What’s also interesting is how boys differ from girls in their approach to pickup. Where boys readily engage in the process I described above, it seems that girls are more reticent to do so. I find it disappointing that so few girls show up at the local Y to play pickup. It does seem that girls, for whatever reason, need a more organized setting to play sports. But this is a whole topic onto itself…

The idea of a parent making space available, throwing out the ball, and letting kids play (and manage the games and arguments themselves) is certainly better than no self-directed play at all. It addresses the issue of safety and provides some independence for kids to play the game they way they want to. This is a good example of trying to come up with an innovative solution to promote more self-directed play in today’s world.

Wendy, I think you’re also right about the potential effect of organized-only play on creativity. One of the many benefits of pickup games is that a young athlete can more readily explore new and different techniques. For anyone who’s interested, I talk about this in my Playing Up/Playing Down post on Inside Youth Sports.

Glad to hear we’re still on the same team!!

I guess what is really at hand is who does the organizing and how? Kids lose out when parents/adults do it all the time, but younger children have few opportunities to do it themselves. Recently, on a weekend at a school blacktop near me, I saw a man with 5 or 6 young boys. They were doing “side shuffling drills” in front of the hoop. He was leading while they followed. Where was the play?

This points out a common theme: the adult approach to the game that belongs to the kids. What I have seen from some great soccer coaches is to host a ‘street soccer’ approach to practice. Get a space, bring a ball or two and some cones to define boundaries and goals, maybe some pinnies to differentiate teams and then say, “Go ahead, play.”

Kids who first come to my teams are totally confused by this. They won’t play until you give them permission and then they ask which position they should play.

So perhaps, for part of the time at least, we should make the space available, let them know the rules if they don’t yet and then be present just enough to insure safety.

Now regarding your statement “Today’s answer to backyard games is organized youth sports.” (Which I believe was formerly “Youth sports today IS organized sports.”), I couldn’t disagree more!

As you accurately point out, our society has changed and some of these changes such as two paycheck families have diminished the opportunity for children to play neighborhood pickup games. But other factors are more ones of choice, and possibly ignorance. For instance, parental concern over safety may be more rooted in a fear-based psychology driven by our 24 hour news cycle rather than any widespread increase in deviant behavior. Over-scheduling a child’s activities to the point where there is no room for self-directed play is another.

While some sports (soccer, baseball) may now be played mostly within the province of organized sports, others such as basketball still enjoy a strong self-directed play component. Not only are there many portable hoops evident on suburban streets, but kids congregate at community settings such as the YMCA to engage in 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and full court pickup games. I personally witness this at my local Y where dozens of kids of all ages regularly show up after school and weekends to engage in fun, self-directed pickup games.

I firmly believe that the best youth sports experience is one that embraces both self-directed play AND organized youth sports. This mix not only benefits kids when they’re young but also sets the foundation for active participation in sports as adults (when organized sports play a much lesser role).

Change does preclude a return to the “good old days.” But choices remain, and where possible, I believe parents, administrators and youth sports advocates should seek opportunities to provide a balanced youth sports experience—one that includes a strong self-directed play component.