Achieving Equal Opportunity in Youth Sports (Part II) – The “Child Impact Statement”
This column is in three parts. Last week, Part I discussed the “power of the permit,” the recognized authority of government agencies to manage public property. Part II now discusses how two agencies — the school district and the parks and recreation department — may exercise this power to allocate fields, gymnasiums … Continue reading
Is this HS pass receiving record meaningful? Or meaningless?
In this day and age where everybody is eager to get the rest of the world to stand out and pay attention to one’s accomplishments, what do we do with this case from Indiana where a HS wide receiver set a national schoolboy record with a whopping 437 yards in one game. I mean, at … Continue reading
Achieving Equal Opportunity in Youth Sports (Part I) – The “Power of the Permit”
By Doug Abrams About 35 million boys and girls — nearly half the nation’s children — play each year in at least one organized sports program conducted by a private association, or by a public agency such as the parks and recreation department. Some of these youngsters play on travel or select teams, and others … Continue reading
Forcing HS athletes to choose between travel teams and varsity teams….why?
So, you’re a talented HS soccer player – so good, in fact, that you’ve been playing for the elite US Soccer Academy Development team in your region. It’s a premier team that allows a soccer player to compete against other elite players, all of whom are in the hunt for a college scholarship, or even … Continue reading
What If Your Son or Daughter Doesn’t Want to Play Organized Sports Any More?
By Doug Abrams About ten years ago, the parents of one of my 10-year-old hockey players asked to talk with me after practice one night. Their son was a beginner and not one of the most talented players on the team, but he was everything a youth leaguer should be — a polite kid who … Continue reading
A Moment to Reflect on 9/11…the Mike Weinberg story
I never actually met Mike Weinberg. But back in the late 1980s, Mike was a slugging outfielder for St. John’s University. I recall him vividly, because in 1987, I was serving as the color commentator on the Madison Square Garden Network’s coverage of Big East Baseball, and Weinberg was one of those players who stood … Continue reading
How “Blind Drafts” Produce Balanced House Leagues, and Why Balance is Important
By Doug Abrams Youth sports associations that enroll all interested players resemble a pyramid. At any age group, the strongest parts of the pyramid — the base and the middle — typically feature house leagues whose teams play intramural schedules, and perhaps “B” or “C” travel teams that compete against similarly ranked teams from other … Continue reading
New Anti-Bullying Law in New Jersey Puts Greater Pressure on Coaches, Athletic Directors
On September 1st, the nation’s toughest anti-bullying law went into effect in the state of New Jersey. In short, coaches, teachers, and administrators in all public schools in New Jersey are now legally bound to not only report any bullying incident they see in school, but they are also obligated to make sure that all … Continue reading
Who Owns Youth Sports? (Part III) What Two Innovators Can Teach Parents and Coaches
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column urged adults in conventional youth-sports associations to combine the best of pre-1970s sandlot play with the best of today’s organized play. The focus was on individual coaches. “In today’s organized programs,” I wrote, “thoughtful youth-league coaches can combine the fun, spontaneity and individual autonomy of sandlot play with the … Continue reading
Doug Abrams
Rick Wolff
Steve Kallas
Ask Coach Wolff 