I think we need less organization in our sports.
I agree that boys need to do things that are âuniquely maleâ, just as girls need to do things that are âuniquely female.â However, I do not think that forcing them to play a particular sport is the way to go. Kids should be encouraged to PLAY, it doesnât matter what they are doing. I work with young athletes (over 50% of my client base in pre-high school) and the most glaring weakness in many of them is overall lack of GPP because of too much time spent on computers, watching tv or talking on the phone rather than participating in a wide range of sports. I see kids whose parents are already planning their career out with travel teams and sport-specific clinics, but their kid can barely jump rope because they lack a fully developed motor pool. Honestly, the best thing you could do for your nephews, from an athletic standpoint, is get them involved in gymnastics as that is the sport that helps young kids develop the most coordination, body control and relative strength.
Your nephews should be encouraged to play football, and they should also be encouraged to play soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, etc. The greater range of activities they do, the greater athletic base they will develop and they are also more likely to find a sport that they will develop a passion for. I didnât pick up football until the 8th grade and I did just fine at it.
Finally, playing football does not make you a man or tough or strong. That comes from within. I played football in high school and trust me, there were plenty of guys on the team who were far from tough or manly. Itâs not what you do, itâs how you do it.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
I think we need less organization in our sports.[/quote]
and women should be tied up in our roomsâŠ
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
I think we need less organization in our sports.[/quote]
I do, in theory, but in practice thatâs difficult to accomplish in todayâs society. Most families have both parents working and they donât feel safe, for good reasons sometimes, just letting their kids roam around and play outside as used to be the case.
Therefore, the option they turn to is organized sports. I do not think we need LESS organization but instead BETTER organization. There is too much focus on developing good teams at the U12 or U14 age levels and not enough focus on developing good players and athletes. Basketball is a prime example, the European model of training focuses on developing the kids as overall athletes (with a lot of GPP) and teaching every kid the whole game; tall or short you learn how to dribble, shoot, post up, etc. In America the focus is on getting a kid who gets a growth spurt early and teaching him how to stand 2 feet from the basket and lob the shot up over the smaller kids.
There is also too much focus on competition and not enough on practice. I see this in volleyball, a sport I work with a lot, where you have U12 teams worrying about what tournaments they are competing at and going to Nationals and all this, and in turn the coaches focus on âwin nowâ strategies rather than focusing on actually teaching the kids how to play the game.
I donât think you play soccer the way I play soccer. Itâs obviously not as full contact as football but there is plenty of opportunity for contact. I routinely have scrapes and bruises after a good game and so do my opponents.
A big plus for me is you can continue to play soccer throughout your lifetime. How many people get to play full contact football after their teenage years? There is a reason that soccer is the most popular sport in the world.
Find an old school hardcore martial arts dojo near you. None of this TaeKwondo crap. Try Yo Se Khan or Bak Pha. An MMA gym might work too.
I did 5+ years competing at an international level in full contact martial arts. Trust me, it doesnât get more âcontact sportâ than that.
I fully intend to put my sons in it as early as possible.
[quote]flyboy51v wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
This is funny. You seem to think Football is the be all and end all of sports, because thatâs what you did, like to do, and you think it makes you tough. Soccer, or, real âFootballâ is just as good as your favorite arbitrary physical activity. Hell, in most countries, even showing up to watch a soccer match guarantees more physical contact than actually playing in a game of American football. I never played football, and I certainly didnât enjoy soccer as a wee lad, but Iâm not going to condescend and say football makes you a man.
Honestly, it sounds like youâre worried your nephews might turn out to be âa couple of them queersâ because they play one sport opposed to another. Thatâs just silly.
I know youâre being sarcastic and soccer is arguably better endurance conditioning than football ⊠but soccer fans getting more exercise than football players???
[/quote]
Iâm not being sarcastic. Football hooliganism is one of the more violent things I can think of. Itâs also physical and great fun.
I think kids should have the option to play whatever sport they want. Iâve always wished there was a boxing gym near me, but there isnât. If anything, high schools should offer more sports. I know I would have played high school sports if there was a lifting option or a boxing option. Instead, thereâs mostly just football. Americaâs obsession with football does more harm than good, if anything.
[quote]Rockscar wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
I think we need less organization in our sports.
and women should be tied up in our roomsâŠ[/quote]
How are they going to cook for us?
[quote]mmllcc wrote:
Rockscar wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
I think we need less organization in our sports.
and women should be tied up in our roomsâŠ
How are they going to cook for us?[/quote]
Very long leashes 
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
I think we need less organization in our sports.
I do, in theory, but in practice thatâs difficult to accomplish in todayâs society. Most families have both parents working and they donât feel safe, for good reasons sometimes, just letting their kids roam around and play outside as used to be the case.
Therefore, the option they turn to is organized sports. I do not think we need LESS organization but instead BETTER organization. There is too much focus on developing good teams at the U12 or U14 age levels and not enough focus on developing good players and athletes. Basketball is a prime example, the European model of training focuses on developing the kids as overall athletes (with a lot of GPP) and teaching every kid the whole game; tall or short you learn how to dribble, shoot, post up, etc. In America the focus is on getting a kid who gets a growth spurt early and teaching him how to stand 2 feet from the basket and lob the shot up over the smaller kids.
There is also too much focus on competition and not enough on practice. I see this in volleyball, a sport I work with a lot, where you have U12 teams worrying about what tournaments they are competing at and going to Nationals and all this, and in turn the coaches focus on âwin nowâ strategies rather than focusing on actually teaching the kids how to play the game.[/quote]
Kids donât want to practice, they just want to play. Lose the uniforms roll out the ball and let them play.
I completely understand your point about letting the kids roam and play vs organized sports.
One of the big problems is that neighborhoods donât have places for kids to run and throw a ball. Streets are often far too busy.
Towns end up building parks with nice ball fields but the kids often cannot go there to play unless the parents drive them over.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Kids donât want to practice, they just want to play. Lose the uniforms roll out the ball and let them play.
[/quote]
Agree to a point. Lose the uniforms and let them playâŠbut who asked them if they wanted to practice or not? Kids shouldnât be asked what they want to do no more than you should ask them what they want to eat. Else that way they would only eat candy all day and sit on their butts watching TV. That is what a parent is for - to tell the kid what they need to do and make them do it.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
jtrinsey wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Kids donât want to practice, they just want to play. Lose the uniforms roll out the ball and let them play.
I completely understand your point about letting the kids roam and play vs organized sports.
One of the big problems is that neighborhoods donât have places for kids to run and throw a ball. Streets are often far too busy.
Towns end up building parks with nice ball fields but the kids often cannot go there to play unless the parents drive them over.
[/quote]
This is true to an extent, but a good coach can make practice fun and the kids donât even realize they are practicing.
The downside to just letting them play is that bad patterns get ingrained. Typically I split practices up in to 1/2 skills practice 1/2 scrimmages, and by the end of practice the kids still want to keep going.
[quote]mmllcc wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Kids donât want to practice, they just want to play. Lose the uniforms roll out the ball and let them play.
Agree to a point. Lose the uniforms and let them playâŠbut who asked them if they wanted to practice or not? Kids shouldnât be asked what they want to do no more than you should ask them what they want to eat. Else that way they would only eat candy all day and sit on their butts watching TV. That is what a parent is for - to tell the kid what they need to do and make them do it.[/quote]
I am a parent and a soccer coach so I know what a parents job is.
The kids donât need someone to stand over them and tell them what to do in order to be active. Turn the TV off and put them in a setting where they can play and they will.
Uniforms, yelling parents and pressure turn off many of the kids.
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
⊠Typically I split practices up in to 1/2 skills practice 1/2 scrimmages, and by the end of practice the kids still want to keep going.
[/quote]
I do the same thing. They get bored as hell early and then they donât want to stop.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
I played football, not soccer. I donât agree with you, but I wouldnât say youâre nuts.
I will say this tho: when people start talking about how football teaches life lessons, etc etc one need look no further than Pacman Jones, or any of the other fine upstanding citizens who play in the nfl. To illustrate, I was trying to remember that really good running back from Nebraska about 10 years ago, got drafted by the rams despite dragging his girlfriend down a flight of stairs by her hair. wound up playing in the cfl. ANyway, I typed ârunning back huskers rams wife beaterâ and at least a half dozen other running backs came up. I didnt even find the guy from 10 years ago.
Footballâs a big game. You get a big enough group of people youâll have some real @$$holes as well as some saints. Competitive sports are good for kids, i dont think it really matters what specific sport.
Although make sure to tell your buddyâs wife that at 5 years old theres no way her kid is getting hurt - does anyone think that a kid who lacks the coordination to tie his shoelaces can actually run fast enough or hit hard enough to injure somebody? Even with pee wee sized pads they still effectively double their bodyweight only making them even more awkward.[/quote]
A few years ago my younger brother played township football, when he was 12 years old. There was this one kid on his team who never showed up for practice but, would always be played on the weekends, even though the policy was if you donât show up for practice you werenât allowed to play in the game.
My mom asked my brother why this kid was allowed to play in the games despite the fact he didnât show up for practice. It turns out the kid was on probation and wasnât allowed out of the house at the time practice was. This kid couldnât have been older than twelve.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
I think we need less organization in our sports.
I do, in theory, but in practice thatâs difficult to accomplish in todayâs society. Most families have both parents working and they donât feel safe, for good reasons sometimes, just letting their kids roam around and play outside as used to be the case.
Therefore, the option they turn to is organized sports. I do not think we need LESS organization but instead BETTER organization. There is too much focus on developing good teams at the U12 or U14 age levels and not enough focus on developing good players and athletes. Basketball is a prime example, the European model of training focuses on developing the kids as overall athletes (with a lot of GPP) and teaching every kid the whole game; tall or short you learn how to dribble, shoot, post up, etc. In America the focus is on getting a kid who gets a growth spurt early and teaching him how to stand 2 feet from the basket and lob the shot up over the smaller kids.
There is also too much focus on competition and not enough on practice. I see this in volleyball, a sport I work with a lot, where you have U12 teams worrying about what tournaments they are competing at and going to Nationals and all this, and in turn the coaches focus on âwin nowâ strategies rather than focusing on actually teaching the kids how to play the game.[/quote]
I partially disagree. I think back in the day Americans played because they loved the sport, they developed creativity and what skills best matched their style of play. This gave us a very unique advantage. Every other country always used the skills and repitition method only to make their players better.
While even back then they may be teams with better shooters, our MVPâs could alway just hop on a team and blow other players out, because they had an allstar âFeelâ for the game. Nowadays players donât develop these skills because EVERYTIME they play itâs in an organized fashion, and their practice is in an organized fashion. I donât know if we can ever see players like Charles Barkley, Larry bird, and Magic Johnson again.
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Charles Barkley, Larry bird, and Magic Johnson again.
[/quote]
And two of those players we wouldnât want to see again.
[quote]mmllcc wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
Charles Barkley, Larry bird, and Magic Johnson again.
And two of those players we wouldnât want to see again.[/quote]
Which two? I enjoyed watching all three.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
mmllcc wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
Charles Barkley, Larry bird, and Magic Johnson again.
And two of those players we wouldnât want to see again.
Which two? I enjoyed watching all three.[/quote]
Werenât Charles and Magic both gay?