and alcohol abuse, spousal violence, and acts of sexual
aggression - we have been much slower to recognize the problems that have developed in
youth sports.
Six problem areas
As I see it, there are six major problem areas that we need to address:
1. Out-of-control parents
Every parent who has been on the sidelines has seen instances of emotional abuse that
are too common in the world of youth sports: the mortified child whose mother is
screaming at the referee about a "blown call", or the despondent child who is being
verbally attacked by his or her parent or coach for some perceived lack of effort or for
making a "dumb" mistake
It has become fashionable to blame "pushy parents" for many of the excesses seen in
children's sports.
I think that this is a mistake.
Why do, time and again, well-meaning parents begin to act out of character as they get
caught up in the emotional roller coaster of their child's competitive situation?
In my view, it is because, for parents, the youth sports experience:
Is seductive: It isn't that bad parents make the youth sports experience a bad one.
It is that the strong emotions aroused by seeing their child locked in a competitive
struggle with others lures parents into acting in ways that end up hurting their
children, or their relationship with their children. The seductiveness of the youth
sports experience draws those involved into a tangle of emotions.
Provides an ego trip: There is a great deal of narcissistic appeal in sports
competition. Parents who fall into this trap begin to act impulsively, letting their
emotions get the better of them, and are often viewed by others as acting like children
rather than adults.
Exceeds some parents' ability to cope. Parents who lack the skills to cope with the
powerful emotions of ego gratification triggered in them by watching their child
compete are those most strongly affected by participation in youth sports programs.
They are the individuals who come to be viewed by others as out of control but who
believe that they are doing what is best for their child.
The question is often asked, is competition bad for children? We should also ask be
asking, "Is being a parent of a competitive youth sports participant bad for parents?"
Sometimes, a child isn't old enough for a parent to handle the stress of competition

Read more: http://www.momsteam.com/team-of-experts/six-problems-in-youthsports#ixzz3QfQK11Yj

2. Child exploitation
The trend toward early specialization makes me uneasy. In her classic book Little Girls
In Pretty Boxes , author Joan Ryan concluded that our insatiable national appetite for
new stars has resulted in "consumption and disposal of these young athletes" that is
"tantamount to child exploitation and, in too many cases, child abuse."
Child exploitation in youth sports is not limited to such high-profile sports as figure
skating and gymnastics. The potential is present whenever a family faces decisions on
how to help a talented child progress to the next level. The potential for exploitation is
high whenever youngsters become involved in high-intensity training programs. It is
difficult for many thirteen-year-olds to remain committed to such a program, whether the
sport is gymnastics, football, swimming, or wrestling, but it is more likely when a
determined parent insists that the child continue or risk being labeled a "quitter."
Here are some questions to ponder:
Should parents decide? A seven year old, even one ten years old, is too young to
decide to begin intense training. Parents say they are "doing it for my child," but is it
really possible for parents to make such decisions, or is part of the decision based on
their own desires and on their own competitive drive? Are decisions about the child
being made for their own good, or can financial incentives cloud the judgment of the
adults involved?
Do young athletes need to be protected against exploitation and abuse? Nearly
twenty years ago, sociologist Peter Donnelly called for the enactment of some form of
child-labor law to protect the welfare of elite young athletes. He argued that when
parents, agents, and administrators stand to make a large profit from the performance
of a child athlete, the young athlete deserves some protection.
Is having athletic talent a curse rather than a blessing? So much is expected of socalled talented athletes, and often, at the end of the road, after all the struggles, they
receive so little for their efforts. Is it worth it?
3. Youth sports dropouts
35% of the young athletes in a recent survey of 1,183 athletes aged eleven to eighteen
planned to stop playing the next year. Nearly half of the parents of 418 athletes aged six
to ten surveyed reported that their child was not interested in sport any more.
In a survey of 5,800 children who had recently stopped playing a sport, the top five
reasons for stopping were:
I lost interest
I was not having fun

 It took too much time

Coach was a poor teacher
Too much pressure
Asked what changes might get them involved in sports again, frequent responses
included:
"If practices were more fun"
"If I could play more"
"If coaches understood players better."
What these findings suggest is that the way our youth sports programs are organized and
run fail to meet the needs of children: in other words, they are adult- rather than childcentered.
Read more: http://www.momsteam.com/team-of-experts/six-problems-in-youth-sports?
page=0%2C1#ixzz3QfQajcio
4. Endangering young athlete's health
Another indicator of the crisis in youth sports is the high incidence of such problems as
eating disorders, overuse injuries , use of performance enhancing drugs, and alcohol
abuse.
Eating Disorders: The number of athletes with eating disorders in some sports,
such as wrestling, gymnastics, figure skating, diving and cheerleading is many times
the usual rate in the general population. In one study of 695 male and female college
athletes, 39% of the female athletes met the criteria for bulimia. The process is
insidious. The longer young athletes remain involved in competitive programs, and
the more pressure they are under to win , the greater the risk of such problems
occurring.
Overuse injuries: An estimated four million children seek treatment for sports
injuries in hospital emergency rooms each year. Twice that number sees a primary
care physician. There has been a steady increase in the number of overuse injuries
caused when adults push young athletes too hard or too far in training. The vast
majority of these overuse injuries are preventable .
Steroid Abuse: Children are not immune to the use of performance enhancing
drugs. South African junior athlete Liza de Villiers was fourteen years old when she
tested positive for anabolic steroid use in 1995 and banned from athletics for four
years. In a recent survey of 965 students at four Massachusetts middle schools,
researchers found that 2.7 percent of the youngsters were using steroids. This means
that children as young as eleven, in sixth grade, are using anabolic steroids to change
their appearance and performance. It is impossible for children in this age to be
obtaining such substances without the assistance of adults. It is hard to imagine the

pressures being placed on children who begin these dangerous practices at such a
young age. It suggests to me that the crisis we are facing is getting worse, not
improving.
Alcohol abuse: The statistics on alcohol abuse among student athletes are
alarming. In one study intercollegiate athletes were found to have the highest rates of
binge drinking of any group of students. In another study, male high school student
athletes in a middle class community were found to have rates of alcohol use than
other students. (There were no differences between female athletes and non-athletes).
Many sports have a long tradition of promoting alcohol consumption on a social basis
(such as keg parties).
These serious health problems would be cause for concern even if they affected only
older, more committed athletes. But when we see evidence that these problems are
filtering down to children in high school and even middle school, we should be deeply
concerned. No trophy or medal or national championship is worth destroying the health
of even one child.
5. Sexual abuse
One of the worst violations of the trust we place in the youth sports system is when young
athletes are sexually abused . Coaching youth athletes is an important responsibility
precisely because coaches are in a position of power in their relationships with children
and adolescents. Coaches who abuse that power and have sex with young athletes are a
very small minority (although, due in part to the shame and secrecy associated with such
abuses of power, it is hard to know how extensive the problem is). Their existence
requires that parents keep a watchful eye on their children . Parents who shirk their
responsibilities for their child and allow the young athlete to live with, or be in the care
of, a top coach may be making a much more serious mistake than the overinvolved
parent.
Read more: http://www.momsteam.com/team-of-experts/six-problems-in-youth-sports?
page=0%2C2#ixzz3QfQkTMcs
6. Violence in youth sports
Here are just three examples of the kind of youth sports violence that fills our newspapers
on an almost daily basis:
Unhappy about the unfair treatment his son received in the previous week's game,
a father sharpened the buckle on his son's football helmet like a razor, gashing five
players, one injured serious enough to require five stitches.
A youth baseball coach, feeling that the umpire had been unfair in his decisions,
stayed behind after the game was over to physically harass the umpire. He was just
sixteen years old.
After verbally abusing a basketball official, a female assistant basketball coach,

whose sister was in the game, attacked the official as he was starting to leave,
jumping on his back and hitting him. The reason? She was upset because she did not
agree with some calls he had made!
Apologists for this sort of behavior point out that professional sports on television are
often violent, such as some the big hits we see in hockey and football. But this argument
really has nothing to do with the violence associated with youth sports. The parents just
mentioned are not imitating the pro athletes they see on television - that violence takes
place within the game. What is disturbing about the violent behavior we see on the
sidelines and in the stands is that it takes place outside the game. Once again, these
parents are out of control, behaving in blind response to feelings of anger and frustration
generated by watching youth sports.
Meeting the needs of kids and adults
Despite these problems, I still believe that youth sports programs can do a great deal of
good for children and for families. There are many positive aspects of organized sports
for children.
But if we are to improve the programs we offer to our children, we need to acknowledge
and confront the problems. Not only do we need to understand that youth sports are not
just "games for kids," but we also need to understand the important roles they play in our
society and the powerful psychological pressures they exert on children, families, and
communities. We need to realize that youth sports programs are for adults as much as
children - perhaps more so. Until we recognize this fact, we will not be able to organize
programs that meet the needs of these involved adults and best meet the children's needs.

Dr. Shane Murphy is a sports psychologist in Connecticut and the author of Cheers and
Tears: A Healthy Alternative to the Dark Side of Youth Sports Today (San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1999).
Read more: http://www.momsteam.com/team-of-experts/six-problems-in-youth-sports?
page=0%2C3#ixzz3QfQsMuc2