Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160043
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sports no longer are fun for many children, because winning has become the most important thing.
Youngsters are being turned off to sports at an early age because they are subject to intense pressure to compete and win before they have the necessary skills and experience.
So said the panelists for a program on sports and children at Glen Cove Elementary School in Roanoke County this week.
The problem is getting worse, they told an audience of parents, because youngsters are being pushed to compete at increasingly earlier ages. Some recreation clubs have teams for T-ball and other sports for 6-year-olds.
Richard Kepley, a guidance counselor at Patrick Henry High School and former basketball coach, said sports at the elementary level should emphasize fun and participation by all the children.
"We would have less problems if everyone participated but there was not so much emphasis on winning," Kepley said.
"At ages 8, 9 and 10, having fun should be the name of the game. You can't expect them to practice every day of the week and pressure them to win."
The panelists said some children are dropping out of sports because their parents consider winning to be the chief objective.
Instead of getting young children involved in organized sports, "The best thing might be to take a kid fishing," said Bob Guthrie, supervisor of youth athletics for the Roanoke County Parks and Recreation Department. "Bring them along slowly. Don't push them."
He said nearly half of children younger than 9 don't have the catching and throwing motor skills to compete in organized sports.
The county has competitive leagues for children as young as 9. It has instructional leagues for youngsters age 6 to 8 in soccer, basketball and other sports. Those leagues are designed to teach the fundamentals of sports to youngsters without organized competition.
But Guthrie said the teams in the instructional leagues don't always abide by the rules, and sometimes keep score. "Even though they may not be using the scoreboard, they still know what the score is," he said.
Soccer is the best sport for children under 10, said Tom Miller, an orthopedic surgeon. Although not all children that young have catching and throwing skills, he said, they can kick a soccer ball.
Too much emphasis on sports hurts the studies and behavior of elementary pupils, Glen Cove Principal Mary Hunt said.
Many children say they don't have time to do their homework because of team practices and games, she said.
Fights sometimes break out in school the day after an emotional game. And children are exposed to bad language by parents at games, she said.
Hunt said some parents are so busy taking their children to practices and games that the family never has time to eat a meal together.
And some fourth-graders are playing games at 10 p.m. when they ought to be in bed, she said.
"I am not saying this to condemn [sports], but I share it with you," she said. Sports can help build character, she said, but they also can hurt it.
Hunt said physical activity and sports are needed to help children develop, but they need to be kept in balance with other aspects of children's lives.
Kepley, a former basketball player for the University of North Carolina, said he favors young children playing sports. But they should do it for fun, not competition, he said.
He believes every child ought to be involved in sports or other school activities.
"If they don't become involved in something in a positive way, they're likely to get involved in something in a negative way," he said.
Some parents worry that their children will be behind their classmates in sports skills in later grades if they don't compete when they are in elementary school.
But Miller said the parents' bigger concern should be whether their children will want to play at all in middle and high school if they are pressured to play when too young.
by CNB