By Bill Burt
Staff writer
May 15, 2008 11:50 pm Winchester native and former NBA first round pick Bob Bigelow has traveled all over the world talking about what's wrong with youth sports in America, including on the other side of the world in Wellington, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. Thursday night he comes to North Andover, in conjunction with our high school sports Web site RallyNorth.net, Northeast Rehabilitation Center in Salem, N.H. and Merrimack College, for the first time to speak about his message: Adults have ruined youth sports and changing that fact for the future is not an easy fix. Bigelow will be the guest speaker for the lecture, called "Let The Kids Play," which is also the name of his book, which will be available at the event. The event is for adults, primarily parents and coaches of young athletes. "My mission is blunt," said Bigelow, 54, whose full-time job now is this subject. "Get adult ego out of youth sports. Child ego is fine. We want that in." Northeast Rehab's involvement centers on Bigelow's message of sportsmanship and kids getting more enjoyment as young athletes. "Oftentimes the key to getting back on the playing fields after an injury is attitude whether you're a child or an adult," said Jennifer Hogg, of Northeast Rehab. "A good attitude helps people recover quicker. We can see and hear the way parents are on the sidelines. As trainers we are right there. This is part of having the right attitude, which is important for all of us." Bigelow has done this 750 times or so before. He hopes to give balance and perspective when it comes to youth sports. He says the biggest problem that comes with adult ego is the emphasis on winning at an early age. He would recommend there not be championships for kids below the middle school age. "Why do kids sign up to play a sport? Ironically, they want to play. They don't want to sit on the bench 80 or 90 percent of the game," said Bigelow. "I'm a big proponent of equal playing time. That doesn't go over well because coaches and many parents want to win." Since Bigelow started doing these lectures about 15 years ago, he has noticed a trend. People are spending more money, which means it is big business, and the obsession with winning is hitting the earliest levels of youth sports. He points to a state championship in Florida last year at the Holy Grail of adult ego. "It was the first-ever T-Ball state championship," said Bigelow. "Can you imagine a 5- or 6-year-old, sitting in his kindergarten lunch room saying, 'I wonder if our biggest competition is Tallahassee or Orlando.' It's truly out of control." One problem that comes from this obsession is slotting of kids at an early age, which might work well for several years of youth sports. But, says Bigelow, all bets are off when kids hit puberty. "I spoke at a suburban town in the South Shore recently and a woman stood up and said 'We have an 8-year-old travel soccer team and everyone on that team usually makes the varsity when they get to high school." "That may be true, but that's part of the problem," said Bigelow. "We create, unknowlingly, path systems of athletic ability. We start making decisions about the future athletic ability of kids when they haven't hit puberty. A lot of kids have growth spurts, get faster, etc. It's foolish." Bigelow says his dream is to meet with the coaches and parents of football players in Texas, where the sport is a year-round activity. "That would be an interesting discussion," he said. "That would be a wild one." For now, though, he'll settle for coming to the Merrimack Valley, with hopes of enlightening adults that sports are not for them, but their children. "It's a novel concept," said Bigelow. "This is for our children. They just want to have fun and go out for an ice cream."
Bigelow speaks at Merrimack on Thursday Who: Former NBA player and author Bob Bigelow. What: A symposium, "Let The Kids Play," about the biggest problem with youth sports — adults. When: Thurs., May 22, 7 to 9 p.m. Where: Cascia Hall, Merrimack College campus Open to: All interested adults who have children or coach in youth sports. Sponsors: RallyNorth.net and Northeast Rehabilitation, Salem, N.H. Info: To reserve a seat or for more information contact Jennifer Hogg of Northeast Rehab at 603-681-3570 or e-mail her at jhogg@northeastrehab.com.
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