I've been seeing a lot of posts lamenting the gradual demise and attrition of youth football in the US. I think 2 of the top 4 posts on this board are currently on this subject. I thought of giving my 2 cents as a reply but figured I'd start a new thread. I know many of you gents on this board are true professionals and the best of your kind. But I'm also sure you realize that the majority of youth coaches in the US are much closer to what you see on Friday Night Tykes. Please don't take offense to these generalizations as I know you are the rare exception and not the types discussed below.
What’s REALLY killing youth football in America
Every year, during our preseason coaches meeting, we’re shown graphs and charts outlining the gloom and doom that is decimating youth football in America. Suspected culprits range from the NFL concussion crisis to social media and video games to newer sports like Soccer and Lacrosse that are experiencing an exponential growth surge.
I’m here to tell you. The real enemy and killer of youth football in America is neither of those things. It is, in fact, a combination of the following 2 variables:
1) Dad coaches
2) The highly rigid position-centric nature of the sport
Dad Coaches
Youth football is the only sport in America that remains primarily dad coached right up until high school. Hoops, Soccer, Lacrosse, & Rugby are club sports that are typically coached by professionals once you rise above the rec levels. This brings a certain degree of neutrality and professionalism to the sport. Youth football, on the other hand, is USUALLY coached by poorly educated and/or agenda driven dads and rife with all the politics and gerrymandering you'd expect from a Texas governor’s election. This proletariat bunch also typically values winning above many of the more important principles of the sport. So many virtues and principles of positive coaching and sportsmanship are typically tossed out the window in the quest for the almighty W.
Skills positions are strictly reserved for coaches kids, regardless of ability. Talented kids that don’t have dads coaching are relegated to the bench or otherwise unathletic positions like the offensive line. Coaches make sure these kids never get a chance to show their talents so their motives remain hidden and decisions unquestioned. Ironically, this type of compromise typically lowers the chances of winning but the coaches kids glory still comes before the teams success.
The highly rigid position-centric nature of the sport
Most other sports allow stars to shine. The cream will eventually rise to the top. If you’re a gifted basketball or soccer player, as long as you get on the court / field, you can show you talents. You can get steals, drive the ball, pass, score, etc. It would be much harder for a coach with an agenda keep a kid from shining in Basketball, Rugby, or Soccer.
In football, on the other hand, a coach could have the second coming of Bo Jackson and Payton Manning on his team and if he decides to put them on the offensive line, they will never be able to display their talents and no one except a couple of astute assistant coaches, will ever know what they’re capable of. Ofcourse, those astute assistants also have kids on the team so they’re probably OK with the entire arrangement.
The first few times I encountered these patterns on various teams I coached, I assumed they were the exception. Now, with years under my belt and several orgs later, I'm seeing that they are the norm. I've coached everything from championship teams to 1 win teams. One of my proudest achievements is coaching on a team where the starting QB, FB, & RB were all NOT coaches kids.
Anyway, I think the issues discussed above probably drive more kids away from youth football than anything else. I could be wrong. But that's what I'm seeing.
Both of these issues have ALWAYS existed. Why are they suddenly the culprit? Entitlement perhaps? Everybody feels like they should be a star. Every day thinks they know more than the daddy coach...?
Entitlement!
I don't think both of those have ALWAYS existed. I think a generation ago, coaches were a lot more ethical and they would do anything possible to avoid the appearance of nepotism and favoritism. It is only recently that it and become the norm and generally accepted as "Well that's just how it is. Watcha gonna do?"
Like I said, it's the combination of the 2 that creates the problem. An entitled kid who thinks they know more than the daddy coach will quickly find out if he's right or wrong once he gets on the basketball court or soccer field. That opportunity to compete and display an apples to apples comparison for everyone to see does not exist in football. I've seen really good kids held down to create room for the coaches buddies kids. I've seen this repeatedly. And I'm confident enough in my own talent evaluation and feedback from other neutral parties to know it wasn't a matter of opinion. Bigger, strong, faster, more experienced kids backing up younger, slower, weaker, less experience players over and over and over again with the only common variable being the relationship of the weaker player with the coach is not a matter of opinion or entitlement. It's very a real and very prevalent pattern. You can get defensive, but the plain truth is easy to spot if you put your prejudices aside.
Club basketball is still largely run by dad's. There are some "professional" AAU basketball coaches out there, who by the way can be the worst leaches of all, but for every "professional" there are 5 dads coaching hoops. Baseball is the same.
Can't speak to soccer or LAX.
The reasons:
1.) Competition from other sports, especially year round traveling teams in soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.
2.) Culture change. Football's not the right of passage it used to be. Most boys are being raised by single moms. Also, the opiod epidemic has ruined a lot of communities (and their kids).
3.) Economics. When it's a single parent who works and scrapes by, they can't afford the gear or find time to take kids to practice.
4.) Demographics. Fewer young kids now among the groups who traditionally played youth football. Most of the population growth is among Hispanic and Asian families, who traditionally don't play.
5.) CTE scare. When the media is pushing this BS that any kid who plays has "a 100% chance of permanent brain damage" and telling parents it's "child abuse," single moms are especially hesitant to let their little boys get hurt.
The other stuff's been there since the beginning of time. It's bad, but it's not killing the game.
Smak
Thanks for the perspective. The last time I coached a team with my own son on the team was 20 years ago so I dont see what you see....but I get it. When I coached my oldest grandson....my son was the Header and feared placing his own son at QB even though he was the best candidate. He did not want others thinking he was playing favorites. I finally told him....f-it.
So...how do you fix the problem or is it just the way it will always be?
What is beautiful, lives forever.
I don't think that those two items have changed much in the last 5-10 years, so I am not sure that I buy it.
I think that coaching is a problem in all sports that I see. I see it in AAU basketball and state tournaments for baseball. All daddy-ball situations, so I don't think that your argument holds up in all areas of the country.
What is interesting is that the statistics show that some sports, like flag football are increasing in participation, while tackle football is staying even. I am not sure that I buy that last point either.
Flag football, potentially seen by parents as a safer alternative to tackle football, increased its participation numbers in 2015. Field hockey, baseball, and wrestling also saw gains. Ice hockey, basketball, and tackle football stayed even, and lacrosse, after years of participation increases, declined. Overall, more kids are playing team sports over 2014, but not as many as in 2008.
http://www.siplay.com/blog/youth-sports-league-trends-for-2017
Thanks Mahonz. I'm honestly not sure how to fix the problem. Orgs are hurting for coaches so I think rules not allowing dads to coach their own son's teams would pretty much dry the well of coaches. You could include some type of anti-nepotism clause in the coaches conduct contract but that's just fluff. I really don't know.
I got chewed out by my own mom for not playing my own son (her grandson) at running back even though he was damn good at it. We were in the playoffs and I wanted to stack my defense knowing I could still score with the rest of the players. It worked perfectly. But that's aside from the main point.
I think the new generation of coaches is just a lot more shameless. That's about the jist of it.
The reasons:
1.) Competition from other sports, especially year round traveling teams in soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.
2.) Culture change. Football's not the right of passage it used to be. Most boys are being raised by single moms. Also, the opiod epidemic has ruined a lot of communities (and their kids).
Definitely some truth in that. Being a "tough guy" isn't cool anymore. Actually frowned upon in many cases3.) Economics. When it's a single parent who works and scrapes by, they can't afford the gear or find time to take kids to practice.
Football is by far and away the cheapest sport for the participant to play.
4.) Demographics. Fewer young kids now among the groups who traditionally played youth football. Most of the population growth is among Hispanic and Asian families, who traditionally don't play.
5.) CTE scare. When the media is pushing this BS that any kid who plays has "a 100% chance of permanent brain damage" and telling parents it's "child abuse," single moms are especially hesitant to let their little boys get hurt.
Exactly!
The other stuff's been there since the beginning of time. It's bad, but it's not killing the game.
I dont think those are the reasons at all
THose factors have ALWAYS been there in youth football and in other sports
At the older level or SELECT youth football teams- you will often times find non dad coaches- especially at the SELECT level
Just like in select baseball- dads at the rec level- real deal coaches at the SELECT level
Some of the better run orgs will have guys who have been in it for the long haul
Ive stated many times why I think the sport is shrinking in many areas- those reasons- have not been a constant like daddy ball- hence the cause and effect
In my org, I once coached a team with 5 guys on it, 3 of those kids didnt start anywhere
This year just 1 of my starting RBs ( I start 5 different ones) is a dads kid and both QBs dont have dads on staff
We have a VERY strict policy on non daddy ball and our competitive evals take the guesswork out of most of it
At the end of the day if you arent in the 90th percentile for running through the gauntlet- you arent playing QB for us- end of story
If you take dad coaches out of youth football
Youth football wont exist at all- it would end up being 10% of what it is right now
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.Winston Churchill
The reasons:
2.) Culture change. Football's not the right of passage it used to be. Most boys are being raised by single moms. Also, the opiod epidemic has ruined a lot of communities (and their kids).
While I agree with some of your points, the data isnt totally supportive
While there are more single moms than in days past- it isnt a majority just yet
Lots more not getting married at all- or "not married" to collect government benefits
"The majority of America’s 73.7 million children under age 18 live in families with two parents (69 percent), according to new statistics released today from the U.S. Census Bureau. This is compared to other types of living arrangements, such as living with grandparents or having a single parent.
However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.Winston Churchill
Nope. I don't think either are in the top 10. But hey, it's all just opinion...
I don't think it's the single Moms either. Toughest parents we have are the single Moms, they're the ones telling me to feel free to run Jr's ass until he does it right.
Don't think it's the drugs destroying the family unit - I don't know what to make of that answer, that would destroy every youth sport. I'm pretty sure we have more football kids from bad homes than our travel soccer teams do.
And sure as f*ck don't think it's politics, which is where a couple of these posts are heading.
Nope. I don't think either are in the top 10. But hey, it's all just opinion...
I don't think it's the single Moms either. Toughest parents we have are the single Moms, they're the ones telling me to feel free to run Jr's ass until he does it right.
Don't think it's the drugs destroying the family unit - I don't know what to make of that answer, that would destroy every youth sport. I'm pretty sure we have more football kids from bad homes than our travel soccer teams do.
And sure ads f*ck don't think it's politics, which is where a couple of these posts are heading.
Agreed. Let's not make it political.
Where I'm at, there are a lot of issues with drugs and I've taught and coached in places where it was far worse; where lots of parents were just too strung out to let their kids play any sports or get them to practice. I got to deal with them as a teacher and saw how bad most of those home situations were. Very few kids played anything there and this was a big reason why. I very much hope others have not had that experience.
Some moms look at football as a way to "toughen up" their boys, which can be great (unless you get the kid who doesn't want to be toughened up and just sulks and cries on the sideline). However, it's been my experience that many single moms just won't let their boys play football in the first place. You won't ever deal with them as a coach because their kids were never there to begin with, but they are out there.
I coached in a community a few years ago where the kids all thought they were basketball stars (mostly because it was the cheapest sport to play and they could shoot hoops or play 1-on-1 anytime). The moms there were terrified of their boys being hurt so they never let them play football in the first place. I found this out personally when I'd try to recruit those boys to play.
Of course, the HS basketball coach there didn't help matters much by putting thoughts like that in their head, and selling them on a scholarship if their 6'0" 14 year old PF would only "focus on basketball." Dude was a selfish jackass who'd tell HS players to skip football practice or quit as soon as open gym started. That type of thing happens a lot now in many communities due to all the traveling teams that keep kids busy year-round. I've dealt with it everywhere I've been and it happens at younger and younger ages.
I don't think both of those have ALWAYS existed. I think a generation ago, coaches were a lot more ethical and they would do anything possible to avoid the appearance of nepotism and favoritism.
Definitely not in my experience. It wasn't until 8th grade that I had a coach whose credentials rose above "really likes to watch football". I didn't know better as a kid, but looking back, all the coaches I had before 8th grade were a bunch of miserable SOBs.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
The only glaring difference between today and 10 years ago is the concern surrounding concussions and CTE. The movie put it into high gear.
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