incident of injury associated with early specialization. For children who have not yet reached puberty, specialization in a single sport is also risky because physical maturation (changes in body type) may limit their ability to succeed in that sport. A young girl who grows to be six feet tall is unlikely to find success as a gymnast. Try to balance your child’s development against these risks and select youth sports programs that you feel best match your child’s particular personality and ability. The right youth sports program should challenge your child, but also enable them to enjoy the entire experience. Should your child participate in select travel teams, you should still look for a program that provides good instruction. A league that is comprised mostly of competitive games, but little practice time, will not provide the opportunities for a coach to teach and develop his or her players.
Also remember that competitive, talented athletes often still enjoy leagues which emphasize participation. These leagues can provide a chance to play with friends in a more relaxed environment. They also offer better athletes the opportunity to develop and exercise leadership skills. As a parent interested in your child’s happiness, you could do a lot worse than placing your child in a participation-based instructional league. And finally, provide your child with opportunities to play pickup games with other kids. This unstructured, self-directed form of play complements organized sports and affords your child with other essential benefits. If you liked this article check out the book, The Joy of
Youth Sports by Jeffrey Rhoads
http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Youth-Sports-Creating-Experience/dp/0984211306
Here is a list of a few websites that will help you find the right organization for you and your child in the Dallas area. This is not a comprehensive list, but a good place to start. If you know of an organization that needs to be added to this list, let us know.
ALL SPORTS: National Association of Youth Sports
www.nays.org Positive Coaching Alliance
www.positivecoach.org PSA Center
www.psaplano.org Spring Valley Athletic Association
www.svaa.org YMCA
www.ymcadallas.org FieldHouse USA Frisco
http://fieldhouseusa.com/
SOCCER: Ft Worth youth soccer
www.fwyouthsoccer.org Plano Youth soccer association
www.pysa.org Lake Highlands
www.lhsasoccer.org
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Indoor Soccer Zone
www.indoorsoccerzone.com North Texas soccer
www.ntxsoccer.org Richardson Soccer
www.richardsonsoccer.org
This site has a very comprehensive links page to specific soccer associations in the area
www.richardsonsoccer.org/links.html
BASEBALL:
www.chamberbaseball.com www.dallasbaseball.com www.planobaseball.org
ICE HOCKEY:
Dr Pepper StarCenters
www.drpepperstarcenter.com The ICE at Stonebriar Frisco
www.stonebriarice.com ITC Richardson Ice Rink
www.icetrainingcenter.com Allen Community Ice rink
www.alleneventcenter.com
VOLLEYBALL: Dallas Junior Volleyball Club
www.Dallasjuniorsvbc.com Dallas Summit Volleyball Club
www.dallassummitvc.com Volleyball Institute of Plano
www.volleyballplano.com Dallas Premier Volleyball
www.dallaspremier.org Mad Frogs Sports
www.madfrogsports.com
Coming in the September issue of
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