A question of propriety? Should HS coaches be allowed to run travel programs for their players?
Rarely has a topic generated more comments on my show than this one – and understandably so. In short, as travel teams inexorably begin to dominate the HS landscape, more and more HS varsity coaches are beginning to see a potential payday by running their own travel programs for their players in the off-season. The … Read more
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 … Read more
How Pressure to Win Can Tempt Youth Coaches to Create Benchwarmers – and How Coaches Can Resist the Temptation
By Doug Abrams Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo says that politicians campaign in poetry but govern in prose. His point is that inspiring words may come easy on the stump because words alone carry no immediate consequences. But realism controls once newly elected officeholders must make decisions that actually affect people’s lives. When youth-league … Read more
What Youth League Coaches Don’t Know – And What Coaches and Parents Can Do About It
By Doug Abrams When I was president of mid-Missouri’s youth hockey program about ten years ago, a visibly upset parent called me aside one night to say that her son was being bullied by a couple of teammates, both at the home rink and on road trips. Nothing physical, but teasing had continued for a … Read more
Why Youth Leagues Should Encourage Older Players to Help Coach Younger Teams – and How to Do It
By Doug Abrams When I tell friends that I began coaching in 1967, they usually guess that I am a bit older than I really am. That year, I coached a Little League baseball team in the Central Nassau Athletic Association in East Meadow, Long Island. The following year, I also coached a youth hockey … Read more
Why A Teen Should Serve on The Youth League’s Board of Directors
By Doug Abrams In the spring of 1968, I was finishing my junior year at W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, and I was also nearing the end of my Little League playing days with the Central Nassau Athletic Association. I had umpired CNAA games in the lower age divisions for three years, and … Read more
The “Lunacy Tax”
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column discussed how adults’ abuse of officials can endanger player safety, particularly in collision and contact sports. In youth leagues and high school programs alike, abuse dished out by parents and coaches leads officials to quit in droves, leaving some games to less seasoned replacements who might not yet be … Read more
Should Youth Leaguers Receive Trophies for Participation?
By Doug Abrams A few years ago, a midwestern editorial writer criticized “the silly philosophy in youth sports that believes everyone deserves a trophy, no matter what their performance.” The writer belittled the trophies-for-all mentality for building “artificial self-esteem.” (Doug Harris, “Why Punish a Kid For the Crime of Being Too Good?,” Dayton (Ohio) News, … Read more
The Strange Case of Jorge Posada and Joe Girardi…
You don’t have to be a Yankees fan to become intrigued by the awkward situation that has engrossed the Bronx Bombers. Basically, Jorge Posada, who has enjoyed a wonderful career with the Yanks, finds himself starting this season as the team’s official DH. Even worse, he’s off to a slow start. So, the other day, … Read more
"The Sports Edge"
Rick Wolff
Steve Kallas
Doug Abrams
