The 12 year old today is not the 12 year old of 30 years ago. 30 years ago we played every sport offered because there were seasons. Football started in July and ended in November or December. Last year, my son started football lifting 2 weeks after the season ended so he had 6 weeks last year away from football. Now with sports being year around, that 12 year old has to make decisions like what is the best way to get a college scholarship. They are under a lot of pressure from the coaching staff as well. An acquaintance, whose daughter attended a small private school, told me that her volleyball coach gave her an ultimatum, volleyball or fast-pitch softball. She retired from softball in the 8th grade.

 

The coach who gave the ultimatum cares about herself more than she cares about her players.

GCHS and Voice of Reason have valid points that I agree with wholeheartedly. However, this is the system we have in place. Take youth baseball for example. You start off in the spring and play all summer. Then you add in new leagues like a wooden bat league that starts at the same time football begins. Then you have an indoor league. Add in that some play in multiple leagues at the same time. Throw in travel ball and kids play over 100 games a year. 13-14 olds are now getting Tommy John surgery because it helps their pitching. Soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball do the same thing. It is not right but it is reality.

 

The 12 year old may not be thinking scholarships but the parents are. My 4.2 gpa daughter with get the scholarships. But what if you have a 3.0., some money but not enough. Parents looking at $10,000+ a year. The parents want athletic scholarships and will push their kids into the sport that best suits their needs and will not waste time on ones that won't. We will spend big money on camps and equipment to make our children standout to coaches and scouts. Reality

GCHS and Voice of Reason have valid points that I agree with wholeheartedly. However, this is the system we have in place. Take youth baseball for example. You start off in the spring and play all summer. Then you add in new leagues like a wooden bat league that starts at the same time football begins. Then you have an indoor league. Add in that some play in multiple leagues at the same time. Throw in travel ball and kids play over 100 games a year. 13-14 olds are now getting Tommy John surgery because it helps their pitching. Soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball do the same thing. It is not right but it is reality.

 

The 12 year old may not be thinking scholarships but the parents are. My 4.2 gpa daughter with get the scholarships. But what if you have a 3.0., some money but not enough. Parents looking at $10,000+ a year. The parents want athletic scholarships and will push their kids into the sport that best suits their needs and will not waste time on ones that won't. We will spend big money on camps and equipment to make our children standout to coaches and scouts. Reality

 

The problem is, most of the money is not well spent, and in the long run, had you saved and invested, you probably would have had enough money to pay for college. That couple grand a year (or more) adds up pretty quick, and if you can spend big money on sports, why can't you spend it on college?? Completely illogical thinking.

I don't think a kid has to narrow down what sports he or she wants to play in HS. My son was a good HS football player D1 full ride schorlship. He also was a key member of the basketball team. The basketball coach new he had to wait until football was over to join the team. He had to miss much of the basketball off season workouts pick up games.

Some high schools are also handcuffed by the fact that one middle school is split between 2 high schools. Happens all the time in larger systems. Also some high schools who are spread have middle school coaches who believe they can't run a spread in middle school, these 2 scenarios make it a hindrance.

Great point, I coached at the senior level of NKYFL for a number of years and then switched to MS, people at the NKYFL program I coached at were appalled at the lack of live hitting we did on a regular basis. We did have some live drills, but footwork and fundamentals were first and foremost in our teaching...live drills, or inter squad scrimmages only accounted for about 5% of our practice time. Folks weren't too appalled after we started winning. As you said you don't have to beat the kids down to be a physically dominant team.

To answer an earlier question,

most of the upcoming class of Ryle seniors were members of the inaugural group of Union Raiders.

I think the chemistry that exists among these players and the camaraderie that is bred through the program is invaluable. These kids are now playing together as Raiders as early as second grade.

Union also has a minimum playing time requirement for most of its teams to ensure that players are developed and enjoy some reward for the time they put in. Obviously I think middle school football is a huge benefit

There's no question for me that middle school benefits the high school program. Youth league > Middle school > High school > College > Professional. The phases of the game. If you take one of those links out, you're screwed.

 

I only say that to say this. I had a good friend who played youth league and was an absolute stud at that level back in the day. He did not play at the middle school level because he wanted to take a break from the game. During those 1-2 years, he didn't mature as much as the rest. We were all lifting and working out at that time while he was dedicated to baseball and video games. He then tried coming out as a freshman and was so far behind, both mentally and physically that he couldn't catch up. He never made it through the first year back.

 

There are high schools where I've personally heard coaches downplay the emphasis of their own feeder and 3-4 years later, it has shown. On the flip-side of that, I've seen youth leagues being taken more seriously and it has paid huge dividends in that area. Heck, I went to a middle school game about 2 or 3 years ago in a connecting county and I would have thrown down money that our 6th grade team would have beaten that 8th grade team. That day showed me how much the emphasis on youth programs helps get some kids miles ahead.

GCHS and Voice of Reason have valid points that I agree with wholeheartedly. However, this is the system we have in place. Take youth baseball for example. You start off in the spring and play all summer. Then you add in new leagues like a wooden bat league that starts at the same time football begins. Then you have an indoor league. Add in that some play in multiple leagues at the same time. Throw in travel ball and kids play over 100 games a year. 13-14 olds are now getting Tommy John surgery because it helps their pitching. Soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball do the same thing. It is not right but it is reality.

 

The 12 year old may not be thinking scholarships but the parents are. My 4.2 gpa daughter with get the scholarships. But what if you have a 3.0., some money but not enough. Parents looking at $10,000+ a year. The parents want athletic scholarships and will push their kids into the sport that best suits their needs and will not waste time on ones that won't. We will spend big money on camps and equipment to make our children standout to coaches and scouts. Reality

 

We absolutely MUST destroy this specialization = scholarship myth. It just isn't true. Athletes who specialize have roughly the same chance of getting a scholarship as those who don't. In fact, studies show that specialists may actually be LESS likely to get those scholarships. Specialization does harm athletes in several ways...

 

1) It increases injuries... Whereas multi-sport athletes will use several different muscle groups in the pursuit of different sports, one-sport athletes use the same muscles/mechanics - often, year round. The American Academy of Pediatrics has published studies showing that this results in the dramatic increase of overuse injuries.

2) It is driving an economic wedge between kids. With the proliferation of travel teams, club teams, and the like, your ability to pursue specialized sports is driven by the economic status of the athletes' parents. This is especially marked in baseball. If you pay ANY attention at all the MLB, you have seen the dramatic decrease over the last generation of black Americans playing baseball... This coincides with the rise of the "year-round" baseball teams over the last 15-20 years.

3) While I don't have any statistics to back this up, I BELIEVE that focus on specialization, and the chasing of unlikely scholarships, breeds a self-focus in the parent and athlete. Participation in sports becomes about big ME, little team, rather than big TEAM, little me.

 

Sorry to go off-topic in my own thread. lol