Yogi Berra, the Yankees Hall of Fame catcher, is well known for missteps — probably purposeful for effect — in interviews; “90 percent of baseball is 50 percent mental,” comes to mind.
In his book “You Can Observe a Lot by Watching” he comes across with some philosophical jewels that parents of kids involved in sports should give more than cursory attention.
Here are a few:
“This is a blame culture. In youth sports especially. You hear parents and kids complain about umpires and teammates all the time. That stinks because it gives kids excuses. Teaches them it’s always someone else’s fault. When a 9-year-old kid says, ‘We lost because the refs blew it,’ that should tell you something. It tells you the kid probably echoed what he heard from an adult. Kids are sponges, they absorb.”
“Today a 10-year-old kid playing sports has probably had a half dozen coaches already. I’m sure they count winning as the big thing and don’t count so much on learning, improving and enjoying. If I could tell one thing to all the adults involved with these 40 million kids who play organized sports today, I’d remind them that youth sports are for youths, not you. Let them have fun and enjoy their participation. As a parent or coach, don’t let emotions get hold of you. You want kids to care about playing right and enjoying themselves, not dwelling on winning or losing. Praise and encourage them without being a sideline loudmouth.”
“In youth sports, my feeling is everyone’s got to play. When I see kids’ games, I see kids being kids. Some are better than the others. Some might not even be very good. That’s OK. Let ’em play. What’s the purpose of having kids play sports when you don’t let them play? It shouldn’t be the end of Western civilization if some less skilled 12-year-old kid messes up in a game.”
“Seeing my grandkids play organized youth sports, I’m amazed what’s happened. It’s not kid’s play anymore. It’s more like professional leagues in miniature. Everything’s so structured, with all these travel teams, year-round practices, weight training sessions, recruiting, personal coaches — I mean, six-year-olds getting private baseball lessons? People come up to me and say, ‘My son’s 9 and has a good arm, what does he have to work on?’ I look at them like they’re nuts. I remind them the kid is 9 years old. He need to work on being 10. Jeesh, let him be a kid.”
Those excerpts say what I’ve thought for years.
We need to let kids be kids, and not rush them into the adult world. They’re going to be there soon enough.
Berra: ‘Youth sports for youths’
