Youth sport in our society has become quite an animal to control. Certainly, we can see the many benefits for our children playing sport—to meet new people, to interact with others, to develop social skills, to play, to enjoy, to begin a foundation for healthy living by being active, to find challenges, to develop different types of motor skills and to use their time productively…just to name a few. However, we can also readily see some pitfalls of youth sport, especially competitive sport—early specialization, over-bearing parents, coaches bent on winning, over-scheduled calendars, and self centeredness.
So, the question is why should the Spokane Shadow start a program for nine year olds? Well, our answer is based on all the positive reasons above, as well as the negative ones! The positive reasons because that is what sport can provide; the negative reasons because that is what sport can provide IF leaders of our youth sports do not lead. We want to be a true leader.
There is no doubt that there is a need in our community as witnessed by 64 “play ups” (under-age players) showing up for our U11 tryouts, and doing so without being solicited. Children feel a need to be challenged; they want to play and compete but they want to do so within in an environment of fairness. They do not want lopsided score. From the well-written book, Game On, author Tom Farrey points to a study by sociologists who noted what kids do when allowed to play without adult organization; they found that children’s priorities are to have: 1. Action, especially action leading to scoring; 2. Personal involvement in the action; 3. Challenging and exciting experiences; 4. Reaffirming friendships with peers; 5. Close scores, not blowouts. (p. 115) This is what we want to create with our Shadow Junior Youth Program!
Our society organizes everything for our youth these days—mostly for safety reasons, but also because of our educational system. We don’t allow our kids go out and play until dark on their own as we did a generation ago; nor do our schools have the necessary time allotments for physical education and recess times as they have been cut significantly with each passing decade. Shoot, I remember having PE every day and now elementary schools have it twenty five minutes two times per week. More importantly, I remember at recess my friend being Dennis Johnson and me being Gus Williams as we emulated the World Champion Seattle Supersonics. These things just don’t happen with any frequency anymore and so organizations run by adults administer youth sport programs. Ultimately, those who administer sport must do better by our kids; this is our charge.
One alternative that can be chosen is to delay “competitive” play. This has been the path in our community since soccer started, and with good reason. However, we have reached a point in time in our evolution that we must look at what our kids need and deserve. Our children can begin recreation soccer at Under 6 (U5 and younger programs exist but they are “extra” programs in reality as they are not playing in teams per se.) If the child and parents enjoy the experience, they continue to play and for four consecutive years, children basically play with the same nucleus of players in their area of residence…and what a great program this is!
However, as it goes in other areas for children, some have more abilities or derive more enjoyment out of an activity than others (some are more gifted at math, or reading, or music, or soccer), and just as with math children begin to be grouped by ability soccer children can as well. Why? Ultimately, the reason comes back to enjoyment. Kids can get bored or disinterested if the game becomes too easy (see above study). The cynics of competitive youth sport for children, of whom I can be one of them, will point to pushy parents or selfish coaches, and while they do exist, they are not the motivator for this program nor should they be the reason to dissuade us from creating this type of program.
I do believe children want to learn and have an innate desire to learn. Look at young kids; as parents, we all remember our children constantly asking us the question, “why?” We remember seeing them excited to go to kindergarten; they aren’t necessarily so excited though when they get to middle school. Some of it is just nature but couldn’t some of it be the system we have created? (To the teachers out there this in no way is a comment about you or your profession. Teachers have one of the most difficult and one of the most important jobs out there! The system I refer to is the support that you receive and the challenges you must face, which can make your job even more difficult at times, in my opinion.) If we are challenged and if we are rewarded, I think we are spurred on to do more. This is what we are seeking to do with this program! I do believe our kids want to learn how to be better at sports; not so they can win more games (if they say that, it is because an adult has engrained that in them) but so they can derive more enjoyment from the game. They want to learn but they want to do so in an environment that is made for them. Too often we adults make the environment so it is right for a little adult and not a little child. The Shadow Junior Youth Development Program seeks to do the latter—provide a program that is right for kids!
We will strive to provide a program that puts the player first by focusing on appropriate developmental training strategies and philosophies. We will seek to train coaches in the art and science of coaching nine years old players. We will seek to teach parents the art of youth soccer because it should be an art form for parents—watching kids develop and play should be something watched and appreciated, not shouted at and judged. And, most of all, we will seek to make it a fun experience for the kids!
Critics are important to any endeavor as they provide a mechanism for injecting thoughtfulness into an idea, or in this case, a program. A few objections that come to mind would be the negative effect on recreational soccer - especially in outlying areas as numbers are drawn into this new program, trying to compete at too young of age, and cost. A decrease in the number of recreational soccer players may be a short-term issue but I do not think it will be significant. In fact, I recently received a story from a parent whose child almost gave up on soccer because they had to play recreation soccer and were getting bored, so perhaps the argument can go both ways. I do believe that in the end when kids are playing in good environments, kids will keep playing. That is our task as adults. Our Association (Spokane Youth Sports Association-Soccer) is charged with organizing youth soccer in our area; we need to be leaders and not passive onlookers. In leading, we need to do right by our kids just as our Association has always sought to do. By being proactive, we can continue to do so. For too long we have been reactive and that has led to problems. We have made rules to prohibit play ups (for good reason, I must add); unfortunately, we have not looked at what programs need to be offered or should be offered as the game, the sport, and the player have developed. This has led to teams and/or players leaving our Association to seek out new and different playing opportunities; it may have led to kids quitting soccer; it certainly has led to some kids being bored with soccer. None of these are satisfactory solutions. With respects to the cost argument, on average the club fee could break out to less than $5 per session, or less depending on the number of practice sessions that are conducted over the season. This does not even the include the other benefits of being involved in a club with a proven track record of soccer success. We have worked to keep costs low, yet provide an exciting opportunity for kids.
Hence, we are starting this Pilot program for all the right reasons—because our kids deserve the opportunity to grow and to play!
Please review the program details and Washington Youth Soccer guidelines and recommendations for more information. I am excited about this formative, progressive U10 program as we strive to meet the overwhelming interest shown at our recent U11 tryouts. I invite all players and their families interested in this program to join us Monday, June 1st at 5pm (for girls) and 6:45pm (for boys) at Andrew Rypien Complex as we begin this new venture together.
In the spirit of soccer,
Sean Bushéy
Technical Director
Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club
www.spokaneshadow.org
