"Marathon not Sprint"
According to a poll from the National Alliance for Youth Sports, around 70 percent of kids in the United States stop playing organized sports by the age of 13 because “it’s just not fun anymore.”
It’s not fun anymore because it’s not designed to be. As children get closer to high school, the system of youth sports is geared toward meeting the needs of more competitive players, and the expectations placed on them increase.
Our culture no longer supports older kids playing for the fun of it. The pressure to raise “successful” kids means that we expect them to be the best. If they’re not, they’re encouraged to cut their losses and focus on areas where they can excel.
There is a clear push for kids to specialize and achieve at the highest possible level. Increasingly kids are pressured to “find their passion” and excel in that area (be it music, arts, sports, etc.).
There is a cost to be competitive and not everyone is willing or able to pay it.
And, of course, it’s just the age. At 13, kids generally find themselves with more (and more challenging) school work.
We often jump ahead of ourselves as parents in a passionate effort to help our children by pushing them to the point that it is no longer fun. One thing I have learned these last few years coaching "Softball" most girls are playing for their Dad or Mom. They are doing it to make you the parent proud, simply looking for your recognition. The fact is a very minute number will go on to play College.
What are the chances of a high school athlete making the transition to the college level? We compared the number of athletes participating in varsity sports at US high schools during the 2016-17 school year to the number of college student athletes. Overall a little over 7% of high school athletes (about 1 in 14) went on to play a varsity sport in college and less than 2% of high school athletes (1 in 54) went on to play at NCAA Division I schools. The largest percentage of both male and female college athletes competed at NCAA Division III schools.
NCAA Softball Study:
367,405 HS Participants ,19999 NCAA Participants, overall percentage that made the transition from HS - College was 5.4% that was the overall percentage broken down by divisions: D1 - 1.7%, D2 - 1.6%, D3 - 2.1%.
Please understand the likelihood of your child playing College Ball is a statistically proven long shot. What happens when she/he says "I do not want to play anymore"? A question once asked at a coaching seminar we attended last year, followed up with outside of softball what kind of relationship do you have with your daughter? Domingo Ayala says it best... "No your kid is not getting recruited, he is 9 years old". The fact is 70% of these kids will drop out of youth sports by the age of 13 because of the pressures and expectations accompanied by often us the parents. My hope as a "Parent Coach" is that she does not fall out of love before High School ball rolls around. You will often hear me say "it's a marathon not a sprint", let the intimate relationship between player and sport develop and the rest will take care of itself.
#1 It embodies endurance and steady, burning passion—the qualities of great and everlasting love.
A few tips on how can you make Softball practice fun at any age...
Define fun:
[f?n]
NOUN
- enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure.