Positive Pushing: Sports

Reported February 6, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- The atmosphere is charged, the stakes are high, and the adrenaline is pumping. Parents push. And coaches push. The kids try harder and harder. The result? Sometimes a win ... But all too often, burned-out minds and bruised bodies! What happens when parents, coaches or even the children themselves, push too hard to win?

Austin Pratt has been hitting it hard since he was 11. "I love the sport; I love to hit!" he says.

This high school football player's mom, Donna Pratt, has been there for every touchdown, fumble and injury. She's seen firsthand how parents affect the game. "I've seen where the parents are standing up and telling their child that they've scored a touchdown, but there was a mistake in between their catching the ball and their bringing it down to the goal post," she says.

Forty million kids are playing organized sports. Pressure from parents, coaches and the kids is to be better younger ... Pushing 70 percent of children to give up sports by age 13.

Tina Syer, associate director of Positive Coaching Alliance at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., tells Ivanhoe, "When those kids were asked why they were dropping out, why they quit, they said, 'It's not fun anymore.'"

Syer says the biggest mistake parents make is focusing on the win. Don't ask: Who won the game? Ask: What was your best play of the game? What do you want to work on for next time? What's the best thing the team achieved today?

"Every child has an emotional tank. And what we want is to create an environment where coaches and parents and their teammates fill their tank rather than drain it," she says.

Soccer player Tyler Fisher feels the pressure to be the best. He works out every day after school, every weekend, and plays soccer year 'round. His dedication to the game is taking a toll on his body. "It's a sharp pain whenever I push off on the foot that hurt," he says.

Fisher has Sever's disease, an inflammation of his growth plate that causes severe pain. But the pain won't stop him. "If it's a big game I just won't tell my coach," he says.

Sports doctor and orthopedic surgeon Richard Lehman, M.D., of the U.S. Center for Sports Medicine in St. Louis, says this mindset keeps kids coming back to his office. "You're seeing much more injuries, not just based on the time spent, but the difficulty and the level of intensity that these athletes are performing."

He's seeing the same injuries in kids that professionals suffer. Knee injuries in gymnasts and shoulder injuries in baseball players and competitive swimmers are becoming more common and the most serious for child athletes.

Dr. Lehman stresses playing through the pain could cause you to stop playing for good. His number one message to parents? "Give your kids enough time to recover." He says parents and players need to remember that only a handful of athletes make it to the top. Too much pressure can sideline their kids from the game. And the injuries could impact them for the rest of their lives.

If you would like more information, please contact:
David Jacobson
Positive Coaching Alliance
3430 Bayshore Rd.
Suite 104
Palo Alto, CA 34303
(866) 725-0024
david_jacobson@positivecoach.org
http://www.positivecoach.org/