Pint-Sized Phenoms: The “Prodigy” Edition

Young Israeli Boxer, Oded Balilty from AP

When I started this blog series I deliberately chose to name it “Pint-Sized PHENOMS” and not “Pint-Sized PRODIGIES.” I think the word prodigy has so many connotations and can put undue pressure on children to meet a certain standard both now and in the future.  It is only certain fields that are amenable to creating [...]

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Sex, Sexual Abuse, and Sports

Don Peters working with young, female gymnasts in 1996; Ana Venegas, The OC Register

Given the recent, multiple sexual abuse scandals in sports (from Penn State to Syracuse, and now even the Amateur Athletic Union) it’s not surprising that this past weekend two major newspapers published stories on the ways in which sports can provide a breeding ground for pedophiles (click here to read The New York Times’ take, [...]

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In the Wake of the Sandusky Scandal, A Call for Youth Coaching Certifications (from HuffPo Parents)

Jerry Sandusky mugshot

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE HUFFINGTON POST PARENTS The arrest of Jerry Sandusky, a former college football coach and community volunteer who worked with children, on forty counts of child molestation of young boys has shocked and frightened many parents. As well it should. At the end of every weekday millions [...]

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Thoughts on Gawande and Personal Coaches: Coach, Teacher, or Babysitter? (from orgtheory.net)

Gawande Personal Coaching image from New Yorker

If you missed Atul Gawande’s recent New Yorker piece on personal coaching, you should check it out (“Personal Best”). I think writers/academics have understood some of these ideas for some time (even tenured profs get regular feedback on their work from colleagues and in seminars, for example), but he presents a lot of interesting insights [...]

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Shrinking and Pinking: “Little” League Edition

Princess Jasmine Parr, Source News Limited

The Little League World Series is upon us. While we will have to wait until August 28th to find out who the champions of the sandlot are this summer, the qualifying games are already in full swing. But “little leaguers” have been busy all summer, participating in a variety of sporting activities around the globe. [...]

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Age Cut-offs, Limits, and Manipulations

US and Chinese gymnasts, children vs. women

NOTE: A version of this piece was syndicated on BlogHer! Check it out by clicking HERE. This past weekend I enjoyed watching the kick-off to the US women’s gymnastics season at the Covergirl Classic, which featured the “comebacks” of Shawn Johnson and Chelsie Memmel, the continued dominance of Alicia Sacramone, and the debut of several [...]

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