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| Andover boys' hockey - 2014-15 season. |
I've been curious about how sports have changed. Specifically, youth sports. The inspiration lately was a feature package in the Star Tribune focusing on the Richfield boys' hockey program and its ultimate demise prior to this high school season. The number of athletes had declined over the past few years, and there were not enough to field a team anymore.
Richfield isn't alone either. Plenty of high school sports teams have either disbanded or formed co-op programs with nearby schools.
What struck me in this particular story was reading about how the city's rinks used to be packed with kids. According to the Star Tribune story, there were 19 outdoor ice rinks in Richfield with 13 staffed warming houses. Now that's down to 11 rinks, that are sparsely used, and just two staffed warming houses.
From packed to nearly vacant
So, rinks used to be packed. I'm sure this was the case in other metro cities, too.
Quick related side note. My dad recalls the days back in the 1970s when he'd rush over to the Coon Rapids High School tennis courts after supper in the summer, hoping to get a spot on the courts. Players occupied them until dusk during those long evenings. Now, tennis courts are replaced with athletic fields or parking lots more often than I'd like to see. And the ones that remain are sparsely occupied.
Anyway, athletics are changing. Pickup games just for kicks with your neighborhood pals aren't really a thing anymore, at least in my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong and some of it still happens.
But I think kids aren't taking part in these casual games. Why? I can think of a few reasons.
Where is everybody?
Organized sports and athletic associations have grown over the years. There are more opportunities to play sports besides making the high school varsity team. Along with that, people are busier. There's school functions, homework, part time jobs and sports, among other things. If kids are spending so much time practicing and playing games for their organized sports, do they really have the time or energy to go play with friends?
Maybe more likely, they'll spend the time connecting with friends on social media or play video games. Perhaps hockey via the XBox is more appealing than lacing up your skates. I'm not a gamer, so I really don't know.
Another reason? Money. The Strib reported players spend between $2,000 and $5,000. All that equipment, ice time, travel for tournaments. It adds up. Many families just don't have that kind of money to spend for one sport for one child. I'm the sure the economic downturn in recent years can be partly to blame, too.
How about one-sport athletes? This is a trend that's been examined by many over the past few years. Instead of playing a variety of sports, some athletes focus on just one all year long as they try and improve their game. I'm not sure the divide on this now, although I have interviewed athletes who still play three sports a year, one for each season.
I think along with this one-sport athlete theory is the idea of college scholarships. College is spendy and costs are only growing exponentially with time. So it's logical that some elite athletes would want to focus on one sport in hopes of attracting attention of colleges or even scouts for professional teams. If kids are that serious about their sport, it probably won't leave much time to mess around with your buddies for a pickup game outdoors.
Remember one thing
Maybe the pickup games of old will never return to what they once were. Sports evolve just like everything else. If there's one thing to remember about sports though, it's that they're supposed to be fun. So whenever you play or watch, just have a blast.
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