COACHES

Non-school youth athletics could not survive without volunteers. Every year recreation and youth sports directors are faced with the challenge of filling volunteer positions with knowledgeable, effective personnel. Many have voiced concerns about overtaxing their volunteers' valuable time with mandatory training/certification in adolescent development, youth coaching, safety and health, sport psychology, etc. A recent study conducted by the SUNY Youth Sports Institute (Spring 2010) suggests these concerns are unfounded.

While forty percent (40.5%) of the study's participants explained that their choice of not mandating some form of coaching certification is based upon a fear of losing coaches, less than three percent (2.5%) actually had a coach leave due to a mandatory training requirement. The results of the study suggest that the primary reason coaches vacate their volunteer roles is that their children "graduate" from the program.

Home Cookin'

Published: Sunday, August 1, 2010 5:04 PM CDT - thenewsdispatch.com, Michigan City, IN

Back in 2006 when my brother came home from serving a tour in the Navy, we decided it might be fun to coach a youth baseball team together.

The idea's intent was two-fold: We loved baseball and wanted to take a crack at teaching the game, but also it was to serve as some good bonding for the two of us.

So we took the reins of a 10-and-under team in Trail Creek and had a blast doing it. This past week, I wrapped up my fourth season as a youth baseball manager, even with my brother now residing in Toronto.

I often get the question asking why I do it without a kid in the league. That fact does set me apart from most of the other coaches. Almost everyone involved in youth baseball has a kid on the team.

But not me. Some people think I'm a little off my rocker to get involved in such an endeavor without a child in the lineup.

After all, as any teacher might be able to tell you, dealing with a group of youngsters can be, at times, frustrating.

But 99.9 percent of the time I find it to be one of the most gratifying things I do.

For the most part, the kids are so eager to learn more about the game, especially at the 12-and-under level, which is where I've coached the last few years.

BY ED PIERCE • FLORIDA TODAY • JULY 18, 2010

Sitting on the sidelines is no fun. As long as there have been youth sports leagues, conflicts among players, parents and coaches arise about the amount of playing time young athletes should get.

Disputes on the subject are commonplace and often result in anger and frustration and may eventually lead to children giving up on a sport while they are still learning how to play.

Statistics from the Youth Sports Institute at Michigan State University show 56 percent of kids in America ages 5 to 10 participate in some form of organized youth sports activities, but that 70 percent quit by the time they reach age 13.

Dr. John F. Murray, a clinical and sports psychologist in Palm Beach, believes prolonged bench warming in youth sports can have lasting psychological effects on children.

June 4, 2010
CBSSports.com wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- John Wooden, college basketball's gentlemanly Wizard of Westwood who built one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports at UCLA  and became one of the most revered coaches ever, has died. He was 99.

The university said Wooden died Friday night of natural causes at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since May 26.

"The love, guidance and support he has given us will never be forgotten. Our peace of mind at this time is knowing that he has gone to be with our mother, whom he has continued to love and cherish."

Just as he was loved by his players, who hurried to the hospital to say their goodbyes.

Jamaal Wilkes said he recognized what he called "that little glint" in Wooden's pale blue eyes.

During his second visit Wednesday night, Wilkes asked Wooden if he recognized him.

"His glasses fogged up and he had to clean his glasses," Wilkes said. "He looked at me and said, 'I remember you, now go sit down."'

Current UCLA coach Ben Howland was among Wooden's final visitors.

"I just enjoyed him and the twinkle in his eye," he said, noting Wooden told a few jokes from his hospital bed. "I'm just the steward of this program. It's always going to be his program."

With his signature rolled-up game program in hand, Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships, including an unmatched streak of seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.

Over 27 years, he won 620 games, including 88 straight during one historic stretch, and coached many of the game's greatest players such as Bill Walton and Lew Alcindor - later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

by John Mariani
Syracuse Post-Standard
February 11, 2010

Camillus, NY -- The Camillus Youth Basketball Association, whose games were suspended after a brawl Monday, will resume play on Feb. 22, league President Tim Schoonmaker said.

"CYBA officials, after communicating with the Camillus police and the West Genesee Central School District have decided to resume league play effective Feb. 22, 2010," Schoonmaker said this afternoon. "All commissioners, coaches, parents and players will be contacted of this. We thank the school district for allowing us to use their facilities."

League officials will meet with West Genesee Superintendent Chris Brown next week to discuss what security arrangements might be made to allow play to resume, Schoonmaker said. A game schedule also should be drawn up next week, he said.

READ MORE...

by Express-Times staff
Lehigh Valley Live
February 02, 2010

WARREN COUNTY, NJ -- A shoving match that ensued when an angry parent charged a coach at a youth wrestling tournament at Belvidere High School has officials from the Tri-County Youth Wrestling League looking to speak with witnesses as well as the parties involved.

According to police, Robert Spezza, of Liberty Township, allegedly assaulted Dan Shamsudin, a coach with Parsippany PAL, after the Redhawks had defeated Hackettstown 80-0 in a midget wrestling match.

"This guy went crazy, trampled one of our kids and sent him to the hospital," Dan Shamsudin's brother, Sharif Shamsudin, said.

Spezza, 40, reportedly accused coach Shamsudin, 28, of using delay tactics during the match then came out of the bleachers and knocked him to the gymnasium floor.

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by Peter Schworm
Boston Globe
January 9, 2010

Board members are squabbling over league rules, and jockeying for control. Managers are allegedly stockpiling talent in the minor leagues. Lawyers are involved.

No, this isn't another labor dispute in Major League Baseball. This contentious state of affairs comes courtesy of Little League - ages 9 to 12.

The Parkway Little League - one of the state's oldest leagues, known in Boston as an intensely competitive winning machine - is awash in controversy, beset by bitter disputes over how the 14-team league is run and who should run it. The infighting has dragged on for months, delayed league elections and the annual player draft, and resulted in the league's charter being suspended amid allegations that it has run afoul of a host of Little League rules.

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by John McGourty
NHL.com
February 5,2010

Former Phoenix Cardinals running back Tony Jordan is one of the top athletes that Rochester, N.Y., has produced. He was a high-school All-American at East High, went to Kansas State on a full scholarship and earned All-Conference status.

Jordan has met many of the most famous athletes and celebrities in North America, but he's looking forward to this weekend when he'll meet a sports pioneer, Willie O'Ree, who became the first black to play in the National Hockey League when he broke in with the Boston Bruins in 1958.

"I'm excited about this opportunity because it's not too often you get to meet someone who is an important part of sports history," said Jordan, now a manager with the City of Rochester Recreation Department. Jordan's involvement goes far beyond the job. The Tony Jordan Sports Foundation helps the city assist over 4,000 youths participate in organized, non-scholastic, volunteer-led, sports activities.

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by Maureen Nolan
Syracuse Post-Standard
February 04, 2010

Roland Grimes moved away from Central New York a few years ago, but he's reaching back to help organize a town hall meeting about ethics and accountability in sports.

Its particular focus is on sports and youth in the black community. He wants to get local people talking about the subject.

The idea is for the town hall, scheduled for Feb. 24, to bring together all facets of the community involved in youth sports, for instance parents, coaches, trainers and educators, for a discussion. Grimes said organizers do not yet have a time and location for the meeting.

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  Recommendations and Guidelines

To safely and sufficiently acclimatize in the early season and improve the safety profile for each player, teams should use graduated repeated exposure to heat stress,
training intensity and volume, and the football uniform, combined with appropriate alterations of practice intensity and duration, equipment cover, and betweenpractice
recovery time. This will allow players to adapt more safely and effectively.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL PDF of GUIDELINES...

by Mark Hyman
New York Times
January 30, 2010

At a time when sports tutors seem as plentiful as piano teachers and high school games are routinely nationally televised, Peter Barston has learned something important about youth sports.

Adults may lean toward turning children's games into an approximation of professional sports. But ask young players what they want, and the answer can be disarmingly simple. More than training to be a Super Bowl star, more than even winning, youngsters play sports for fun -- at least they do in Darien, Conn., Barston said.

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