It's All About the Kids!

MAHA's S.T.A.R. HOCKEY program is about shared values.  There is nothing new about them.  They are the same kinds of values and behavioral conduct your parents taught you...the same values you now teach your own children to live by.  They should not be thrown out the door at a hockey game, soccer game, or any other youth sporting event.

Youth sports are not a stepping stone to the pros.  The vast majority of kids will never make it that far and putting undue pressure on your children to play for all the wrong reasons is unfair and damaging.   

Remember, 70% of all kids in youth sports quit by the age of 13.

The kids are telling us something:

"Lay-off, kick back, and let me play for ME.  Let me play because it's fun and because, for most of us kids, it really is just a game... a stepping-stone on the road of life with lessons and memories I can cherish and remember long after I stop playing.

For the future of all youth sports, and the millions of kids who play, it's about time we listened.

Obnoxious Sports Parents: Guess Which Country Has the Worst?

New Survey Challenges Adults' Management of Youth Sports
By Doug Abrams

A new nationwide survey of 300 youth leaguers between the ages of 8 and 14 sends a disturbing message to parents and coaches who care about the place of organized sports in their children's lives.  Among other things, 31% of the youth leaguers said that they wish adults did not watch their games.  Eighty-four percent said that they have quit or considered quitting a team, and 47% said that they wanted to quit because they were not having fun.

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WHY KIDS QUIT PLAYING

Over 30 million kids age four to 14 are involved in organized sports in the United States.  Many of these kids are involved in low-pressure programs that don't discriminate by skill level, with the sole emphasis on fun.  However, according to research by the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports of Michigan State University, and others, more and more kids are actually dropping out of organized sports.  The figure is staggering - 70% by the time they are 13 years old.  Some of the reasons given:

  • Overzealous Coaches
  • Demanding Parents
  • Too Much Pressure to Win
  • Embarrassment Over Their Parents Behavior

It's obviously not "just a game" anymore to all these kids who are giving up on what should be one of the greatest parts of their young lives.

Kids are kids... they will make mistakes.  Even more importantly, the fun for them should be in playing, not winning.  We may have forgotten that most kids just want to have a good time, improve their game, and make new friends.  It's time for change.

KILL HIM! TAKE HIM OUT! HIT HIM HARD!

The words of a maniac?  Depends on how you look at it.  All these phrases and more have been screamed out at one time or another during a youth hockey game by parents of the young players.  On the surface, this type of behavior could be looked at as relatively harmless over-enthusiasm.  But the truth is much darker.

Fan aggression at youth hockey, soccer, baseball, and other youth sporting events is becoming a national epidemic.  What kind of messages are we sending our kids?  Recently a 42 year-old man was beaten to death by another parent during a game.  Again and again, coaches, officials, and even kids are the subject of verbal, and sometimes physical abuse by parents.