There are as many different youth sports objectives as there are youth athletes. 

 

These objectives range from having fun with their friends to setting the base for an Olympic or professional career. 

 

Youth sports should be FUN regardless of the sport, or age level. 

 

As the ages progress, increasing levels of development should also be reached while moving the sliding scale regarding the importance of performance and winning eventually to a more even location near the high school age. The goal of winning should not surpass the goal of athlete development until the coaches AND the athletes are paid for their performance. 

 

Fun Fact 

 

Several research studies reported that when children were asked where they would rather be - sitting the bench on a winning team or playing regularly on a losing team - nearly 90 percent of them chose the losing team. It seems like the enjoyment of playing ranks higher than the satisfaction of winning. 

 

A very important concept is for youth sports program to remain athlete-centered and not adult dominated. When we, as adults, place our desires onto the youth athletes, it's misguided, at best, and developmentally dangerous most often. 

 

A well-informed and qualified coach will appropriately adopt the attitude that it is important to develop every youth athlete and do it from the developmental level of the athlete.