▲ Olympic gold medalist and Laureus Sport Foundation Ambassador Felix Sanchez came to participate in the New Orleans Running Event
One of the recent achievements of the United States has been very bad. The aspen Institute, a top think tank, writes a state of play report each year to rate the performance of the U.S. government in guiding young people to participate in sports. The latest release of the "2017 Youth Sports Development Report" data is not optimistic, there are many c-level and d-level, and the c and d here do not represent any good words.
The report mainly targeted children aged 6-12 years, which is very deadly. Fatality here is the key meaning, not the kind of fatality that everything gives you the wrong one (for example, "Mommy and Daddy, your clothes are really ugly, and your investment strategy is not good"). This period is a period of developing the habit of exercising, an important period of long body, and a period of perfect physiological development. That is to say, it is during this period that health problems such as obesity in adulthood begin to appear.
Some of the figures in the report reflect the dire situation. In 2016, only 36.9% of children aged 6-12 regularly participated in at least one team sport. This figure has steadily declined year by year since 2011, from 41.5% to 41.4%, then to 41.0%, 38.2%, 38.6%, and then to 36.9% in 2016.
The data of several team sports majors have almost declined. From 2008 to 2016, the percentage of regular basketball players among 6-12-year-olds fell by 3.6 percent; the number of baseball players fell by 4.1 percent; the number of football people fell by 2.7 percent; and the number of people in football fell by 1.5 percent.
In addition, less than half (49.8%) of the number of people who participated in at least one individual sport in 2016 in a year accounted for the number of people in this age group. That said, more than half of people in that age group don't engage in activities such as running, cycling, roller skating, skateboarding, golfing, martial arts or tennis in a year.
▲ The chart data of the 2017 U.S. National Sports Development Report is not optimistic
The statistics for children from low-income families are even worse. Specifically, the percentage of children aged 6-12 in households earning less than $25,000 who participate in team sports at least one day a year fell from 35.7 percent in 2015 to 34.6 percent in 2016.
The only bright spot in the report is that the proportion of girls participating in team sports has been rising, with the proportion of people participating in team sports at least once in a year rising from 49.4% in 2011 to 51.3% in 2015 and 52.8% in 2016. Although this figure is still significantly lower than that of boys (61.1%), at least there is no problem with the development trend.
The U.S. government has implemented eight policies to encourage children to participate in sports, and the Aspen report also rates the effectiveness of these measures:
1. Ask kids what they want :d level
2. Revisit the re-introduce free play :d+ level
3. Encourage sports sampling: C-level
4. Revitalize in-town leagues: C-class
5. Think small: C-level
6. Designing for development: C grade
7. Train all coaches :d+ level
8. Emphasize prevention: C level
There is a joke abroad: why do fish always fail the exam? Because it is always below sea-level (with c-level, or c-level). From this point of view, these eight policies are also the level of floating on the water, and the United States has not done a good job in implementing these policies.
For example, the first policy rating is d-rated, and adults organize sporting events and events without taking into account the real needs of children. Although the children are still young and laugh unscrupulously, they are also human after all. People usually like to do what they want to do, rather than what others ask them to do. At a time when the video game, social media and entertainment industries are more focused on children, how will children choose? Do you attend a boring sports event or watch a funny video on YouTube?
Why did "Relive and Have Fun" get d+? Remember the innocent time of that year, riding around the city, swimming in the lake, playing hide-and-seek, playing simple games. Today, children are no longer running around and playing freely as they once were. Further steps are needed to change this, as reported in The Today Show:
What about the c- of "encouraging trying different projects"? Many coaches and parents have their children specialize in one project (rather than multiple developments) in the hope that their children will excel, earn honors, receive college scholarships, and hope to become the next LeBron James or Missy Franklin (American female swimmer). But in fact, this practice may be the opposite, leading to overwork and injury.
▲ Group photo of the founding members of "Project Play 2020"
If "small-minded" is a pejorative meaning, the c-level is acceptable. However, this actually reflects that the United States has not taken the necessary measures to solve the problem simply, intelligently, and meticulously, and has not allowed the children to have a more spacious playground. The 2017 Youth Sports Development Report also pointed out that the Trump administration's actions this year are indeed contrary to this. Once the White House budget is completed, it will eliminate community development grants, thereby cutting off the source of funding for youth recreation facilities; cutting the water and soil conservation fund by 84%, directly affecting the construction of park and other activity sites. "Think small" and so on.
To understand why U.S. "science development" policy is c-level, listen to Katy Tomaino, senior manager of research and evaluation at the Lawrence Sports Foundation, explain some of the difficulties children face:
"The Lawrence Sports Foundation recently surveyed sports development organizations across the United States, and we received responses from more than 100 organizations. When it comes to the biggest barriers to youth exposure to sports, 68 percent of organizations surveyed believe that traffic is a problem, with too much time on the way, insufficient types of transportation, and hidden dangers in traffic safety. The organizations also said they wanted to enhance the safety and area of the event venue. Common problems also revolve around the family: lack of parental support, cultural barriers, and constraints on family affairs. ”
The lack of performance in the rating shows that the United States has not fully mobilized its forces to remove obstacles.
Finally, the U.S. "Focus on Prevention" policy rating is C because injuries caused by physical activity are not effectively prevented (e.g., concussions, muscle, joint, and bone problems due to overwork) and emotional and mental problems (e.g., eating disorders and excessive fatigue).
With such poor results, how should the United States be good? Neither give up nor let go. Tom Farrey, director of the Aspen Institute's Sports and Society Program, who led the compilation of the 2017 Youth Sports Development Report for many years, saw that the data was so poor, and came up with the idea of uniting all parties, setting development goals by 2020, and working together to achieve them. Although there are many individual efforts to increase participation in sports activities, these efforts have not been effective in forming synergies. As Fari says, "It is only by uniting individuals into a whole that we achieve success." We look forward to coordinating efforts to explore development opportunities. ”
After the tireless efforts of Farry and his team, at the 2017 Sports Engineering Summit held in September this year, the Aspen Institute announced the formation of the "Sports Engineering 2020" alliance, whose founding members include: NBC Sports Group, Nike, Target, NBA, MLB, Dick Sporting Goods, U.S. Olympic Committee, SpecialTy Surgical Hospital, American Professional Golf Championships, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. foundation), new York Road Running Association, National Fitness Foundation, American Sports School of Medicine, Ketchum Sports and Entertainment, Sports Facilities Advisory, Sports Facilities Industry Association, and Johns Hopkins University's Center for Global Obesity Prevention. The CDC will act as the alliance's technical liaison.
Here's what some of the founding members have to say about Sports Engineering 2020. Caitlin Morris, nike's general manager of community communications, said: "This generation of children is lazier than ever before. No one can solve the problem on their own – and this reflects the need for a collaborative dialogue linked by sports engineering. Nike is committed to helping children fall in love with sports and love sports for the rest of their lives. ”
Chris Marinak, mlb's executive vice president of economics and strategy, added: "The most important thing for sport to develop is to involve young people and give them the opportunity to exercise. In today's era of investment simplicity and sports specialization, the development benefits of participating in different sports projects need to be recognized. Major League Baseball is honored to be part of the league to work together to improve children's physical fitness and lay the foundation for their future athletic careers. ”
Justin Kaufenberg, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SPORTSENGINE, a subsidiary of NBC Sports Group, said: "We believe that by working together, more children can participate in sports. Our mission is to inspire young people so that everyone who loves sports, regardless of their background, can get involved, in every project. We are very proud to participate in 'Sports Engineering 2020' and to collaborate with each member organization. ”
Disclaimer: This article is compiled from Forbes for Lazy Bear Sports, and the original author is Bruce Y. Lee.