C
Not long ago, I was invited to speak at the annual banquet for an “elite” youth hockey organization. Before dinner, the organization’s president mentioned how he and his neighbor, another hockey dad, had seen the need for a top program in their area, and how much planning and money it took to create one. He talked about the championships his team had won in their first two years of operation. He also said his 6-year-old son and his neighbor’s boy were hockey-crazed best friends — or at least they used to be. His neighbor’s son was not selected for the team that first year, and the two men and their boys have not spoken to each other since.
In brief, that’s exactly what’s wrong with youth sports. Too much money, too much parent involvement and too many broken-hearted 6-year-old children. Perhaps the professionalism that has invaded youth sports is related to the Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics all ringing up championships over the past decade. “Hey, I want some of that,” said Overzealous Sports Dad, jumping up from his couch. However, single-sport specialization, the privatization of youth leagues and the rankings of young children have become widespread. These are not positive trends, and meanwhile coaches, educators, community leaders and parents should take heed seriously.
Three out of four American families with school-aged children have at least one playing an organized sport — a total of about 45 million kids. By 15, as many as 80 percent of these young people have quitted, according to the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine. One reason is the gap between children’s desire to have fun and the misguided idea among some adults that their kids’ games are a very small version of grown-up competitions, where the goal is to win. After coaching for 20 years, I can say definitely that adult expectations are the No.1 problem. As we approach summer, when the living is supposed to be easy, too many families are searching the Internet for a private batting instructor, a summer hockey program, an expensive strength camp, etc. This is a misguided attempt to accelerate a process that may not even be occurring, since most young athletes will never reach the elite level.
When I was growing up in Methuen, we organized our own football, hockey and baseball teams. Any kid who had a football helmet, a pair of Bobby Orr Rally skates or a first baseman’s mitt could play. We contacted teams from other neighborhoods and played entire seasons without our parents having anything to do with it. My friends and I even staged our own tennis tournaments at the public courts. We played for the love of it. Indeed, many of us went on to play high school and college sports.
Some kids are sick of playing, and some are sick of playing in pain. A 2013 study of 1,200 young athletes showed those who concentrated on a single sport were 70 percent to 93 percent more likely to be injured than those who played multiple sports.
At that hockey banquet, I said adults must set their egos (自尊) aside and remember to let the kids have fun. And to do that, we need to return youth sports to the neighborhood, where they belong.
This summer, encourage your children to go fishing, play mini golf and invite their friends to shoot hoops in the driveway. Have them visit the library and wander around in the backyard chewing on blades of grass. And remember that the inside experience of playing a sport, the beauty and the joy of it belong to the kids themselves.
What does the first paragraph imply?

A．The author thinks highly of the organization’s president.

B．The neighbor’s son is a boy with remarkable athletic ability.

C．Some parents are having a wrong idea of sports.

D．Hockey is the most popular game for kids.

The underlined phrase “take heed” in Paragraph 2 means     .

A．explore

B．suggest

C．avoid

D．consider

Why do many youngsters give up the sports they are playing?

A．They lose their interest in them as they grow up.

B．They fail to gain delight from them.

C．They have to concentrate on their studies.

D．They are too weak to take part in competitions.

When the author looked back on his childhood sports life,     .

A．he believed it was very good and fit for children

B．he had forgotten his good friends’ weaknesses

C．he thought it was very simple but boring

D．he felt greatly grateful to his coaches and teammates

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