Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Is This The End For Backyard Sports? Sports Leadership for Success

Is This The End For Backyard Sports? Sports Leadership for Success

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Jul 11, 2011

No Comments

Sports for kids today are very organized, usually providing a multitude of options to select from that vary from recreational to elite/premier.  While today’s sports model can be beneficial for some kids, other kids feel as though it is too exhausting and leaves little, if any, time to simply play pick-up games around the neighborhood (Sport Success 360).  Does all this structure actually prohibit kids from wanting to pick up their glove and bat and improvise games with their buddies??

This past weekend I watched kids in my neighborhood hit the swimming pool, ride their bikes, and skateboard at a local skate park.  What I didn’t see were kids playing pick-up games in their yards, the street, or even the vacant baseball diamonds around town. 

Has backyard wiffle ball been officially replaced by Xbox?!

Admittedly, when I tell kids about the days when I was their age and how we used to regularly create pick-up games just about wherever we were (i.e. backyard, street, parking lot, empty field, etc), I do feel as though I am telling them how I used to walk to school through the snow for 10 miles without any shoes!  My point is that today’s kids, for the most part, have not grown up playing unstructured sports and therefore see the idea as a rather foreign concept.  At least that’s why I think they look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them what we used to do!

When I was a kid playing Little League Baseball, our 1-2 game-a-week schedule hardly satisfied my appetite to play.  Since we didn’t have travel teams in the 1970’s and 80’s, most of us created games out of just about anything that was available (or could be made — ragballs taped up with duct tape were quite popular).  Of course, traditional baseball could be played on the fields that sat open each day, but we also created our unique wiffle ball stadiums in our backyards, almost always incorporating the unique nuances of the yard (i.e. over the pine trees for a home run!!).

If we couldn’t play in the backyard, we had bases secretly painted on the street and used tennis balls (or even racquet balls – they go very, very far when hit) and played street ball.  Of course, the street was also used during football season, too, with sewers being used as goal line markers.

Kids today seem to spend a lot of time on gaming and texting, and while not a bad thing, it does seem to take their attention away from the pure joy of simply going outside and “getting a game together.”  Sure, structured sports are great, but theres also something to picking teams and playing wherever and with whatever is around.  Need someone to call balls and strikes?  Tip a picnic table on its side and tape off the strike zone.  Field too small?  Make each player bat opposite hand.  Break a window?  Run!  (just kidding about that one).

Organized sports are great, but when I talk to people 30 and older it seems as though most of them feel the same as I do when thinking about the dearth of pickup games today.  I wouldn’t say things are worse today, but they sure are different – about the only good thing I can think of with less pickup games is the decreasing number of houses and cars hit by errant balls!

Apps, apps, and more apps — good for organized and backyard sports!

www.drstankovich.com

backyard sports, pickup games, recreational sports, wiffle ball

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Latest Blog Posts

  • February 16, 2021 Help Kids Overcome Pandemic Anxiety as they Head Back to School
  • February 10, 2021 Is Mark Cuban’s Remedy for National Anthem Protests the Right Move?
  • February 4, 2021 Former NFL Star Warns of Potential Problems Dealing with Sport Retirement
  • February 1, 2021 Lacking Social Interaction is Hitting Kids Hard through Pandemic
  • December 22, 2020 Parent Sports Pressure Can Leave Kids with Overwhelming Expectations

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

Should You Play Your Child “Up” in Sports?

NEXT POST

Fighting at Youth Sports: Things Haven’t Gotten Better Since the “Hockey Dad”

Category

Sport Sociology , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Humor , Sports Leadership , Sports Media , Sports Performance Science , Youth Sport Burnout , Youth Sports

Tags

backyard sports, pickup games, recreational sports, wiffle ball

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Help Kids Overcome Pandemic Anxiety as they Head Back to School
  • Is Mark Cuban's Remedy for National Anthem Protests the Right Move?
  • Former NFL Star Warns of Potential Problems Dealing with Sport Retirement
  • Lacking Social Interaction is Hitting Kids Hard through Pandemic
  • Parent Sports Pressure Can Leave Kids with Overwhelming Expectations
  • Parent Sports Pressure Can Leave Kids with Overwhelming Expectations
  • Success is Achieved by Striving for Excellence, Not Perfection
  • Overcome Adversity by Using this Important Mental Toughness Strategy
  • Challenges Endure for Student Athletes Managing Pandemic Stress & Related Concerns
  • Maximize the Strength of Your Team through Care, Concern, & Compassion
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2021 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓