youth sports

10 Stories

Mom Who Urged Daughter to Punch Opponent Must Pay Up

Latira Shonty Hunt ordered to pay $9K in restitution

(Newser) - Update: The woman who instructed her 14-year-old daughter to hit an opposing player during a basketball game, an act that resulted in a concussion, will have to pay. A judge this week ruled that Latira Shonty Hunt, 44, of La Puente, Calif., must pay $9,000 in restitution; write a...

Youth Sports Is a Suspect as Infections Increase

Michigan's governor asks for a timeout, though some teams are declining

(Newser) - With the rates of young people hospitalized for COVID-19 climbing, especially in Upper Midwest states, officials again are looking for ways to reverse the trend. Sports is one focus. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would like organized youth sports, games and practices, to take a two-week break. It's not so...

Almost Half of Parents Worry About Kids Playing Football

But only 5% discourage their kids from playing

(Newser) - Almost half of parents have concerns about their kids playing football, but according to a new AP-GfK poll, they're not exactly yanking their offspring off the field in the kind of droves that will "kill pro football." Some 44% of parents were "not comfortable" letting their...

Young Football Players Take Adult-Size Hits
Young Football Players
Take Adult-Size Hits
study says

Young Football Players Take Adult-Size Hits

Relatively speaking, the magnitude is the same as for older players

(Newser) - A new study on the dangers of football might give pause to parents in pee-wee leagues. Researchers say that, relatively speaking, the hits absorbed by kids as young as 7 have the same impact as those delivered by teens and adults on their own peers, reports the New York Times...

We're Not Taking Kids' Sports Seriously Enough

Jonathan Mahler thinks that's contributing to our 'sick' sports culture

(Newser) - The story of the 17-year-old soccer player accused of fatally punching a referee on the pitch was indeed indicative of "America's sick youth sports culture," writes Jonathan Mahler at Bloomberg . (Other examples might include this and this .) But the conventional wisdom about why is all wrong....

Little League Coach Charged With Assaulting Teen Ump

Witnesses say 43-year-old hit 17-year-old over a call

(Newser) - Next up in the sportsmanship fail category: A Little League coach in New Jersey has been charged with assault after police say he smacked a teenage ump in the head, reports the Asbury Park Press . The 43-year-old got an extra-special assault charge because the alleged incident happened in front of...

9 Charged in Gambling Ring—on Pee Wee Football

Suspects include coaches in Florida youth league

(Newser) - Authorities said today they uncovered a massive gambling operation targeting youth football games in South Florida, leading them to arrest nine men, including several coaches with extensive criminal backgrounds who they say exploited kids to turn a profit. The 18-month long investigation started when ESPN journalists brought Broward County Sheriff'...

Cups Runneth Over as Stacking Goes Big Time

Global sport gains ESPN following and its own 'Tiger'

(Newser) - Stifle that laugh. Cup-stacking is a sport in its own right, complete with a championship tournament, an ESPN following—even its own Tiger Woods. That’s Steven Purugganan, an 11-year-old who so masterfully piles plastic cups into pyramids that fans and reporters chase him for attention. Last week’s tournament...

T-Ball Pioneer Dies at 93
 T-Ball Pioneer Dies at 93 
OBITUARY

T-Ball Pioneer Dies at 93

Jerome Sacharski developed system to teach youngsters baseball fundamentals

(Newser) - Baseball lost a compassionate innovator last week with the passing of Jerome “Jerry” Sacharski, 93, the inventor of the baseball tee, the Battle Creek Enquirer reports. Sacharski introduced the tee in 1956 as part of his Pee Wee Baseball program, and is credited with popularizing the game.

Bring Your Own Lipstick: The Hockey Mom Vote

Now that hockey moms are the hot political constituency, a closer look

(Newser) - Sarah Palin describes herself as a “hockey mom,” but in a land of soccer moms and Nascar dads, that's a less familiar life form. The Wall Street Journal looks at the predawn practices, smelly yet pricey equipment, and long-distance travel helping shape a demographic that makes twice the...

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