My Pickup Games suggestion

[Anonymous]

There is lots of opportunity for pickup sports in this area. My teens both play inside and outside in community centers and parks. Those 100 degree days last week? The Community Center near me in Arlington was full of teens playing pickup basketball and volleyball. And it's free for kids under 18.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in the fly over zone regularly going to the park or gym to play pickup basketball, football, and soccer. Several of us went on to play one of those sports in college. Here in DC there is pickup basketball but youth sports are pretty much fully adult driven.
The travel teams seem like a cash grab too. You play all these games for very little reason at young ages. Because of all the games and tournaments, you can't focus on skill development, so you then have to pay another coach to individually help with skills, which also takes up a ton of time too.

[Anonymous]

Your scenario has a table and referees and whatnot. Who is paying for those people, training them, organizing them, background checks, etc.

I’ve been involved in rec team sports and it is hard to find volunteers during work hours. So if this is after school you would likely need to pay folks.

They sort of have this at the fcps middle school after school activities. But my very athletic 7th grader hated the after school sports last year because there were so many kids that didn’t know how to play the various sports that they never got to really play beyond the instructional stage.

[Anonymous]

Field permits, refs, background checks etc. Skill level of kids will be mixed which may not go well. If you don’t know how many kids are going to play each session how can you field teams? I see what you are trying to do but I just think it’s too chaotic. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Field availability
Court availability
Insurance
Adult volunteers
Referees
Equipment
Fees per player
Background checks for adult volunteers

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of youth organizations that would need to be addressed.

Now, if you are suggesting have kid come to your backyard and play a game of pick up soccer, then it’s no problemo. But anything that is open to the community is going to require a tremendous amount of work. You’d essentially be competing with high schools/middle schools/elementary schools and youth sports organizations that have long been in existence.

Good luck. Let us know.

It is all manageable.

I think you are coming up with obstacles because they are tasks.

They are just tasks. They can be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not just going to the local park or rec center with friends and then figure out the sport to play?

Refs are not needed. Most top football and basketball players grew up doing this! For some reason, upper middle class and rich kids seem to need structure and adult involvement all the time.

Love it. I do see refs needed in community/wide games. Friendlies but with some accountability. Or especially in young ages, refs as scrimmage-coaches. I see this in leagues ages 4-6, a ref explaining kick offs, throw ins during game play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is lots of opportunity for pickup sports in this area. My teens both play inside and outside in community centers and parks. Those 100 degree days last week? The Community Center near me in Arlington was full of teens playing pickup basketball and volleyball. And it's free for kids under 18.

Love it too. Basketball still has a strong pickup game culture. The game lends itself to it. Quick subs, small teams.

Baseball doesn’t that’s for sure.

Soccer among 1-3rd gen immigrants, yes definitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the fly over zone regularly going to the park or gym to play pickup basketball, football, and soccer. Several of us went on to play one of those sports in college. Here in DC there is pickup basketball but youth sports are pretty much fully adult driven.
The travel teams seem like a cash grab too. You play all these games for very little reason at young ages. Because of all the games and tournaments, you can't focus on skill development, so you then have to pay another coach to individually help with skills, which also takes up a ton of time too.

And for those that want this, excellent.

My idea is for those that want to encourage simple activity, trying out new sports, natural skill building and not necessarily competition…

I *know* it’s pie in the sky.

But, I’d love to see more youth in sports, more youth experimenting in several sports, and less commitment to a team when you’re only, say, 7 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your scenario has a table and referees and whatnot. Who is paying for those people, training them, organizing them, background checks, etc.

I’ve been involved in rec team sports and it is hard to find volunteers during work hours. So if this is after school you would likely need to pay folks.

They sort of have this at the fcps middle school after school activities. But my very athletic 7th grader hated the after school sports last year because there were so many kids that didn’t know how to play the various sports that they never got to really play beyond the instructional stage.

Let’s see. Looking at my parks and recs catalog, who is paying these employees:
The rock climbing teacher on Saturdays?
The kayak and paddle board instructors all summer.
Basketball camps in each rec center all summer and T & TH evenings
Gymnastics, dance and martial arts.

These are not private listings. P&Rec connects to plenty of those. The ones I listed for my town are publicly provided. The $25-100 fees help, yes. But gov’t could pay for the program.

Adults are already sitting there and already volunteering at league sports. Same.

Answering your concern about levels, I did suggest from post #1 that athletes are rated for skill level. Their pickup game would be one field / at a certain time. Assessments and ratings can be updated at a given period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Field permits, refs, background checks etc. Skill level of kids will be mixed which may not go well. If you don’t know how many kids are going to play each session how can you field teams? I see what you are trying to do but I just think it’s too chaotic. Sorry.

I see the chaos.

Under the circumstances where not enough kids show .. there’s no such thing as not enough. A group of 3-6 kids can fiddle around or practice skills together. Small games led by the coaches/ref.

I saw chaos at our last league soccer assessments, it all worked out. And that was just people registering in person over 3 hours. With online registration / communication, an attempt can be made.

[Anonymous]

Op here today I’m out

I’ve had a good time. Honestly, it’s an amazing idea. Any obstacle people suggest just isn’t there.

I thought of this today, thought I’d get the idea out there. You all are silly if you think I actually think this would happen. Too much money in leagues. Govt doesn’t really care what addicts Gen Z and Gen Alpha will become. (To drugs, sugar, inactivity and screens).

*More kids in more sports* Anti Pay to Play.

Good night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here today I’m out

I’ve had a good time. Honestly, it’s an amazing idea. Any obstacle people suggest just isn’t there.

I thought of this today, thought I’d get the idea out there. You all are silly if you think I actually think this would happen. Too much money in leagues. Govt doesn’t really care what addicts Gen Z and Gen Alpha will become. (To drugs, sugar, inactivity and screens).

*More kids in more sports* Anti Pay to Play.

Good night.

+And I like leagues and support them. I never suggested doing away with leagues. Ty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here today I’m out

I’ve had a good time. Honestly, it’s an amazing idea. Any obstacle people suggest just isn’t there.

I thought of this today, thought I’d get the idea out there. You all are silly if you think I actually think this would happen. Too much money in leagues. Govt doesn’t really care what addicts Gen Z and Gen Alpha will become. (To drugs, sugar, inactivity and screens).

*More kids in more sports* Anti Pay to Play.

Good night.

It is interesting that you asked for feedback then dismissed out of hand all the obstacles that folks suggested as “just isn’t there”. If the obstacles aren’t there, go do it. I think you will find those obstacles are real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here today I’m out

I’ve had a good time. Honestly, it’s an amazing idea. Any obstacle people suggest just isn’t there.

I thought of this today, thought I’d get the idea out there. You all are silly if you think I actually think this would happen. Too much money in leagues. Govt doesn’t really care what addicts Gen Z and Gen Alpha will become. (To drugs, sugar, inactivity and screens).

*More kids in more sports* Anti Pay to Play.

Good night.

It is interesting that you asked for feedback then dismissed out of hand all the obstacles that folks suggested as “just isn’t there”. If the obstacles aren’t there, go do it. I think you will find those obstacles are real.

If the obstacles weren’t real, OP would be out there doing it already. He’s probably some dad who doesn’t want to volunteer for his local rec league or doesn’t want to pay for a club and is annoyed that someone else isn’t donating all of their free time to create this magical pickup league fantasy for his kids and his town. He’s invented a more complicated version of a rec league that relies totally on volunteer participation!

PS Updated ratings at the end? I’m laughing so hard. The only place I know that updates “ratings” of players after sessions is my very expensive tennis facility and maybe summer swim team with A/B swimmers and one million volunteers and layers or organization.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Real life has rec leagues. They’re good.

In my vision of the world, I’d love for my kids, my relatives, my friends’ kids to be able to try out many more sports than they are able.

A kid really can’t try out:
Soccer
Baseball/softball
Basketball
Swimming
Football/flag football

Because that’s at least 4 seasons, 3 of which are best in fall (and you can do summer swim & start later).

If your kid also has an interest in lacrosse, that’s another fall season.

Baseball doesn’t have to be fall, but if you’re dabbling, it’s recommended to avoid spring ball.

If you’re 7 joining soccer, you’re already the worst on the team. How does that make you feel to start that way?

I long for less commitment, more dabbling for these young ages. And really for anybody who has other extra curriculars. If you’re the fat 6th grader who now has the money to get into sports, too late. Maybe you can wait until high school.