Challenging times produce memorable moments as youth-sports administrators devise new programs
By John Engh
Photo Credit: NAYS
I grew up with six brothers and sisters—all close in age—and there always seemed to be activities at our house, as well as in the backyards and on the streets in the neighborhood. One summer, before the start of the Montreal Games in 1976, a couple of the parents organized their own version of the Olympics, with each street in the neighborhood representing a different country. Mostly, it was a glorified Field Day with relays, tug of wars, free-throw contests and, of course, a marathon to cap off the competition (a scaled-down version, of course, for our young legs). Forty years later, I still remember the events I competed in, the enormous fun the kids had, and especially those events that our street, I mean country, did well in. We even received medals!
I also remember how the kids always adapted and included everyone, no matter the game we were playing or how many kids showed up. We played a game called 500 for baseball, where one person hit or threw pop-ups to a group gathered at a distance, and the “catchers” earned more points if a ball was caught in the air versus on one hop or two. We also played a crazy game of football with a name too inappropriate to mention, where basically one kid had the football and tried not to get tackled by all the other kids. Any sport could be modified for the situation. We played all day, and the only interference was the crazy lady with the nice yard who sometimes grabbed our ball and ran into her house and refused to give the ball back, but that’s a whole other story!
While reading through this year’s applications for the National Alliance for Youth Sports annual Excellence in Youth Sports Awards, I remembered those days of modifying games and bending rules to make things fun. During this past year, youth-sports administrators have faced many challenges, and their amazing efforts were reflected in the applications. While almost all organized activities were cancelled amid unprecedented circumstances, some parents still expected activities for their children. Gone were the typical baseball and basketball programs, replaced by creative, alternative activities designed to be safe and to keep children engaged.