Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
September 20, 2002, Washington Post

'Tis Too Many Seasons

I want to suggest a simple rule for youth sports, one rule I think will make all the sports kids play before they get to high school a whole lot better. We can call it "The Fred Bowen Rule."

Here's the rule: Every kids sport has to have a season. One season.

Why do we need the rule? Because right now, almost all youth sports have more than one season and all the seasons go on forever. Think about it. Baseball isn't just in the spring these days. Kids play "Fall Ball." There's fall soccer, spring soccer, even indoor soccer during the winter.

I know some grade-school girls in my neighborhood who play basketball for an American Athletic Union team, the Maryland Flames. The only month when the girls are not playing hoops for the Flames is August.

Just this past weekend, I took my 13-year-old daughter, Kerry, to a field hockey clinic. It was great. High school players introduced more than 120 middle-schoolers to the sport so that the girls might want to play when they get to high school.

After the girls practiced their skills and scrimmaged, a county official explained plans for the program. "After the fall season, we will start indoor field hockey," he said, barely able to contain his enthusiasm. "Then we will have a spring season and move right into a summer program."

Whoa, wait a minute. How about an off-season? That's way too much field hockey. Pick a season.

Now I know that some kids (and parents) may be thinking: What's the big deal about a sport having more than one season? What's so bad about fall baseball or spring soccer? If kids love a sport, why shouldn't they play the sport year-round?

First, the American Academy of Pediatrics says that kids under 14 years old should not play one sport year-round. The doctors say that kids who specialize in a sport have a greater chance of getting hurt or "burned out" on that sport. And there's a greater chance that kids will play a sport year-round if the sport doesn't pick a single season.

Of course, most kids do not play only one sport year-round. Lots of kids try to play all the sports as much as they can. So when the sports do not pick a single season, kids are almost forced to play two or more sports at the same time. Sometimes they have to do that just to keep a spot on a team.

I had two girls on my spring softball team who would run onto our practice field in their soccer uniforms, shin pads and all. They said their soccer coach would kick them off the team if they missed practice.

But the problem with kids playing two sports at the same time is that it is awfully hard to get better at two sports. It's hard enough for most kids to improve at one sport. Even the pros who played two sports, such as Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, never tried to play a full season of two sports at the same time.

So how about it? Let's follow the Fred Bowen Rule. Every sport for kids 13 or under has to pick a season.

One sport. One season. What could be simpler?

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's Friday sports column and is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

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