Noted sports surgeon warns against overuse and specialization.

[PurplePride92]

Because the kids are smart. Smarter then we give them credit for. They know to compete, or to keep a spot, they have to compete like the other kids do: summer ball and fall ball. They realize, I like this other sport better, and to keep my spot, I have to be there as much as everyone else.

 

I love that mentality. Even when 3 sport stars were common those stars were exceptional talents. In this day and age talent doesn't mean squat without hard work. Somebody out there is as talented as you and they are out working you also. Gotta put in the work. Kids know this and some apply the new rules of the game while others play Black Ops 2.

[Ram]

I see it differently. The kids that I see excelling in a particular sport are the ones I see putting in the necessary work to shine in that sport. My oldest went strictly to basketball in the 8th grade and didn't play AAU until right before his senior year by he was still working and practicing and playing. Just not at the AAU level. He got better every year. My youngest in the 8th grade now went to basketball exclusively in the 3rd. Played AAU for the first time this year which consisted of three weekend tournaments. He went to Centre camp with the freshman team and that was 3 weeks ago. Hasn't been in the gym since and Open Gyms start this week. Twice a week. Just the little but of work he did with his AAU team and he is already leaps and bounds better than he was in January and I am certain all of the kids he played with are as well. They all play for Boyle County also. The games they are in won't be ruined.

 

 

Kids quit baseball because unless you make a club team at an early age it is a waste of time and the kids figure that out quickly.

I'm just going on what I see. And, nothing is all inclusive, just what I've seen and been told by players. When asked why they quit baseball or basketball, they have basically all told me because they didn't want to play summer ball, fall ball, or AAU and they would lose their spot or the coaches would favor the players that played all year around. Some of them have not seemed mad about it, they just realized that they had to be there year around to be in contention for playing time.

 

Heck, my son used to play basketball. At 10, he played spring ball and summer ball. They asked him to play fall ball and he told the coach that that would interfere with football (which is the sport he loves). The coach told him if he wanted to play for him next year, he had to play fall ball. My son never wanted to play baseball again.

 

My son also played basketball. His sophomore year they wanted him to play summer ball during football camp. He told them he would be back after football camp. The coach said to play, he needed to play basketball in the summer. He never played basketball again.

 

Football is the only sport that no one has ever asked him to participate in during another sport. He's still playing football.

[NKYfootballfan91]

That's where the problem lies....with the AAU coach filling these kids heads with that Oscar Myers Baloney. You can't play for me if you don't play fall, summer, winter and spring. Is a joke. I had a summer league basketball coach try to tell my freshman QB not to lift with the football team over the summer. I told that player to have the coach call me personally so we could discuss it. Never got the call......now to combat AAU, high school basketball can go year round. It's obviously been a major problem at NCC.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Ram

[AlbertFT]

I am admittedly biased, but i can not stand AAU Basketball and Club Soccer. The greed that trickles through these organizations ruin kids and parents mentality of HS sports. HS sports are still where it's at, even though emphasis on AAU/Club sports have spiked. When i say greed, i mean that these coaches (and i dont want to forget volleyball, baseball, or swimming/diving) require endless amounts of time and money from parents and give very little in return. The popular term "exposure" or "showcase" is overused and parents buy in to this stuff. Parents feel if enough money is spent, scholarships will be naturally rewarded. IF a kid is good, they will get noticed. Every chance I get, I ask a HS athlete why they dont play other sports. The most common answer is, "My club coach won't let me" or "If I want to get a scholarship I have to play year round". This is a cycle of Oscar Myers Baloney being fed from AAU coaches (which most do not coach HS because HS doesnt pay as well and they are typically not teachers) to parents to kids...from worst to least worst; basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball. I know the article is about injuries, I thought i would just touch on the other aspect of it as well. I typically notice the injuries most often in soccer, baseball, and girls basketball specialists.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Ram

[Lawnboy13]

I am admittedly biased, but i can not stand AAU Basketball and Club Soccer. The greed that trickles through these organizations ruin kids and parents mentality of HS sports. HS sports are still where it's at, even though emphasis on AAU/Club sports have spiked. When i say greed, i mean that these coaches (and i dont want to forget volleyball, baseball, or swimming/diving) require endless amounts of time and money from parents and give very little in return. The popular term "exposure" or "showcase" is overused and parents buy in to this stuff. Parents feel if enough money is spent, scholarships will be naturally rewarded. IF a kid is good, they will get noticed. Every chance I get, I ask a HS athlete why they dont play other sports. The most common answer is, "My club coach won't let me" or "If I want to get a scholarship I have to play year round". This is a cycle of Oscar Mayer Bologna being fed from AAU coaches (which most do not coach HS because HS doesnt pay as well and they are typically not teachers) to parents to kids...from worst to least worst; basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball. I know the article is about injuries, I thought i would just touch on the other aspect of it as well. I typically notice the injuries most often in soccer, baseball, and girls basketball specialists.

 

:thumb: AGREE 1000%

Edited July 8, 2013 by PurplePride92

[PurplePride92]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I see where this thread is headed anyways.

[KYSportster]

Amen. Could not have said it better. It is generally not the school coaches that are ruining youth sports, it is all the AAU and club stuff that is brainwashing parents and kids that they must participate or lose out, which is just not true.

I am admittedly biased, but i can not stand AAU Basketball and Club Soccer. The greed that trickles through these organizations ruin kids and parents mentality of HS sports. HS sports are still where it's at, even though emphasis on AAU/Club sports have spiked. When i say greed, i mean that these coaches (and i dont want to forget volleyball, baseball, or swimming/diving) require endless amounts of time and money from parents and give very little in return. The popular term "exposure" or "showcase" is overused and parents buy in to this stuff. Parents feel if enough money is spent, scholarships will be naturally rewarded. IF a kid is good, they will get noticed. Every chance I get, I ask a HS athlete why they dont play other sports. The most common answer is, "My club coach won't let me" or "If I want to get a scholarship I have to play year round". This is a cycle of Oscar Myers Baloney being fed from AAU coaches (which most do not coach HS because HS doesnt pay as well and they are typically not teachers) to parents to kids...from worst to least worst; basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball. I know the article is about injuries, I thought i would just touch on the other aspect of it as well. I typically notice the injuries most often in soccer, baseball, and girls basketball specialists.

[Harry Doyle]

Youth baseball is pretty bad too. Some kids are playing over 100 games a year, as young as 9 or 10 years old. And some coaches are buying into the "you have to play year round" in order to compete. We are seeing less and less multi sport athletes, let alone multi sport stars.

 

Play them all kids. Play them all.

[Voice of Reason]

Ironic reading this thread today. Earlier in the day I wrote this post in another thread:

 

Play everything you can as long as you can. I know a number of area high school athletes who made all star teams, some of whom that are playing at the college level, that will tell you their biggest regret from high school - quitting a sport to focus on another one.

 

1. Playing high school sports is a once in a lifetime experience that creates memories and friendships that often last a lifetime.

 

2. Sometimes that sport you love the most in high school is not the sport you are best at and have the best chance to play at the next level.

 

The sport that I would never make my only sport - basketball. This is the toughest sport to move on to college in IMO.

 

The sport more people should be playing - football. It will raise your all around strength and athleticism more than any other sport.

[hoops5]

And I say "Thank you, Club soccer and AAU basketball."

High school sports are not always where it's at. With the current school transfer rules, where many kids can transfer to the school with the better teams with no questions asked while others would have to sit out a year, the club sports and AAU gives kids a chance to compete on a stacked team. It gives them a chance to really taste success at the sport that they love, especially if the school program is lacking talent.

[Harry Doyle]

^^Love it VOR.

 

Tell ya another reason more kids should be playing football.

 

Basketball- 5 starting positions. Played worldwide.

Baseball- 9 starting positions. Played worldwide and starting to be more and more dominates by Hispanics in North, Central and South America. To be fair, pitching staffs have several more to add to a days roster.

Football- 22 starting positions (25 if you count kicker, punter and long snapper) and played only in America. Yes, I know some leagues in Europe are starting, but Europe is too fixated on soccer for football to ever go big in our lifetime across the pond.

Soccer- is it 9? Played worldwide. THE worlds sport except for here in the USA.

 

Not only does football play more kids and only played in America, but go check out the scholarship allotments for football when compared to other sports across the board, at every NCAA level.

 

It kills me to hear these under 6'0 kids who just focus on basketball, especially 6' and under white kids...they must be watching a different ESPN than I do during the winter.

 

If anybody wants to enlighten themselves, go check out the football and basketball rosters of our in state schools, from UK to Kentucky Christian, and look at the number of 6'0 and under kids on the roster.

 

Another thing that burns me up is hearing parents say that their boy can't play football bc he is "too little", yet he plays basketball..they must have a different ESPN than me, too.

 

With all of that said, this is coming from a former 3 sporter (played 4 one year), who loves basketball ALMOST as much as football.

[AlbertFT]

And I say "Thank you, Club soccer and AAU basketball."

High school sports are not always where it's at. With the current school transfer rules, where many kids can transfer to the school with the better teams with no questions asked while others would have to sit out a year, the club sports and AAU gives kids a chance to compete on a stacked team. It gives them a chance to really taste success at the sport that they love, especially if the school program is lacking talent.

 

You're reason for thanking AAU sports has to do with transfers? AAU allows a kid to play on stacked teams?? From who's perspective? I have seen plenty of kids play on stacked teams...against non-quality competition. Here is what AAU does: they invite the best and charge a fair amount of money and put them in League "A" where they have an oportunity to travel and be seen. Then they take everyone else (99% of basketball/volleyball/soccer in KY) and "stack" teams in League B-Z. They are paying more money and for less "exposure". Let me tell you something, coaches aren't watching B-Z and they are probably also getting inferior coaching. BTW, I have heard that word "exposure" to the point where I think Transylania or Union College are the only schools there.

[hoops5]

Edit

Edited July 8, 2013 by hoops5

[hoops5]

You're reason for thanking AAU sports has to do with transfers? AAU allows a kid to play on stacked teams?? From who's perspective? I have seen plenty of kids play on stacked teams...against non-quality competition. Here is what AAU does: they invite the best and charge a fair amount of money and put them in League "A" where they have an oportunity to travel and be seen. Then they take everyone else (99% of basketball/volleyball/soccer in KY) and "stack" teams in League B-Z. They are paying more money and for less "exposure". Let me tell you something, coaches aren't watching B-Z and they are probably also getting inferior coaching. BTW, I have heard that word "exposure" to the point where I think Transylania or Union College are the only schools there.

I do not believe the word "exposure" was written once in my post. If you find it, let me know.

I'm not talking about colleges and recruitment, either. Not planning on that.

 

High school sports is only for 4 years. Only a handful go to state, or even get into the regionals. It's typically the same predictable handful of high school teams.

If your kid loves to play the sport, and also wants opportunities to enjoy some team success that may not happen throughout the school year, (and you are not able to transfer your kid to a school with a better team), what's wrong with appreciating the opportunity to play AAU and club sports?

 

Most kids that I know like to win games. If it's not happening so much on the school team, what's wrong with searching for a "stacked" AAU or club team that lets them enjoy some winning moments?

 

4 years of high school sports, whether school ball or AAU/club. Then it's all over. What's wrong with being grateful for some organizations that let your kid do what they love?

[PurplePride92]

I do not believe the word "exposure" was written once in my post. If you find it, let me know.

I'm not talking about colleges and recruitment, either. Not planning on that.

 

High school sports is only for 4 years. Only a handful go to state, or even get into the regionals. It's typically the same predictable handful of high school teams.

If your kid loves to play the sport, and also wants opportunities to enjoy some team success that may not happen throughout the school year, (and you are not able to transfer your kid to a school with a better team), what's wrong with appreciating the opportunity to play AAU and club sports?

 

Most kids that I know like to win games. If it's not happening so much on the school team, what's wrong with searching for a "stacked" AAU or club team that lets them enjoy some winning moments?

 

4 years of high school sports, whether school ball or AAU/club. Then it's all over. What's wrong with being grateful for some organizations that let your kid do what they love?

 

 

Because. Can't you tell what's going on here? Football is king. Everything else is bad and how dare these other sports take away kids that we can use on the football field? How dare these kids not enjoy getting hit everyday in practice from August to December(if their team is good). Shame on the kids who just want to play one sport and it's all the basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball coaches faults who are honest with the kids from jump. It's all AAU and travel teams spots for offering kids an opportunity to get better. Yeah, even James Andrews says the kids should be playing football and not specializing in one thing because the kids will get hurt. James Andrews is the world's most prestigious surgeon and everything he says is right. Play all sports kids. Don't listen to your coach. Don't play AAU. Play football. Come to the gridiron kids!!!!!

 

 

That's what is happening in this thread and it's the same thing they say the other sports are doing. It's just by their rules in here.