Politics

Youth sports organizations say they want more women involved, but the simple fact is that far fewer women coach youth sports then men. Of the 4.1 million youth sports coaches only 654,000 are women.

Youth sports have become big business, bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees every year. Yet most operate with virtually no oversight. Here's how to hold them accountable.

The absence of women as coaches in youth sports has been criticized by some as one of the most backward traditions in sports today. The 42 million mothers of kids in sports represent an incredible resource. Perhaps if that resources was tapped, a new paradigm for youth sports can grow: one that will ensure that our children's sports years are more fun, safer, saner, less stressful, and more inclusive from the first day of T-ball to the last high school game.

Some children are early bloomers who enjoy success in sports because they develop faster, not because they have more raw talent. Late bloomers develop more slowly, but may be more gifted athletes. There are advantages and disadvantages for both.

Ever wonder how it was that all the coaches' sons or daughters are so much more "talented" than the other kids that they get to continue playing all summer, sharpening their skills, getting the advantage of playing three, four, even five times a week under the lights or in the hot summer sun, while other kids, eager to play, stand on the outside looking in, already stigmatized by having been deemed "not good enough" to play.

One of the players seemed to get special consideration. Ricky was a strong, natural athlete: big, fast and tall. Yet, despite the fact that he had never played travel soccer, missed all but two of the team's sixteen weekday practices!! due to other sport team commitments, he never came out of the game! Ever!

Many youth sport parents have witnessed inappropriate behavior on the part of players, coaches and other parents at practices and during games. When they do, they may scratch their heads and think to themselves "I didn't think that we acted this way in our program." The problem is that, all too often, the behavioral guidelines for the program haven't been clearly spelled out in advance.

Picture this: the exhilaration of a new season; spotless uniforms, equipment just out of the box, clipboards jammed with fresh paper...boundless enthusiasm and cooperation. It's the euphoric honeymoon phase of youth sports.