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Written by JEFF MIELCAREK, Director of CYO Athletics
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Saturday, 21 November 2009 00:00 |
How many times do you walk into a gym and the first thing that you do is look at the scoreboard? Most of us do this on a regular basis because we want to know who’s winning, what quarter the game is in and how much time is left.
The scoreboard is used a means of measurement in athletic activities; however some people lose sight that it is not the only means of measuring success when it comes to youth athletics.
 I once got into a conversation with a youth CYO soccer coach about a fourth-grade soccer game. This coach was pretty concerned with winning and losing fourth-grade soccer games and he asked, “When is the right age to start emphasizing winning?” I was a little bit cautious in my answer, but I can remember saying I wasn’t sure what the right age was, but I was certain that it wasn’t in fourth grade.
This coach’s question has stayed with me for quite a long time. I still don’t have a great answer for when winning should be emphasized, but I do know that if that is the only thing adults focus on then we are really missing many other great teaching opportunities, and in some cases taking opportunities for fun away from our youth athletes.
In our society we use the scoreboard as a means of measurement because it shows how our team measures up against the other teams we are playing. However, what it is not showing us is how much the kids on the team are learning and how much fun the kids are having.
I have the opportunity to watch many youth athletic events each season and I see some wonderful coaches who serve as great ministers to youth. I also see others who are great coaches in terms of Xs and Os, but they miss so many other opportunities to teach kids. Some of these coaches’ teams win games, championships and trophies, but in the process they turn kids off to playing a particular sport, and in some cases turn them away from athletics in general because so much emphasis has been placed on winning at an early age.
Don’t get me wrong, I like to win, but I realize that there is more to athletics than just winning. As ministers to youth we are entrusted to “teach these young athletes not only about the game, but more importantly about being good Christians,” as the CYO Team Prayer says. In addition to teaching our players the skills of the sport, we need to teach them how to work together, respect the officials, respect their opponents, practice good sportsmanship, be gracious in victory as well as in defeat and to have fun.
This fall season I heard some stories where kids played on CYO teams that had great seasons in terms of the scoreboard results, but because they were not allowed to play much, they had very little fun. Other stories were told of kids who played on teams that didn’t win many (or any) games but had a ton of fun because their coaches made it a great experience for everyone on the team.
As ministers to youth in the athletic setting, we need to constantly be aware of all of the kids on our team and take the pulse of our team on a regular basis. We can do this by making sure we are providing them all opportunities to learn and have fun. When athletics are no longer fun for someone who is playing, then it’s time to re-evaluate why we are offering sports opportunities.
There is much more to youth athletics than what we can read on the scoreboard, but to find that we sometimes need to step back and look for methods other than the scoreboard to measure the success that a coach, player or team has achieved.
One method of measurement that we may all want to consider in the future is a smile on a young athlete’s face. When they stop smiling, laughing and having fun during and after games and practices, it is time for adults to go back to the playbook and develop a different strategy. Remember the games are for the kids, not the adults!
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Last Updated on Saturday, 21 November 2009 00:00 |
