This issue of Sport Scene (September 1999 Vol. 15:1) was to have been one of our two annual hard copy issues. However, this was not possible due to technical problems. We expect to produce a hard copy issue in November, if the creek don’t rise. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Material in Sport Scene and throughout our web site (www.NAYSI.com) may not be reproduced with out permission of the North American Youth Sport Institute.

Subscribers to Sport Scene may now receive electronic issues directly to your desktop. When you subscribe, Sport Scene will arrive as attached files in both Microsoft Word for Windows and MAC format. Sport Scene is published six times per year. Your subscription fee ($16 US and North America, $24 outside North American) includes two hard copies and all six issues are delivered directly to your desktop. To subscribe, send your subscription fee along with the e-mail address to which you want your e-copies sent.

Silent Sunday in Cleveland:
Nothing To Get Excited About
by Jack Hutslar

North American Youth Sport Institute
October 5, 1999

The mass media discovered youth sport again. What prompted this uncommon visit, you ask? Did some thoughtless adult run off with the program treasury? Child abuse? Referees getting attacked by parents and coaches? No. Not this time. It was not even a sinister plot.

The attention grabber was "Silent Sunday" at a Cleveland, Ohio soccer program for eight to 14 year olds girls. Apparently the parents and coaches had been too vocal at the games their kids played, and negative to boot. So, the program leaders decided to have one day where coaches and parents would be required to button up and take on the demeanor of a hospital. Just zip it.

Radio reporters indicated that "Silent Sunday" was well received by the players. The only sounds to be heard that day were those coming from the boy’s soccer matches on the adjacent fields. Program officials said that they might try to do it once again next season.

The last time I saw youth sport get media attention like this was when a youth basketball program did not keep league standings. In both cases, it was not received with open support. There seemed to be underlying questions about the propriety of these "radical" strategies.

The problem is that neither of these programs looked like the sports we see on television. I know that some people think it is not good for kids to play games that do not resemble the big leagues. After all, if there is no coaching, no yelling and screaming, no trophies, and nothing else on the line, how can it be any good? After all, televised sports are the unofficial training ground for youth sport in the USA. If it is on TV, that is the way it needs to be done.

My opinion is . . . go Cleveland. When it comes to sports for kids, there is absolutely no need to follow one model, particularly the one that I have referred to as Revenue Sports - - the big time. Silent Sunday is no big deal in the world of kids and sports.

Most youngsters who play youth sports, some 45 million strong as reported in KIDbits, never go on to play high school or college sports, much less pro sports. In fact, kids start dropping out of formal youth programs in big numbers by the time they are 13 or 14 years of age.

We should ask ourselves this question. What is the point in forcing kids into games that look like televised sorts? That model puts kids on the bench or runs them out of sports when they lag behind their peer group. The Revenue Sport model is not kind to late bloomers, at any age.

This entire scenario brings into question again the purpose of sports for kids. I my view, it is pretty simple. If the kids get to play, learn something about the game and themselves, and have a good time, then there is not much else to be accomplished. Secondarily, it sets the stage for lifetime participation in healthy physical activity.

To accomplish these simple objectives, we just need to throw away the rules and focus on participation. When we discard the trappings of Revenue Sports, one really neat thing happens. A lot of kids get to play, learn and get better. Some develop the value of lifetime participation . . . and some late bloomers go on to become very, very good. Go Cleveland and all others who can resist the glitter of Revenue Sports. Let ‘em play.

Note: Jack Hutslar is a youth sport specialist. He has developed training programs for organizations that enroll over one million youngsters annually. For more information about kids and sports plus other ways to set up programs for boys and girls, visit www.NAYSI.com, read BEYOND X’s and O’s by Jack Hutslar, and enroll in the NAYSI On-line Course for coaches and parents. It’s free.

KIDbits, edited and published by Jack Hutslar, presents a wide range of data annually about tots, children and teenagers and their activities.

The 1998 edition includes participation reports (1997 data) from almost 50 national youth sport organizations such as AAU, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Little League, YBOA and others. The 1997 On-Line edition can be viewed only at www.NAYSI.com. The 1998 edition includes:

• Reports on 50 youth organizations

• Youth (school, non-school) sport

• Kids and sports participation, injuries, dropouts, education

• Drugs, alcohol and tobacco

• Plus some really useless stuff

KIDbits 1998 - Vol. V. Latest hard copy edition with the NAYSI Survey of Youth Sport Organizations. $24.95 plus $3.50 postage & handling.

1997 edition, Vol. IV, KIDbits On-Line edition only, 61 pages, $24.95 when printed directly from www.NAYSI.com.

1996 edition, Vol. III, 56 pages, $24.95 plus $3.50 postage & handling. Hard copy edition with the NAYSI Survey of Youth Sport Organizations. A few copies still available.

KIDbits is available only through the North American Youth Sport Institute. Order your hard copy of Vol. III or V today. Send $24.95 + $3.50 shipping to NAYSI Resource List, PO Box 957, Kernersville, NC 27285.

Revenue Sports Watch
by Jack Hutslar

Coaching. Mike Riley, first year coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1999 and former collegiate coach at Oregon said that there were just two things that players want from their coach. They are: to be coached (learn new skills), and be treated properly.

Good job. Bobby Valentine, manager of the New York Mets baseball team, was captured on TV NOT swearing just after they were eliminated by the Braves in the 1999 National League playoffs. The F word is something that TV folks seem intent on finding and broadcasting. Congratulations to Manager Valentine for his good behavior. Similarly, Coach Billick of the Baltimore Browns . . . er . . . Ravens, was chastised by his family for what one of my elementary school teacher colleagues called, bathroom words. Billick vowed to clean up his act. Way to go coach.

The cap. Tony Gwynn, one of Major League Baseball’s top hitters each year, said that his focus at bat is on the letter or logo on the pitcher’s cap. During the delivery, he is going to pick up the ball somewhere in the vicinity of the pitcher’s cap.

Bench Time. "This will be the last time the second group gets much work,'' Palmer said. "As the season goes on, they start to fall behind because they're running the plays everybody else runs (as the scout team). I think the game will help us tremendously with our second group. I think it will be a good test for our second group.'' Chris Palmer, Browns Head Coach talking about his last preseason NFL football game. 9/1/99. This is precisely why it is necessary to get playing time for all of your players. Bench players progress at a slower rate than starters. While sitting, they fall behind the starters on the other teams.

Shoes? We got a real chuckle when former sports announcer Bryant Gumble, in striving to show his human side, said that he went shopping for shoes with a fellow broadcaster.

We have answered a number of questions on the NAYSI Bulletin Board here and at Ask Jack about nutrition, bulking up, creatine and other matters related to growth supplements. According to the authors: these supplements "can only help them when combined with a well-designed training program and a balanced diet." AAHPERD just published (10/12/99) a new book called "Nutritional Supplements for Athletes". Cost is $24. Stock number is 304-10202. Telephone 800 321-0789 (in VA) to order a copy of this important book.

• 9th -  Tracy Austin and John McEnroe win US Open tennis titles
• 10th -  Moscow says Soviet troops in Cuba are advisors, denying combat role
• 10th -  Britain ends production of MG sports car
• 23rd - Lou Brock of the Cards steals base 938 in farewell to baseball
• 27th - U.S. Congress approves Department of Education

• 6th - Pope John Paul II becomes first Pope received in White House
• 17th - Pirates win World Series over Orioles in five games

Look for weekly updates and new information
about youth sport and education at www.NAYSI.com

Nearly all used products produce effects similar to anesthetics, which slow down the body's function. Varying upon level of dosage, the user can experience slight stimulation, feeling of less inhibition or loss of consciousness. The user can also suffer from Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. The user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time he or she uses an inhalant.

There is a common link between inhalant use and problems in school -- failing grades, chronic absences and general apathy. Other signs include the following:

• paint or stains on body or clothing
• spots or sores around the mouth
• red or runny eyes or nose
• chemical breath odor
• drunk, dazed or dizzy appearance
• nausea, loss of appetite
• anxiety, excitability, irritability

Source: www.Inhalants.org

School-based Prevention Programs

Recent studies show that the problem of inhalant use continues to rise and the need for more education in the classroom is increasingly apparent. With the help of informed educators and a quality program, educators can take this dangerous opponent to bat, and make significant changes in the rising rate of inhalant use. Isabel Burk, a drug prevention consultant, has developed guidelines for school professionals who talk to students about inhalants. In addition to ascertaining students' knowledge at each level and building on existing skills and information, she suggests the following strategies:

Ages 4 to 7:

• Teach about oxygen's importance to life and body functioning.

• Discuss the need for parental supervision and adequate room ventilation for cleaning products, solvents, glues and other products.

• Be a good role model; let students see you reading labels and following instructions.

Ages 7 to 10:

• Define and discuss the term "toxic"; students can practice reading labels and following instructions.

• Teach about oxygen's importance to life and functioning, with emphasis on body systems and brain functions.

• Discuss the need for parental supervision, following directions and adequate room ventilation.

• Be a good role model; let students see you reading labels and following instructions.

• Discuss and discourage "body pollution" and introducing poisons into the body.

Ages 10 to 14:

• Discuss negative effects of oxygen deprivation.

• Teach/reinforce peer resistance skills.

• Discuss environmental toxins and personal safety issues.

Ages 14 to 18:

• Describe and discuss implications of other gases replacing oxygen in the blood.

• Describe and discuss short/long-term effects of inhaling toxic products.

• Describe and discuss negative effects of volatile chemicals on fatty brain tissue.

• Where appropriate, offer access to counselor or other qualified professional.

• Respond to questions concerning specific products by describing negative effects and consequences.

In addition to the information listed above, there are some
definite DO's and DON'Ts to school-based prevention programs.

DO

• Review school policy regarding drug use and referral service

• Provide training for all school staff as well as parents

• Start prevention efforts, by age 5, minimum

• Link inhalants to safety or environmental issues

• Ascertain current level of knowledge

• Teach and reinforce appropriate skills

• reading labels

• safety precautions

• following directions

• decision-making skills

• recognition of poisons/toxins

• refusal skills

• awareness of physical symptoms

DON'T

• Glamorize or promote usage

• Rely on scare tactics

• Tell too much, too soon

• Give details on "how to use" or trendy products being abused

• Limit prevention to secondary grade levels

• Link inhalants with drugs or a drug unit

Source: Isabel Burk, M.S., CHES, The Health Network.
Reprinted from www.Inhalants.org

Murphy's Technology Law #1:
You can never tell which way the train went by looking at the track.

Murphy's Technology Law #2:
Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.

Murphy's Technology Law #3:
Technology is dominated by those who manage what they do not understand.

Murphy's Technology Law #4:
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

Murphy's Technology Law #5:
An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he/she knows absolutely everything about nothing.

Murphy's Technology Law #6:
Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it, and he'll have to touch to be sure.

Murphy's Technology Law #7:
All great discoveries are made by mistake.

Murphy's Technology Law #8:
Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget.

Murphy's Technology Law #9:
All's well that ends . . . period.

Murphy's Technology Law #10:
A meeting is an event at which minutes are kept and hours are lost.

Murphy's Technology Law #11:
The first myth of management is that it exists.

Murphy's Technology Law #12:
A failure will not appear until a unit has passed final inspection.

Murphy's Technology Law #13:
New systems generate new problems.

Murphy's Technology Law #14:
To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.

Murphy's Technology Law #15:
We don't know one-millionth of one percent about anything.

Murphy's Technology Law #16:
Any given program, when running, is obsolete.

Murphy's Technology Law #17:
A computer makes as many mistakes in two seconds as 20 men working 20 years make.

Source: One of those internet emails that comes around so many times the author has been lost in space.

The NAYSI On-Line Course for coaches, teachers and parents is now available at no charge at www.usasportsnet.com. A free copy of BEYOND X’s and O’s can be downloaded from that web site as well. You can also get there by clicking on the On-Line Course button at www.NAYSI.com.

MT, originally written by Jack Hutslar for the United States Professional Tennis Registry, has been revised and upgraded to include more good stuff for kids. If you work with youngsters, age nine and under, in any capacity, add Munchkin Tennis to your library. Cost is $14.95 plus $1.75 shipping. See the NAYSI Resource List.

Education programs in all sports for coaches and teachers are conducted in Mexico and other Hispanic nations through Educacion Deportiva Internacional and the North American Youth Sport Institute. Lic. Roman Perez Villejo, a specialist in sport management, and Jack Hutslar have been conducting programs throughout Mexico. For more information, contact:

Lic. Roman Perez Villejo
Educacion Deportiva Internacional (EDI)
Cholul No. 747, Balcones de Anahuac
San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, 66410, MEXICO
Telephone 011 52 8 307 0065 [telephono y fax]
email: EDIYBOA@ACNET.NET

• Get programs for youngsters up and running effectively

• Have program ideas but are unsure how to make them work

• Want to start a league or conduct tournaments

• Ready to author a book or manual

• Customized training programs, lectures, presentations

• Client Telephone: 800 767-4916

• Email: Jack@NAYSI.com

        a fee is charged for this service

CEU’s . . . option with NAYSI training programs for coaches, teachers, club staff, parents, administrators and other youth work professionals.

This is an electronic edition of Sport Scene (starting with Vol. 13). Electronic issues and those that follow can be viewed at www.NAYSI.com.

Our web page is now on line so the publication schedule for Sport Scene has been revised. It will now be published six times annually. Just two editions will be distributed in hard copy format for direct mail. Another four electronic editions will be reproduced on line only at www.NAYSI.com. Subscribers will receive two hard copies annually and may read the on line editions as time permits. Subscribers who send their email address will receive each issue at their desktop.

To receive hard copies of Sport Scene regularly, send $16 (North America) and $25 (elsewhere) to Sport Scene, P.O. Box 957, Kernersville, NC 27285.

(ISSN 0270-1812)
September 1999 - Vol. 15: No. 1
Jack Hutslar, Ph.D., Editor/Publisher
North American Youth Sport Institute
a division of Paradox Group Ltd.
4985 Oak Garden Drive
Kernersville North Carolina, 27284, USA
336-784-4926
336-784-5546 [fax]
800-767-4916 [customers & clients]
Jack@NAYSI.com
www.NAYSI.com

"So Youngsters Can Learn Faster,
Play In Safety And Have A Lot More Fun"
NAYSI © 1999