Playing youth sports when you were 10 years old meant not caring
who won or lost. You only worried about how cool your team’s
uniforms looked and what snack you might get after the game.
Apparently, things have changed.
Parents across the nation were outraged a few months ago when
HoopScoop Online released a list of its top-50 fourth-graders in
the country.
But the parents weren’t outraged at the moral depravity of
evaluating a 10-year old’s athleticism or because the health
or safety of their children might be jeopardized.
Several parents called Clark Francis, editor and publisher of
HoopScoop Online, to complain that their kids weren’t ranked
as high as they should’ve been ““ a regular occurrence,
according to Francis, with every new ranking he releases.
“The kids are fine,” Francis said. “It’s
the parents that can’t handle it.”
Over the years, Francis says he has received tons of calls from
angry parents about why their son is ranked where he is ““ and
disturbingly, more calls with the younger age groups HoopScoop
Online ranks.
“I wish people would call me up and tell me to take their
son off the list,” Francis said.
It’s a shame they aren’t doing exactly that.
It’s awful that a publication would try to take the innocence
away from youth sports and put extra pressure on kids.
When I first stumbled upon the Web site and its list of the
top-50 fourth-graders in the country, I was appalled at HoopScoop
Online for the damage it could do to 10-year olds.
What’s next? Are we going to start hyping up a
fourth-grader as the next LeBron James? Are we going to start
televising fourth-grade AAU games?
“We’ve opened up a pandora’s box,”
Francis said.
But after more thought, I’ve decided it’s not
entirely HoopScoop Online’s fault that our society is
corrupting youth sports.
The rankings list is merely a blatant by-product of a system
that emphasizes potential just as much as results. People who use
the rankings list are perhaps more culpable than Francis is for
creating it.
With a higher premium placed on college recruiting, and one
potentially making or breaking an entire program, coaches are
starting to talk to recruits while they are in middle school. NCAA
rules prohibit coaches from contacting recruits until the spring of
their junior year in high school, but those rules do not apply
before the athlete reaches high school.
For example, basketball phenom Taylor King verbally committed to
UCLA before he enrolled at Mater Dei High School last fall.
All of these events show a disturbing trend, and we can’t
just pin the blame on Francis alone. We, the sports fans, are
unnecessarily pushing our athletes too early.
We place extra pressure on collegiate coaches, driving them to
go to extremes like recruiting middle schoolers.
We go online to recruiting Web sites to analyze Malik
Hairston’s every word.
Thousands of parents are undoubtedly infuriated at
Francis’ list and the pressure it places on youth, but these
are the same parents who go out of their way to yell at referees
and coaches at youth sports games.
Francis told me he’s considering dropping the rankings for
fourth-graders because it’s more trouble than it’s
worth. The decision would be worth applauding, but its effect would
be like placing a band-aid over a stab wound.
Pressure and scrutiny on youth sports would still be out of
control, and for that reason, I don’t blame recruiting
publications like HoopScoop Online for printing rankings of
fourth-graders.
It’s not their fault. It’s ours.
E-mail Quiñonez at gquinonez@media.ucla.edu