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Sport is a microcosm of the national mood. Deeply ingrained in American life, sport forms a common thread between generations. Strenuous exercise, life-lessons and important relationships gleaned from the fun of healthy competition are known to positively shape a young person’s formative years; particularly those years spent while playing youth sports.
Yet youth sports have changed dramatically in the last quarter century. Outside of urban and rural pockets there has been a decrease in unsupervised 'sandlot' play. Unsupervised play has been largely replaced by travel and recreation teams, federation sports, and pay-to-play elite clubs. For both boys and girls, youth sports now have a 'professionalized' look and feel. With many more opportunities to compete, the economic impact of this new model is in the billions but its cultural impact may be measured differently. Today youth sports are anything but child's play.
In recognition of the influence youth sports have on the formative years for millions of New York’s children, the State University of New York has launched the SUNY Youth Sports Institute (YSI). Located at the State University of New York College at Cortland, the YSI’s goals are to refine the opportunities and correct the inadequacies of youth sports in New York State, for its children and their families.
The YSI’s goals can best be achieved through applied research, evidence-based curriculum, technical applications and by creating a leadership training network across the SUNY college system. In so doing, the Youth Sports Institute will utilize SUNY’s leadership position to contribute to the important discussions about sport taking place in homes, at schools, on playgrounds and in boardrooms in across the state. In so many ways this is not about sport at all, but about the health of New York’s children and their families.
In New York State, youth sports are distinct from school-sponsored sports. School-sponsored sports are standards-based and regulated by the New York State Education Department (NYSED), and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA).
Youth sports are a largely unregulated polyglot of travel teams, elite programs, recreational teams, summer teams and town teams. With no set standards of operation or behavior they include diverse programs sponsored by youth agencies or national sport federations. Programs include: Little League, Babe Ruth League, USA Football, AYSO, Pop Warner, CYO, YMCA, PAL, AHA/USA Hockey, US Lacrosse, AAU Basketball, etc. Listed only as an example of the population the YSI is focused on, these are among the largest youth sport organizations with many more not listed here. It is the contention of the SUNY Youth Sports Institute that a common language of minimum standards will benefit the children and families involved in these programs.
Mission
The SUNY Youth Sports Institute's mission is to provide the training centers, the research and the evidenced-based curriculum that will create for sport leaders, coaches, parents and officials the common language of minimum unified standards across all youth sports in New York State..
Objectives:
Improve the ability of all youth sport practitioners to embody a “child centered” youth sports environment
Test the claims and common knowledge surrounding a variety of issues in youth sports: sport specialization at younger ages, injuries, nutrition, the pay-to-play cultural paradigm, value of supervised vs. unsupervised play; healthy vs. unhealthy competition; youth sport burn-out, etc.
Provide evidence on how a common language of minimum standards is optimal to enhancing the health of sports-minded children and families.
Facilitate an ongoing and dynamic statewide training network that encourages local input into youth sports standards based upon the needs of local communities.
Provide a model for youth sports training for the nation.
Timothy J. Donovan
(607) 753-4252
