Why Johnny Hates Sports Why Organized Youth Sports Are Failing Our Children and What We Can Do About It Fred Engh

ISBN: 0-7570-0041-X Length: 224 Pages Size: 6 X 9-inch Format: Quality Paperback Category: Sports & Recreation / General Price: $14.95 Availability: In Print   Contents Reviews

"Mom! Do I really have to go to the game? Can't I just stay home?" All across this country, an ever-increasing number of children are dropping out of organized sports--soccer, baseball, football, swimming, and more--not because they don't like to play, but because the system they play in is failing them. Written by one of this country's leading advocates of children's sports, Why Johnny Hates Sports is the first book to look at the growing problems inherent in the way we introduce our children to sports.

In this timely book, Fred Engh examines the unsettling state of youth sports in America. He explains how and why many of the original goals of the youth leagues have been affected by today's win-at-all-costs attitude. He then documents the negative physical and psychological impact that parents, coaches, and administrators can have on children. Most important, he provides a wide variety of proven solutions to each and every one of the problems covered. Throughout the book, Engh relates stories drawn from hundreds of real-life experiences.

Why Johnny Hates Sports is both an exposŽ of abuses and a call to arms. It clearly shows us a serious problem that has been going on too long--a problem that, until now, has been tolerated by most, with little concern for its effect on our children. It also provides practical answers that can alter the destructive course that youth sports have taken.

Fred Engh has been involved in youth sports for over thirty years--as a coach, athletic director, and sports educator. In 1971, he became the National Director of youth sports for the Athletic Institute in Chicago. While at the Institute, he was promoted to Executive Director. In 1981, Fred founded a national program dedicated to the training and certification of volunteer coaches--a program that has now trained over one million coaches. This group has evolved into the National Alliance for Youth Sports, a nonprofit organization that works to provide safe and fun sports for America's youth. As the president of the Alliance, Fred Engh has been a featured speaker in over 200 cities throughout the world. He has also appeared on CNN and on numerous television shows including Dateline NBC and 20/20. Currently, Fred resides in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife, Michaele.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Bob Bierscheid
Preface

Introduction

1. The Sad State of Sports in America
2. The Evolution of Kids' Sports in America
3. Parents
4. The Youth Coach
5. Administrators--The Key to It All
6. Return the Game to the Children
7. Solutions

Conclusion

To Get Involved
About the Author
Index

Reviews

"I recently read a book called Why Johnny Hates Sports, by Fred Engh... It's well written in a style that's easy to read and understand. I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone involved in youth sports, and even if you're not involved in youth sports I think it has tremendous value."

--Cal Ripken, Jr.

 

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