Dr.Richard Lustberg--The Psychology of Sports

On The Couch: The Week In Review-February 25

The Realities of Youth Sport and What Needs To Be Done

Highlands Ranch, a 9-year-old boy has special tutors in baseball, basketball and football and a certified athletic trainer who videotapes his workouts. In Bradenton, Fla., a Broomfield teenager practices basketball five hours a day at a sports factory that produces pro and Olympic stars. In Littleton, two dozen youngsters start the school day with a 90-minute soccer class, part of the experimental curriculum at Jefferson County's first charter school.In Thornton, a mother downloads the computerized results of a novel test that has measured her daughter's potential in 43 sports. And in Monument, a father writes a $2,500 check to a company that will scour the nation for a college scholarship for his daughter.Welcome to the high-tech, hypercompetitive world of children's sports, a bustling subculture where time-starved parents chauffeur their booked-up children from one activity to another, spend thousands of dollars a year chasing often elusive dreams and sacrifice their own social lives for child's play.

The Above is From The Rocky Mountain News-- From The Year 2000.

Not much has changed from seven years ago in fact things have probably ramped up a bit.  I have been to so many places that give private baseball lessons, watched thousands of kids getting lessons, been told by hundreds of parents that their kids are taking lessons, that if I had a dollar for all of these my fortune with rival Bloomberg's.  Actually I am a proponent of kids taking lessons for a number of reasons which I will address in another posting.

Along with the lessons high school sports has also been a growing industry. I like to call it an introduction to professional sports at the high school level.  You have kids coming home from practices and games at midnight.  I have found this is not a good time for a kid to do his homework, or study. But it is what it is-and once again it is what we have created.  It is bigger than what I can control and effect so I try and navigate it. 

It is no mistake that kids drop out of sports at age 13 and from what I see and read obesity is on the rise.  Now there are many more reasons for this drop-out rate and the scale going up other than the ones listed above.  But make no mistake about it, when you need to take lessons, try out for highly competitive school teams and pay huge sums to play on travel teams that go to Australia it can be daunting for parents and kids alike. And the  funny part about it, it is that after you pay you are not guaranteed that your child will play.

We need to have a strong two tiered system. There is nothing the matter with having serious competitive teams in youth sport, it is just at what age and when. However, we need places where kids can play well into their teens without having to be on a team. Schools need to stay open in the evenings and offer this for the kids. Towns need to have strong intra-mural programs that cater to the recreational athlete and we need to make our playgrounds places for kids to meet and play games.  This is just the beginning of an overhaul that is needed in the system.

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I frequently get asked about how highly competitive youth sport has become and the negative implications it has for our children. I have a lot to say about youth sport and there will be a few posts to follow.

To start, last I looked we live in a very competitive society where second place is not good enough. It extends from Candy Land, to the board room and to the presidency as it looks like Hilary Clinton is soon going to find out. You would think that it would be good enough just to have run for office and gotten this far? Not so. Same is true for Candy Land as the goal is to get to King Candy first--not second, not third and not fourth (I know my Candy Land colors).  Candy Land is a game recommended for three year olds.

Do I agree with this? Not relevant. It is the society in which we all live and it appears that it is not going to change any time soon. So I suggest that we prepare our children to function, exist and thrive in this environment. It is after-all the one we created.

On The Importance of Winning In Our Society

Winning changes so many things for both players and fans alike. Even coaches lives are drastically changed. The whole psychological landscape around the Giants and their entire organization has changed. See below.

From The New York Times Written By Tom Branch

The victory has redefined the 61-year-old Coughlin, the way it does any coach who wins a championship after so many years of trying. Coughlin, saying that it is “a very select group,” is one of only six current head coaches who can brag of leading a team to a Super Bowl victory.

“The perception of you does change,” Tony Dungy, the Colts coach who won his first Super Bowl in 2007, said Friday. “People are going to think that because you win, that now you have the answer. Now some of the things that you say do work.”

It has already happened to Coughlin. Against the backdrop of the scouting combine and the coming draft, reporters peppered him about the best way to nurture a young quarterback, given Coughlin’s success with Eli Manning.

The queries served as a jarring indication of how quickly things change. Before the Giants began one of the greatest playoff runs in league history — three road victories and a Super Bowl win over an undefeated team — the questions about Manning were far tougher, and usually centered on Coughlin’s inability to mold him into a consistent quarterback, never mind a championship one.

But now Coughlin is atop his profession, and even his peers said that the perception had changed.

“Championships define players, they define coaches,” Vikings Coach Brad Childress said. “I don’t think there is any question it changes the way you’re looked at.”

Coughlin enjoyed the warm reception, especially since championship teams

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Jeter said he was flattered by A-Rod's comment on Thursday but said: "I don't even think about it. I have to be honest with you guys. Man, I'd much rather win. That's the bottom line. I've said time and time again, you play to win. You always want to do well, because the better you do, the better the team will be. But the bottom line from Day 1 is whatever we can do to win."


I can post a million of these quotes from players in every sport.  I just read this one, all they care about is winning.

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On The Jason Kidd--Shaquille O’Neal Trade

"I think everyone was excited for the game and to lose is difficult," Nash said, "but I think if you take a step back it's encouraging. I thought Shaquille was great, and I think the possibilities are very exciting."

What did you expect him to say? Besides that Steve Nash appears to be a class act.

Players today have to be so careful of what they say, as any mistake or misstep is on the front pages in a nano second.  So for the most part you get canned politically correct answers. I do not blame them one bit.

I was watching Alex Rodriquez being interviewed he had so many microphones literally stuck about three inches from his mouth--don't know how he did not turn to one of them and ask them to move back just a bit.

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It is not easy for players when they are traded even when they are happy about it. Among other things; adjusting to the personalities and playing styles of their new teammates, new communities and the changes that their families undergo are all hurdles they have to overcome.  Both Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal are players on the downside of their careers so it is hard to see either one of them getting that much better--as some have suggested.

Jason Kidd has a look about him that suggests that something is not right with him. That is just my opinion.