3Cs Youth Sports Coalition
Community – Competition – Culture
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan established the 3Cs Youth Sports Coalition to disrupt the cycle of trauma in youth sports.
We’ve all seen youth sports gone wild: parents behaving badly in the stands, coaches fighting on the field, and yelling at referees. It’s not uncommon to witness drug use, drinking and gambling in the parking lots before games of athletes as young as six and seven years old as well as coaches cursing and berating children in the name of motivating them, toughening them up, and teaching them to be warriors! The pressure for every child to become an elite athlete, specialize in one sport and train year-round has become too much for our youth. No wonder by age 13, up to 70% of children have dropped out of organized sports
Often, we fail to realize that a coach’s words—both positive and negative have a lasting impact on youth and can begin their cycle of sports trauma, if not chosen wisely. Founder of Raising Excellence, Coach Reed Maltbie, shares during his TEDx Talks: Echoes beyond the game: the lasting power of a coach’s words how “a coach’s words can elevate, accelerate, and resonate well beyond the game. It’s not (just) the skills you teach but the words you speak.”
It’s time we disrupt the culture of youth sports trauma and put an end to the harm preventing our youth from reaping the full benefits of athletics. CLICK TO READ FULL STATEMENT
BGCSM is proud to welcome the first ever 3Cs cohort:
Downriver Cobras
BGC Packers
BCIC
Michigan Tigers
Highland Park Jets
Mount Clemens Barracudas
Detroit Soccer District
Barney McCosky League
