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"specialization"
One of the saddest developments in sports — at all levels — is the growing trend of youth and high school athletes specializing in one sport and playing that sport year-round. The results aren’t pretty. The professionalization of young athletes is resulting in more cases of overuse injuries, putting the future health and mobility of […]
The spring is one of the busiest times of the year for youth sports. For many families, this is a great time of year, filled with fun, exercise, team camaraderie, the development of new skills and popsicles after the games. However, it’s a dangerous time for kids under the supervision of overzealous parents and coaches. […]
Our sports culture often pushes children to over-achieve and play through pain while specializing in, and training year-round for, one sport at an early age. These factors are dangerously conducive to overuse injuries.
By Ken Reed
We have long written about the negatives associated with young athletes playing only one sport year round, namely a high risk for overuse injuries as well as psychological burnout.
Moreover, single sport athletes tend to quit playing competitive sports sooner than multi-sport athletes.
On the other hand, in addition to both […]
By Ken Reed
At this point, the problems with the American youth sports system are well-known: it’s too expensive; the economic gap between the haves and have-nots is growing; specialization in a single sport is happening at younger and younger ages; overuse injuries are becoming more common, overbearing adults (parents and coaches) continue to take […]
League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast
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In this episode we talk with Mano Watsa, President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world, with over 150 camps in 30+ U.S. states and Canada. Mano leads a unique organization […]
League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast
[Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others]
In this episode, we chat with John O’Sullivan. He is Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project, a youth sports reform initiative.
John is also the author of “Changing the Game: The […]
By Ken Reed
We’ve written several times through the year about the negatives of early sport specialization.
This time we’ll take a slightly different approach by focusing on the positives of young people playing multiple sports.
1. Playing Multiple Sports Improves Overall Athleticism
Playing multiple sports develops different muscles, increases flexibility and enhances […]
By Ken Reed
A new study reveals that kids who only play individual sports tend to have more mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, than peers who participate in team sports exclusively or play no sports at all. Moreover, children who only play team sports also have fewer mental health challenges than […]
League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast
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In this episode we chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber. Jim is Director of Coach & Curriculum Development for Breakthrough Basketball (breakthroughbasketball.com). He’s won many championships as a […]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #33 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Ken Reed Announces His Retirement and Chats With League of Fans Founder Ralph Nader – Ken and Ralph talk about the history of League of Fans and the reasons it was created. They then move into a discussion of a variety of contemporary sports issues that League of Fans has been working on in recent years. Ken and Ralph end by talking about the need for sports fans, athletes, and other sports stakeholders to get involved in the sports reform movement and be activists and change agents on issues important to them, whether that be at the local, state, or national level.
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Episode #32 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Prolific Author Joe Posnanski Joins the Show – Posnanski is one of America’s best sportswriters and has twice been named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. We chat about his new book, “Why We Love Baseball,” his new Substack newsletter called Joe Blogs.
Episode #31 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Foul Ball Safety Is Still an Important Issue at Ballparks – Our guests are Jordan Skopp, founder of FoulBallSafety.com and Greg Wilkowski, a Chicago based attorney. We discuss the historical problem of foul balls injuring fans and why some teams are still hesitant to put up protective netting in some minor league and college baseball parks.
Episode #30 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The State of College Athletics with Dr. David Ridpath: Problems and Potential Solutions – Ridpath is a sports administration professor at Ohio University and a member of The Drake Group, a college sports reform think tank.
Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman. We discuss the state of college athletics today.
Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books
