Teen Volleyball Player Sues Youth League after Dispute

Allie McDavitt 

Audrey Dimitrew, a 16-year old volleyball player and her parents sued a travel volleyball league after her coach benched the young athlete. Audrey was given the options of remaining on her current team and being on the practice squad or transferring to another team in the league. She chose to transfer but the league did not approve the move stating it “would set a bad precedent” (Jouvenal, 2015, para. 24). More and more parents and families are filing lawsuits against youth sport leagues, camps and coaches for situations similar to Audrey’s. The competition in youth sports continues to increase as parents and kids start specializing in sports at extremely young ages in order to be rewarded (by scholarship) in the future (Jouvenal, 2015).

There seems to be a shift from youth sports being a fun activity for kids to burn some energy and hang out with friends to an investment for parents in hopes of giving their child a leg up on the competition and a chance at a scholarship one day. Tests to determine a child’s genetic strengths for sports, national championships for kids under the age of 8 and training videos for 6-month olds are a few examples of the excessive competitive nature that youth sports is experiencing (Jouvenal, 2015). However, many parents reported they thought youth sports were “too expensive and time-consuming and placed too much emphasis on winning over having fun” (Jouvenal, 2015, para.33).

Reading articles like this one make me think that the value of youth sports has decreased over recent years. To me, playing in these leagues seems to cause more stress than enjoyment for both the kids and parents. Even leagues and clubs are suffering as a result of the increased competitiveness. The attorney for the league said the lawsuit may cause the entire club to go under since there is such a financial burden that follows being sued (Jouvenal, 2015). Youth sports allow a child to have fun playing with friends, get healthy exercise, learn to play various sports and to discover what their passion may be. Can kids really do this if parents are funneling money towards one sport with the hopes of their child gaining a scholarship is several years? Is it the parents or the coaches and league officials that are taking youth sports too seriously? Is it ethical for them to get this competitive with youth sports?

References:

Jouvenal, J. (2015, March 31). Teen Volleyball Player takes her Dispute to Another Kind of Court. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/teen-volleyball-player-takes-her-dispute-to-another-kind-of-court/2015/03/31/e72fb174-c8f0-11e4-b2a1-bed1aaea2816_story.html