CONCLUSION:

If sports are a must, what is appropriate for preschoolers? Most sports for children or preschoolers are just miniature versions of an adult game. Preschool sports should focus on gross-motor skills, taking turns, sharing, playing cooperatively with others, and physical activity.       Goals for preschool participation in organized sports should be considered. Goals like fun, success, variety of movement, family participation*, enthusiastic and educated coaches. *Check out the basketball camp at the University of Tulsa.  I applaud Coach Manning for encouraging parental involvement.

http://www.tulsahurricane.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062212aaa.html.

Preschoolers need to be able to participate in many activities so they can develop a wide range of movement, motion, and skills. This also allows for the child to find the sport or activity he can accomplish with success and develop confidence. Many communities, youth organizations, and even some private for-profit organizations offer organized sports for preschoolers. Parents should be well-educated and informed of the organization and the programs they offer. The activity or sport should have an emphasis on the development of gross motor skills of preschoolers and not the rules and regulations of the sport itself. Those will come in due time. Avoid highly competitive programs.

Remember,  it is, also, important for kids to have fun and enjoy physical activity so they will stay active and therefore fit for life. Let the preschooler help decide what activity in which he can participate. Only offer sports or activities that fit his developmental stage for his age group, but more importantly his personal development. Being fit can help with health issues like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

The practice sessions, games or events should be a reasonable time frame for the developmental level of the preschoolers. Preschoolers do have short attention spans and are easily distracted. The sessions should include playfulness, fun, a variety of gross motor skills, and minimal distractions. Preschoolers are concrete and visual learners. Rather than lecture to preschoolers about the benefit or skills of the activity, show them. Again, preschoolers like to mimic adults. Keep the session short, especially the instruction time. Allow plenty of time for free play.

Organized sports should not replace regular physical activity. Physical activity should be encouraged whether the child is enrolled in organized sports or not. To expound on a quote from most high school athletic programs, “players play, coaches coach, officials officiate, and spectators spectate”; parents parent, coaches coach, teachers teach, and preschoolers PLAY.

And that is my 2 Cents Worth.

Hmmmm. . . wonder what topic will come next? Wedding planning, engagement parties, church camp, redecorating, bovine birth? Stay tuned.

I hesitate to post part 6. This is under the category of “ugly”,  but meant in a healthy critique sort of way. This is directed at the adults in the lives of preschoolers. As a parent, we are all guilty of trying to live vicariously through our children. Remember your childhood and and using your imagination, playing outside with friends, getting dirty, never knowing the words “hand sanitizer”, playing on what now is deemed ‘unsafe’ playground equipment, and many other fond childhood memories. Let’s live vicariously through our kids in these kinds of activities. A family that plays together and stays fit together, is a loving and healthy family.

Being a good parent is tough.  Most parents only want what is best for their children which may include success in the sporting arena. “Upwardly mobile parents wanted their preadolescent kids to be better than average in all things, so they tried to provide them with professionally run activities that would enrich their minds, tone their bodies, inculcate physical skills, and enhance their self-esteem”(Chudacoff, 2007, p. 165). Part of being a good parent is to be educated but to also use common sense. Ultimately it is a parent’s decision as to involve their preschooler in organized sports. The best way to make that decision is to be well-educated in all aspects from the perspective of the child to the sports programs in which to enroll the preschool child. “Contemporary hype-parenting is a true product of our times manufactured in a high-tech environment, according to a set of stratospherically high expectations” (Rosenfield, M.D. & Wise, 2000, p. 25).

Parents should be careful if they choose to coach their children. Parents should also be careful if they choose to be a spectator.  Parents can and should be involved in their children’s lives. Parental or adult supervision of children’s activity is usually considered to be desirable. However, in organized sports, inappropriate or overzealous parental or adult influences can have negative effects.Parents can be the coach of their child’s team, but should not coach their child from the sidelines. Parents should encourage the preschool child carefully. “Dribble faster”, “jump higher”, and even “catch it, catch it, catch it” can have negative effects. Even these basic phrases of coaching/encouragement can be discouraging to children. These phrases suggest failure and disappointment to the child if these simple words of encouragement are not met with the desired outcome. Phrases like “way to go”, “go, go, go”, and “you look good”.  (Preschoolers are proud to wear a uniform and appreciate being noticed.) The code of conduct for athletics at a local high school states (and most high school athletic programs); “players play, coaches coach, officials officiate, and spectators spectate” (Branson, 2010-2011).

Parents should encourage their children in sports. “Confident children will do better in sports. …If you push your child too much or do not give enough encouragement, your child will not feel confident” (Small, M.D., 2002, p. 217).   The hardest part of watching your child in sports is the comparison factor. Children develop at different rates. They all go through the stages of development just not at the same rate. A parent should not challenge their child beyond their abilities and therefore having the child left with a negative experience. The only person who knows a child and his/her stages of development is the parent not another adult who is the coach.

Coaches of most organized sports are well-meaning volunteers. However, they do not know each individual child’s progress or development stage. Some may not even understand preschool or child development. Eyewitness accounts by this author have seen many coaches tell   preschoolers “everybody else can dribble, so come on you can too”. What seems to be words of encouragement from the coach is actually demeaning and defeating for the child.

Adults, parents and coaches, can put too high of expectations on a child and there can be too many demands. Adult involvement for spontaneous and unstructured play can be participatory, but also as monitors for safety, crowd and behavior control. Kids know how to play games and if they don’t they will make it up as they go along. This is part of their learning process and development. With the arrival of organized sports for preschoolers went the way of preschool free play. Preschoolers play games for fun and pleasure. However; learning is taking place, also.  “For some time, researchers have been examining provocative links between brain functioning and the positive effects of physical activity. Regular exercise increases the blood supply to the brain, thus giving it a greater oxygen and energy supply—for better mental abilities” (Healy, Ph.D., 1998, p. 121). Preschoolers learn in several ways:

1.              Senses
2.             Curiosity
3.             “Hands-on” Experience
4.             Satisfaction
5.             Relationships
6.             Imitation
7.             Play
8.             Repetition (Sanders & Bradberry, 2009)

These ways to learn can be done at home or at a play dates through free play and bonding time with parents, siblings, and friends. Preschoolers need to know how to enjoy free play.

Branson  R-IV Schools (2010-2011). Branson High School Athletic Policy Manual. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.branson.k12.mo.us

Chudacoff, H. P. (2007). Children At Play-An American History. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Healy, J. M., Ph.D. (1998). Failure to Connect. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Rosenfield, A., M.D., & Wise, N. (2000). The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Sanders, T., & Bradberry, M. (2009). Teaching Presschoolers: First Steps Toward Faith. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press.

Small, E., M.D. (2002). Kids & Sports. New York, NY: Newmarket Press.

The Bad:

There are many myths and misconceptions out there about why preschoolers should participate in organized sports. These myths and misconceptions can pressure parents into preschool involvement in organized sports.  Preschool developmental stages show they are not ready. There is also the consideration of physical injuries and safety concerns.  

Myth 1: Introducing a preschooler to organized sports will help him secure a starting position on varsity in high school and get a college scholarship. Does it guarantee success in sports later in life? Less than 1% will become a professional athlete. Less than 5% will become a collegiate athlete (National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA], n.d.).

Myth 2: Preschoolers need social interaction offered by organized sports. Another factor of organized sports is the social benefit. Team sports encourage socialization. Preschoolers meet other preschoolers and preschoolers need to develop their social skills at this stage. However, there are other ways for preschoolers to have social interaction.

Play dates organized through an organization or organized by parents are a good way to encourage and develop social skills in your preschooler.   Organized outdoor play dates for preschoolers would be more beneficial. Children get the benefit of the social aspect which is argued on behalf of organized sports.

Myth 3: Structure. This is the basis for discipline in organized sports later. A time and place for a play date can encourage discipline.

Myth 4: Children get the benefit of physical activity. Preschoolers need at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity. In organized sports you do not always see children getting 60 minutes of physical activity. In baseball or t-ball preschoolers may never get a chance to run. Depending on the amount of playing time, preschoolers may only participate in basketball or soccer for a few minutes. The best coach to assure the preschooler gets adequate physical exercise is the parent.

Myth 5: Plays well with others. Preschoolers do need to learn to play well with others and to take turns. Where it is true that most organized sports require taking turns, the games are too long to keep their attention. Preschoolers cannot continually remember during an hour-long sporting event when it is their turn to hit or kick.

The demands and expectations of organized sports can exceed the maturation and readiness of the participant. Preschoolers are ready for some basic rules of games and competition, but not the adult version. Most sports for preschoolers, even those with modified guidelines and rules, are still more than a preschooler can handle. Age five is when most preschoolers can play simple games and follow the rules. “By the end of the preschool years; children have fairly good control of their bodies and an excellent command of their language” (Ratcliff, 1988, p. 52). Preschoolers just want to run, jump, and skip. They can do accomplish these activities anywhere. Think of times when children want to play hide-n-seek while a parent is shopping at a department store.

The demands of the schedule for practices and games can be difficult for preschoolers. Some games may be scheduled for an eight o’clock start time. Some tournaments may have kids scheduled to play all day on Saturday. Preschoolers need rest and families need quality time. Time spent at a sporting event is not time spent together. Being in the same general location does not count.

Preschoolers can get stressed just like adults. “Rushed lifestyles, pressure to do well in school, too many “lessons,” organized competitive sports and scheduled activities add their share of stress” (Healy, Ph.D., 1998, p. 121). When they are rushed from activity to activity they struggle to adjust to the transition. They need their downtime, just like adults. This is part of the maturation process. Even parents get stressed going from activity to activity.

Sources:

Healy, J. M., Ph.D. (1998). Failure to Connect. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Ratcliff, D. (1988). Handbook of Preschool Religious Education. Birmingham AL: Religious Education Press, Inc.

National Collegiate Athletic Association. (n.d.). Estimated Probability of Competing in Athletics Beyond the High School Interscholastic Level. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/issues/recruiting/probability+of+going+pro

Get ready to see the UGLY next time.

The Good:

There is benefit to preschoolers participating in organized sports. Preschoolers need to exercise and play experienced in organized sports. The statistics for obesity in our country is alarming. “In the past twenty years, obesity among children age six to eight has increased 54 percent (Small, M.D., 2002, p. 78)! These six to eight-year olds didn’t just wake up one morning and were obese. This trend began earlier in the preschool years. Laying the foundation for all aspects of life; physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual begins at birth and even before. “Since many physical changes are occurring and important attitudes developing during the preschool years, it is important for parents and teachers to provide an environment in which positive health concepts are practiced” (Ratcliff, 1988, p. 31.)

The benefits of organized sports for preschoolers are the focus on gross-motor skills, taking turns, sharing, playing cooperatively with others, and physical activity. Organized sports can also offer the proper equipment, rules for safety, and sometimes coaches who offer encouragement some children may not receive elsewhere. It is, also, important for kids to have fun and enjoy physical activity so they will stay active and therefore fit for life.

(National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2009)

National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2009). Active Start: A Statement of Physical Activity       Guidelines for Children From Birth to Age 5. Retrieved from http://www.aahperd.org/naspe: http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/standards/nationalGuidelines/ActiveStart.cfm

Ratcliff, D. (1988). Handbook of Preschool Religiuos Education. Birmingham AL: Religious Education Press, Inc.

Small, E., M.D. (2002). Kids & Sports. New York, NY: Newmarket Press. 

The next post will look at active alternatives to organized sports.