Sports Product Review

What is the most alarming trend in youth sports today? Too many “win-at-all-costs” coaches have taken the fun out of it, giving rise to an epidemic of kids quitting earlier than they should. Both recreational and competitive sports have fallen victim to the parents and coaches who place winning above all else. In too many cases, sports are no longer about having fun and getting healthy. Article after article have been written on the subject and, when surveyed, the number one reason kids give for quitting sports is that it wasn’t fun any more due to too much emphasis on winning.

Kids don’t want to live in fear of being yelled at or criticized for making a mistake. Most don’t want to play something if the pressure to perform is too intense. But now, there is a fantastic new company called Skillzys, (www.skillzys.com) that has set out to change the culture for the better.

What are Skillzys? Think of them as merit badges for kids playing soccer. A Skillzy is a colorfully printed plastic card that depicts a sports-specific technique or tactical idea.  The idea is that young athletes try to earn Skillzys by properly executing learned techniques under the pressures of actual league or tournament games.  All Skillzys are punched with a hole in the upper left corner and are designed to be carried and displayed on an athlete's sports bag or backpack. Skillzys for other sports will be available soon. I showed multiple versions of the tags to my kids and they thought they were super-cool.

Kids can’t control whether or not they score a goal, whether or not they get a hit or, for that matter, whether or not they win the game. Yet, accomplishment is typically only measured in these terms. Now a coach can reward a player for something that is totally within his or her control, by doling out these brightly-colored, graphically-pleasing cards as a reward for in individual’s hard work. Skillzys also makes tags for tournaments that add a special touch of class to the event.

Can one company cure all the ills plaguing youth sports overnight? Probably not. But given the fact we all agree that the longer kids stay in sports the better, here’s hoping we see a lot more Skillzys on display everywhere.

Source: Skillzys