I read a story recently on CBSSportsline.com about college basketball coaches recruiting children as young as 12 years old. Am I the only one alarmed by this?! The NCAA has done nothing to stop it and is only concerned with making money. An organization formed to govern collegiate athletics has become focused on one thing: money. How is it that the NCAA can justify imposing penalties on a coach for helping a player financially, a la Jim O’Brien (former OSU basketball coach who helped a young foreign player's mother), yet turn a blind eye to the recruitment of babies?
Children these days are forced by youth coaches to commit to one sport at much younger ages than ever before. When I grew up, we played football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and any other sport that would afford us the opportunity to hang out with friends. Gone are the days of sno-cones after tee-ball games and pizza parties to celebrate the end of basketball season. No more using sports as a way to teach kids teamwork and sportsmanship; the untalented kids are pushed to the side and forced to ride the bench, or not play at all. Why?
I think that the amount of money being made off of college athletes is driving the push for younger recruits. College coaches make anywhere from $1-4 million/year, which is quite a bit to coach a sport, but their salaries are directly related to success. If a coach doesn’t win, he’ll be fired within a year or two. The term coaching carousel has become part of the everyday vocabulary of sports writers. To avoid being fired, coaches across the country have joined the “arms race” and begun recruiting children. It’s a sad commentary on athletics in our country, yet we all continue to watch. I hope responsible parents will step in and stop it from happening, but I’m guardedly optimistic. Look at the mother of NBA All-Star LeBron James: she was on welfare for most of her life and then began driving a brand new Hummer during LeBron’s senior year of high school. Did his mother suddenly find a new job? Nope; the vehicle was bought by a professional sports agent to garner favor so he could represent LeBron during his career. LeBron was 17! I find it hard to believe that he wasn’t swayed to skip college for the riches of the NBA.
Ultimately, the burden falls on the parents. If they choose to let their children be exploited in the hopes of landing that pro contract, then so be it. I just hope parents take a good look at their motives and let their kids be kids. Bring back kickball on recess and playing wiffle ball in the backyard. Don’t keep your kids from playing basketball in the driveway because you’re afraid they’ll get hurt and won’t be able to play first base for the traveling baseball team that you shell out thousands a year for!
I agree that children should not be scouted at such a young age. I understand that the parents want them to make something of themselved but they should realize that a child of 12 is still growing up and maturing; they might not even like the same things in a year.
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