When you need to change leagues...

There comes a time when good things come to an end. ...and sometimes, that means you have the need to change sports leagues for your child. This could be for many reasons...

• You're moving
• The kid outgrew the old league
• You're changing sports

Or, the league is no longer meeting your needs and expectations. That's the problem I have. For many years, we have been running our kids through the current program each season. Started with the oldest, and now with the middle - and planned to have the youngest there too. But then things got weird.

Instead of "regular" games, we have "tournament-style" games, where you play little mini games, and a bunch of them - instead of 1 game, or the occasional double-header. Instead of pre-announcing the schedule at the beginning of the season, we go crazy on Friday or Saturday morning figuring out game times. Sound confusing? It's not the half of it.

I've been coaching my kids in parallel all season. Those in charge of the schedule are well aware of this - and, of course, they "value their volunteer coaches". Like hell. I can count how many weeks my kids games haven't overlapped (and there's no need for them to...) - 1. Exactly 1. If all of that weren't enough, the guys running the clock are confused, and the refs assigned to the 8-9 year-old basketball games have been marginal. Ok, so they've gotten way better, especially lately, but still...

Thinking back to when we first started, there was a time we were changing sports directors like we changed socks... almost on a season-by-season basis. Even that was probably better. So, perhaps we'll try a different route for the fall sports.

It is truly unfortunate when adults ruin kids sports - through whatever behaviors, bureaucracy, or what have you. Maybe the kids should run their own leagues?

Structure of Practice

I was watching a little NFL Network tonight, and of course it's Training Camp season... The commentators were dissecting the practices of several teams, and they made a good point.

Practices are structured to move from the individual drills to the full-team drills and work. This allows the coach to stress individual skills (and fundamentals - imagine that), and the player to work and concentrate on the mechanics of particular skills. From there, the next set of drills might be small group drills, or offensive or defensive-specific work. Moving to the small group allows for more repetition, but in a more realistic setting.

Saving the full team drills or a scrimmage for the end makes sense - this is where everything can come together, whether it's offense against defense, full-court, full speed, etc. By this point, the players have had the maximum amount of time to work on their own - and it is now their time to shine. Usually, the full team drills are also what the kids look forward to most. If you started with them, you might see less effort as practice went on instead of more.

Good luck!

Summer Sports

Hello again. I've been distracted a bit lately with other things, but it's time to get back to writing about kids and sports. Today's topic: Sports leagues in the summer: To Play, or Not To Play?

Summer is a unique time of the year... school is out, families go on vacations, and the weather is nice - unless you're in Arizona, where it's sunny but brutally hot. Do you enroll your kids in sports for the summer season, or not?

On the "Yes" side of the argument... it's good for the kids to keep playing - it gives them less of a chance to forget the rules or skills of a particular game. It obviously also exposes them to more practice time... It could also mean a chance to try a different sport. Luckily, here in Phoenix we do get to play sports indoors - but weather could always be a factor - whether heat or storms, depending on your location.

On the "No" side of the argument... not nearly as many kids play in the summer, sometimes creating weird scheduling issues for the league. There's also a lot of missed practices, and missed games due to vacations and such - putting the coach in the tough spot of trying to juggle and cover for the games or practices. The level of coaching also tends to be a little poorer, sometimes resulting in less competitive games.

I think it's great to have the kids playing - even in summer. But, if you're planning a long vacation, or just want to take a break - summer may be that time of year where it's "ok" to sit out for the season. But if that's the case, be sure to throw the soccer ball in the back of the van, or make sure to take the football to the beach. After all, fall is right around the corner.