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Just Let the Kids Play: How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child's Fun and Success in Youth Sports
This is not just another book touting improved sportsmanship and better coaching to remedy the violence in youth sports today. Just Let the Kids Play is the first book to identify the youth sports systems as the cause of the problem, and offers practical ways to rebuild them so they better serve the physical and emotional needs of children. First-round Nba draft pick, part-time Nba scout and youth coach Bob Bigelow joins journalists Tom Moroney and Linda Hall to put youth sports under harsh review. They explain the controversial belief that elite traveling teams at young ages should be abolished and replaced with equal playing time, team parity and shortened seasons, among others. Focusing on soccer, basketball, baseball and hockey, they highlight ten programs nationwide where these principles are working, and offer ways to integrate them into existing programs without sacrificing a child's chances for success.Soccer moms and hockey dads will discover that it really is possible to sleep in on Saturdays without sacrificing their child's future!
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 10, 2022
Review originally published April 2008
Recently, I read an article in the La Crosse Tribune by John Hibshman from Onalaska. The article was about giving youth sports back to the kids. I liked his view, and understood exactly what he was talking about. The best part for me was his mention of a book by Bob Bigelow called Just Let the Kids Play.
It is truly a fantastic book, I would agree, and would also like to challenge any and all adults that are in any way involved in youth sports to read this book. Bob Bigelow, the author, is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player who lectures around the country. He has given more than 400 speeches regarding youth sports. Bigelow has spent years researching the sociological, psychological, and physiological impact of youth sports systems.
Just Let the Kids Play is not a new book, and although the copyright is 2001, the information is up-to-the-minute, happening right now. The subtitle on the front reads How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports.
After checking the titles of the ten very easy-to-read chapters, you will probably opt to skim through the whole book first and then go back and read it cover to cover.
Perhaps you would want to dive right into Chapter 2, “Elite Teams: The Unkindest Cuts of All,” or Chapter 4, “Injuries: A Toll on Body and Soul,” or even Chapter 8, “The Politics of Youth Sports: Fighting for Change.”
There is even a chapter on the steps one would take to change the system and what kinds of resistance you would probably encounter.
Bigelow follows up his last chapter with some frequently asked questions and proceeds to give an e-mail address where he and other members of an expert panel will address issues including injuries, difficult parents/coaches, athletic development, or any other questions you may have. The book is quite credible, with its list of references and resource information wrap-up at the end.
People are constantly connecting with youth sports systems all year long, and there are lots of great informative books on this subject.
If you are interested in making a positive change to youth sports, read Bob Bigelow's book Just Let the Kids Play and call John Hibshman in Onalaska at 781-6418.
See also:
Here are some other related titles you may be interested in checking out:
Kidsports: A Survival Guide for Parents by Nathan J. Smith
Parenting, SportsMom Style: Real-Life Solutions for Surviving the Youth Sports Scene by Laurel Phillips
Coaching Kids for Dummies by Rick Wolff
Will You Still Love Me If I Don’t Win?: A Guide For Parents of Young Athletes by Christopher Andersonn
Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way: Ensuring the Best Experience For Your Kids in Any Sport by Cal Ripken
Whose Game is it Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most From Sports, Organized By Age and Stage by Richard Ginsburg
The Winding Rivers Library System has a couple of copies of Just Let the Kids Play in our catalog. If you would like to request a copy, call me today or any La Crosse County Library branch, and you can pick it up at the location most convenient for you.
Kids grow up so fast these days, we all need to get informed, get involved, and get it right!
Find this book and similar titles within our catalog.
Recently, I read an article in the La Crosse Tribune by John Hibshman from Onalaska. The article was about giving youth sports back to the kids. I liked his view, and understood exactly what he was talking about. The best part for me was his mention of a book by Bob Bigelow called Just Let the Kids Play.
It is truly a fantastic book, I would agree, and would also like to challenge any and all adults that are in any way involved in youth sports to read this book. Bob Bigelow, the author, is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) player who lectures around the country. He has given more than 400 speeches regarding youth sports. Bigelow has spent years researching the sociological, psychological, and physiological impact of youth sports systems.
Just Let the Kids Play is not a new book, and although the copyright is 2001, the information is up-to-the-minute, happening right now. The subtitle on the front reads How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports.
After checking the titles of the ten very easy-to-read chapters, you will probably opt to skim through the whole book first and then go back and read it cover to cover.
Perhaps you would want to dive right into Chapter 2, “Elite Teams: The Unkindest Cuts of All,” or Chapter 4, “Injuries: A Toll on Body and Soul,” or even Chapter 8, “The Politics of Youth Sports: Fighting for Change.”
There is even a chapter on the steps one would take to change the system and what kinds of resistance you would probably encounter.
Bigelow follows up his last chapter with some frequently asked questions and proceeds to give an e-mail address where he and other members of an expert panel will address issues including injuries, difficult parents/coaches, athletic development, or any other questions you may have. The book is quite credible, with its list of references and resource information wrap-up at the end.
People are constantly connecting with youth sports systems all year long, and there are lots of great informative books on this subject.
If you are interested in making a positive change to youth sports, read Bob Bigelow's book Just Let the Kids Play and call John Hibshman in Onalaska at 781-6418.
See also:
Here are some other related titles you may be interested in checking out:
Kidsports: A Survival Guide for Parents by Nathan J. Smith
Parenting, SportsMom Style: Real-Life Solutions for Surviving the Youth Sports Scene by Laurel Phillips
Coaching Kids for Dummies by Rick Wolff
Will You Still Love Me If I Don’t Win?: A Guide For Parents of Young Athletes by Christopher Andersonn
Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way: Ensuring the Best Experience For Your Kids in Any Sport by Cal Ripken
Whose Game is it Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most From Sports, Organized By Age and Stage by Richard Ginsburg
The Winding Rivers Library System has a couple of copies of Just Let the Kids Play in our catalog. If you would like to request a copy, call me today or any La Crosse County Library branch, and you can pick it up at the location most convenient for you.
Kids grow up so fast these days, we all need to get informed, get involved, and get it right!
Find this book and similar titles within our catalog.
October 1, 2017
Should be mandatory reading for all parents when they first get their kids involved in sports.
October 27, 2019
This book had a lot of good advice for parents and coaches, and was also a very enjoyable read.
June 6, 2025
Good informational text on programs involving kids' sports.
July 30, 2013
I picked up this book several years before I actually read it. I'm someone who was a youth sport participant. And I currently coach at the 7th and 8th grade level, as well as a JV sport. I also run a youth wrestling program aimed at grades 2-6. So I have a lot of experience with this.
Fundamentally, I agree with many of Bob's points. Not all, maybe not even most. But he does make a lot of good points, and he backs them up well. So why just three stars? And why did I take a several month vacation from this book in the middle of reading it? The problem with this book is it could have been a series of magazine articles. It could have easily been just 100 pages long. That's about all the author had to say, and then he repeated everything three times over. This did not make his argument three times stronger. He spends a lot of time on situations that typically happen in youth sports, but he also uses a lot of extreme examples to make his points.
The second problem is, he puts too much of himself in the book. Too much of his own ego, and too many of his ideas are obviously geared to what would have benefited him as a youth sport athlete, and not necessarily others. Bigelow is a self described late bloomer. And most of his policies would benefit those like he was. Not all of them are bad policies, but some I don't agree with. One of the big things he rallies against is youth elite teams. I think we can get too carried away with them, but I am not opposed to separating levels of kids. The better athletes should not need to be sitting the bench and splitting playing time with those who are no where near as skilled or interested as they are. And I think lower skilled kids have more fun and are more likely to keep playing if they are playing kids their own level, and don't cost their team a game when one of the skilled players from the other team makes them look foolish on a big play.
But the book does have many theories and principles youth sports programs should follow. This book, and the movement it represents should be a part of the equation. He's not quite of the don't keep score, give everyone a trophy camp, but he's pretty close, and he does have some compelling reasons for believing as he does.
Fundamentally, I agree with many of Bob's points. Not all, maybe not even most. But he does make a lot of good points, and he backs them up well. So why just three stars? And why did I take a several month vacation from this book in the middle of reading it? The problem with this book is it could have been a series of magazine articles. It could have easily been just 100 pages long. That's about all the author had to say, and then he repeated everything three times over. This did not make his argument three times stronger. He spends a lot of time on situations that typically happen in youth sports, but he also uses a lot of extreme examples to make his points.
The second problem is, he puts too much of himself in the book. Too much of his own ego, and too many of his ideas are obviously geared to what would have benefited him as a youth sport athlete, and not necessarily others. Bigelow is a self described late bloomer. And most of his policies would benefit those like he was. Not all of them are bad policies, but some I don't agree with. One of the big things he rallies against is youth elite teams. I think we can get too carried away with them, but I am not opposed to separating levels of kids. The better athletes should not need to be sitting the bench and splitting playing time with those who are no where near as skilled or interested as they are. And I think lower skilled kids have more fun and are more likely to keep playing if they are playing kids their own level, and don't cost their team a game when one of the skilled players from the other team makes them look foolish on a big play.
But the book does have many theories and principles youth sports programs should follow. This book, and the movement it represents should be a part of the equation. He's not quite of the don't keep score, give everyone a trophy camp, but he's pretty close, and he does have some compelling reasons for believing as he does.
February 17, 2009
If you have kids or thinking you might have kids in the future this books for you. Easy to understand, Bob Bigelow is right-on in his assesment and stories of kids in sports and how adults are ruining it for everybody. Interesting about the AAU, it's mis-management and it's motivation by money. They are making a killing from our children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2012
This book reaffirmed many of my personal beliefs.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews