As a parent, I’ve stood on the sidelines of recreational sports leagues for 12 years now, and I’m convinced that we as a nation have completely lost sight of what youth recreational sports could and should be about. Instead of providing a supportive environment for all children to learn to play a sport regardless of ability, too many rec leagues have become a way for parents and coaches to compete vicariously- and at times, viciously- through their kids. Here’s the letter I WISH every rec league would send to parents before the season begins. Dear Parents, Thank you for enrolling your child in a recreational league. Rec sports are a great way to help kids have fun while staying healthy and active.

The definition of recreation is activity done for enjoyment. The mission of our recreational league is for all of our players to find enjoyment in this sport, no matter their skill or ability level. Premium Account Uploaded.net Jer there. While we believe that there’s a place for more competitive youth leagues, we want to be clear.

We are not that place. Let’s start with a few facts: • More than one third of children and adolescents are • Research from the shows that 70% of children quit playing sports by the age of 13.

An Open Letter to Parents About Youth Recreational Sports. As a parent, I’ve stood on the sidelines of recreational sports leagues for 12 years now. Travel Letters. International guests may need an invitation letter to apply for a tourist visa to visit the U.S. For Commencement. Students who would like the. The Kalayaan University will be having 5th University Intramurals this coming October 10-15. Intramurals Excuse Letter Sample. Intramural excuse.

Children list the pressure put on them to win as one of the top reasons they quit. We as a league are working to change these statistics by creating an environment where every child feels welcome to play this sport to the best of his or her ability — but we can’t do it without your help. Unfortunately, the kind of behavior that encourages kids to drop out of sports has become so common in recreational leagues, many adults don’t even realize they’re engaging in it. For your reference, these behaviors include: -Parents shouting criticisms of their children’s mistakes during a game. -Coaches yelling at kids for not running fast enough, not listening, or making technical mistakes. -Parents saying nothing when their kids taunt teammates or members of the opposing team for their mistakes or lack of ability. -Coaches keeping kids on the sidelines who aren’t as skilled as the others on their team.

-Parents insulting children on the opposing team, coaches arguing with coaches, parents arguing with refs, parents arguing with parents, coaches arguing with coaches, etc. Parents, we want you to see every moment that you spend on a recreational field as an opportunity to build other children up for their courage in getting out there and making an effort, rather than tearing them down for their lack of ability. We encourage you to talk to your kids before games and practices and make sure they understand that it’s not okay to criticize or taunt their less-experienced teammates or members of the opposing team. We ask for your help in ensuring our coaches understand that recreational sports are for enjoyment, not training grounds for future pro athletes, and we are happy to work with you to if they seem to be missing the boat.

We request that you put your competitiveness aside during recreational games and cheer for the points scored on both sides. Yes, you read that right. There is no reason why we can’t celebrate the accomplishments of every child on the field. Vrender Dlr. We need to do these things simply because recreational sports may be the only shot we have at keeping hundreds of thousands of kids across the country healthy and active well into adulthood.. THIS MATTERS.

We encourage those children who have the desire for greater competitiveness to try out for an elite or travel team. There, they will learn whether they truly have what it takes to go to the next level. As for our recreational leagues, we are constantly working to keep them open, accessible and welcoming to all children. Thanks in advance for helping us make this possible. Sincerely, Your youth recreational sports league Comments comments. We are having a hard time finding recreational leagues for our 1st grader! We had hoped he could stay in our church/school league for a few years but so many are leaving for more competitive leagues, we barely made a 10 person baseball team.

Now we are forced to start looking elsewhere for fall soccer. He just wants to have fun and we don’t want to burn him out by the time he’s 10. It’s ridiculous. Our 10 year old daughter dances and even with that, as she has gotten older, her class size has shrunk because so many girls do competitive dance now. “Coaches yelling at kids for not running fast enough, not listening, or making technical mistakes.” I would argue that this is exactly what coaches should be doing. If a child isn’t paying attention or is not applying themselves, a coach should be there to get them back on track. Little Suzy or Billy will be OK if a coach does that in a respectful, non-demeaning manner.