In the last five years in the United States, a similar emphasis on winning, and the organization of sports tournaments involving younger and younger children resulted in an alarming number of children who drop out of sports before the age of 12. True enough, there have been many documented cases of parents berating league and team officials, and even punishing their children for poor performance on the playing field. The attitude of "winning at all costs" turned hundreds of thousand of children off sports each year, and the trend still continues.
According to Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, children participating in organized sports tend to achieve higher results in school, develop excellent interpersonal skills and lead healthier lives. But, given an environment where they are treated like little adults and expected to perform and fulfill their parent’, coaches’ or schools’ expectations, this does not happen. This observation was also reinforced by the experience of many American gymnasts, baseball players, soccer players, and athletes from many other fields, such as baseball legend Cal Ripken and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, who are national spokespersons for organizations fighting for the rights of children in sports.
In 1998, this was the basis for the creation of Positive Coaching Alliance, a national non-profit organization based at Stanford University. PCA agrees that winning is indeed a goal in youth sports but that there is a second, more important goal of using sports to teach life lessons through positive coaching. PCA is transforming the culture of youth sports so that every youth athlete can have a positive, character-building experience. PCA stresses that, when adults involved with young athletes „play their appropriate roles, youth sports becomes a beautiful experience, in which young athletes "learn lessons that will last a lifetime."
To achieve that, PCA has conducted thousand of workshops all over America for over 200,000 youth sports leaders and coaches, and has formed links with over 400 youth organizations in the US.
"Whether affecting team sports or individual, urban or rural, boys or girls, these coaches and organizations are producing an outstanding youth sports culture," said PCA’s founder and executive director Jim Thompson at their annual awards night held March 24 at Stanford. "Although we gather to honor them, they honor all of us with their efforts every day."
PCA has received the support of elite coaches and athletes in and out of the US. Its National Advisory Board is made of impressive personages from the business, sports and education sectors. The PCA National Advisory Board includes New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown, former senator and New York Knick Bill Bradley, NFL Hall of Fame member Ronnie Lott, Olympic swimming gold medallist Summer Sanders, retired University of North Carolina men’s basketball coach Dean Smith, Cy Young awardee Barry Zito of the Oakland A’s, and Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards.
Year-round, PCA upgrades coaching, as well, molding mentors into what they call "Double-Goal Coaches," coaches who not only want to win, but use the games they teach to reinforce important lessons that can be used in life. They’re also exposed to the most up-to-date, research-based strategies, tools and techniques in sports psychology and positive coaching. In fact, in competitions supported by PCA, parents are even enjoined to enter into agreements with tournament organizers. They agree not to be abusive, or use foul language, or else are not allowed to watch the games. After all, their motto is "Transforming youth sports so that sports can transform youth."
At their aforementioned 2006 awards night, presenters included Olympic gold medallists, Jennifer Azzi, Ruthie Bolton, Joy Fawcett, Anne Cribbs and John Naber; and Stanford director of tennis Dick Gould, and master of ceremonies Tom Farrey of ESPN the Magazine.
Online, anyone can get information on how to join PCA, and raise the level of their game as well as point their moral compass in the right direction. They feel that it is the only way they can exert true leadership, set an example, and aim for higher goals than mere winning.
Now, if only our own basketball officials can take a hint and work together, positively.