Bob Bigelow, a former first round NBA draft choice out of the University of Pennsylvania where he played for Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, came to affluent Scarsdale, New York to address parents and recreation league coaches a few years ago.

By that time, Bigelow had given between 400 and 500 presentations since 1992 "addressing the sociological, psychological and physiological impact of youth sports in which an estimated 35 million children participate."

As a coach of my daughter's "recreation" league 5th grade basketball team, I was happy to attend.

Recreation league girl's basketball in the town was supposed to be all about fun. I guess for a few coaches and teams it was. But for many, it was serious business--a likely consequence of the very wealthy and competitive population of the town.

Rec league sports, afterall, is the bottom of the barrell--below CYO, travel teams and AAU. It is all about getting children to participate. For many coaches, however, it had become all about winning, and little or nothing to do about letting the kids have fun and play--never mind developing proper sportsmanship.

Although I had always stressed the importance of team work, self improvement, staying healthy and having fun to the girls I coached, winning was also important to me and to the amateur coach fathers I faced in the league...too important.

Listening to Bigelow's presentation that evening opened my eyes wide to how ridiculous youth sports could become and how horrific some parents and coaches can be. If you can't catch Bigelow in-person--the Scarsdale Rec league went out of their way to bring him to the town, and good for them for doing so--then picking up this book is an excellent alternative.

Lessons For The Coaches
Although the book is written primarily for parents, "If you have a child who plays youth sports, Your first move is to read this book," says Rick Wolf, chairman, The Center for Sports Parenting," the book provides many insights into the issues of youth sports that could be of great value to the high school coach.

For example, many times it is the parents who can spoil the fun--trying to relive their youth sports or lack of youth sports--and this book can be a very good tonic for resolving, or perhaps better, heading off sports problems by the time children start playing in high school. When a parent gets out of line, hand him or her the book.

Says the authors, "High school athletic directors and coaches also see some of the troubling side of youth sports carry over into their high school gyms and onto the fields. Increasing numbers of athletes and their parents arrive with a disturbing sense of entitlement...too often they expect the staff to cater to their wishes, as the parents continue to hover over their developing sport stars."

Furthermore, perhaps because it is written for the parent, it may be particularly valuable for the high school coach to know what his athletes' parents are thinking and reading about sports.

Pickup the book, it is a worthwhile read.

Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, Florida, 2001, $12.95.

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