Your Sports Kids Could Be Targets by Dr. Patrick Cohn

Thursday, May 20, 2010 ·

Your sports kids could be the targets of intimidation, harassment, exclusion, physical aggression and other forms of bullying—from athletes and/or coaches. And you might not even know it.

Why? Often, young athletes’ first reaction to being treated this way is shame, says Mark Hamilton, a professor of philosophy who teaches college courses in sports ethics at Ashland University.

Sports kids are embarrassed to talk about such treatment.

As a former college player and coach, a youth sports coach, and sports parent, Hamilton knows what he’s talking about. Read on to learn how to protect your kids and combat the bullying epidemic in sports.

Bullied sports kids feel as if they are guilty of something and actually caused kids to treat them badly, says Hamilton. “Victims often feel like it’s their fault and there’s something wrong with them.”

Hamilton saw the negative effects of bullying early on when his brother was ridiculed and pushed out of sports. Bullying in sports, he says, can be devastating.

In the least, harassment, intimidation and other forms of bullying will sink kids’ confidence and hurt their success and enjoyment of sports. At its worst, these aggressive behaviors can cause young athletes to drop out of sports and to feel depressed.

“They’ll want to quit the sport,” says Hamilton. Parents will often feel confused, and think their kids are wimping out, he says. That’s because kids are often too embarrassed to explain what’s happening to them on the court or field or in the gym.

All kinds of sports kids can be the targets of bullies….

1. Gifted athletes are often targeted because others are jealous.
2. Kids who are smaller and less physically advanced also can become the focus of bullies.
3. When kids are competing for a ladder position on a team, bullying is also common.

This behavior is rampant among both girls and boys.

What’s the solution?

Hamilton says parents need to be especially tuned into the possibility that their kids might be bullied. That means talking about it openly and establishing a family culture that encourages kids to talk about such treatment. But that’s not all. We need a revolution, he says. And everyone should be involved.

“The first step is revolutionize sports and teach people it’s unacceptable from player to player and coach to athlete and from coach or parent or any other person involved– including the officials,” he says.

Here at the Ultimate Sports Parent, we want to join the revolution and help wipe out bullying in sports. That’s why we’re about to release a new program:

“Helping Sports Kids Stay Confident and Mentally Tough in the Face of Bullying.”

We’ll have all the details for you on Monday, May 24, when we release our new program. Stay tuned….