Young athletes have valuable insights if given a chance to share
Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to moderate a great event hosted by Project Play Western New York. The primary focus was listening to kids who participate in sports and giving them a voice in how athletic programs are structured in their community. The bottom line was that youth-sports programs offer a great opportunity for adults to sit back, be quiet, and let the kids share what they like and dislike about sports participation.
The Importance Of Peer Connection
The setup was great. On the first panel, many well-known, local college coaches and players from the greater Buffalo area sat on one side of the stage, and several young athletes on the other. I raised many questions and scenarios for discussion and asked the coaches, athletes, and kids to advise recreational coaches about how to handle each one. We tackled topics like playing time, bad calls, practice schedules, and empathy for parents’ emotions, among many others.