College recruitment of youth players raises questions

Editor's note: Nancy Justis is a former competitive swimmer and collegiate sports information director. She is a partner with Justis Creative Communications.

By Nancy Justis, correspondent

Did you hear about the 9-year-old girl in Orlando, Fla., who plays basketball for the high school team? She's reportedly so talented she's being recruited by the University of Miami and actually took a tour of the campus recently.

Ridiculous, you say?

It's really not that unusual. The New York Times ran an article earlier this year about Division I soccer coaches recruiting girls at the middle school level and offering scholarships. Before they play in high school. Before taking the ACT or SAT.

Good idea or not?

Getting the recruiting process out of the way certainly may benefit everyone involved. The athlete won't have to be bothered by rabid coaches for the next however many years, the parents can breathe easier about the cost of college and the coach has one player locked in for the foreseeable future.

Getting around NCAA rules isn't difficult. College coaches are not allowed to contact players until after their junior year of high school. Instead, they contact the athlete's travel team or high school coach, informing them of their interest in Suzie or Johnny. Then Suzie or Johnny can initiate the contact with the college.

Georgetown University head women's soccer coach Dave Nolan recently told The Soccer Wire he doesn't follow the trend to recruit younger players.

'I wish the recruiting world would just slow down and kids wouldn't get swept along with this,” he said. ' ... it seems to be getting worse, which is really frightening. These kids committing before the end of their sophomore year, that's ridiculous.”

There are other issues involved with the kind of attention and pressure placed on someone so young.

Youth Sports Journal, published by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, provides the emotional and social development characteristics of children.

Ages 8-9: Fears are related to failure, trouble at home, making mistakes and competitive situations. Wants to do well but loses interest if discouraged or pressured. Sensitive to criticism, resents being treated like a child. May be argumentative and careless.

Ages 10-11: Awkward, restless and lazy as a result of rapid and uneven growth. Differences in maturity. Resents authority, worships heroes and fears ridicule. Peers are more important than family.

Ages 12-14: Emotional instability characterized by a 'know it all” attitude. Oversensitive. Preoccupied with social acceptance. Fear of ridicule and being unpopular.

If you need more scientific information, here is a tidbit contained in a paper entitled 'Role of Organized Sport in the Education and Health of American Children and Youth,” commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1996.

'Premature sports involvement may result in undesirable emotional consequences for children. The limited capacity of children to develop accurate conceptions of ability may result in inappropriate aspirations and achievement goals. When expectations for performance are too high, children are likely to experience frustration, discouragement, and low self-esteem.”

One of the report's recommendations reads 'early childhood involvement in sports should emphasize instruction more than competition.”

University of Northern Iowa women's soccer coach James Price said he is aware of early recruiting.

'I feel like it is isolated cases, and for players that already are playing at a very high level (national teams), rather than for the average middle school athlete,” he said. 'It would take a lot (a personal recommendation from a respected friend) to make me go and watch a middle school age player in this type of situation. Too many things can happen between offering a player that young a scholarship and them actually being on campus as a freshman in college. The player can perhaps not develop the way you think, your team needs can change drastically or there may be some off the field concerns that come to light in that time, too.

'I think there is a big difference between keeping an eye on a player of that age, and actively recruiting them, which is both against NCAA rules and morally questionable. However, it's not a bad idea for athletes of that age to go to camps at a particular school to get a feel for the campus and get to know the coaching staff a little.”

Is there really security for an athlete to commit to a particular program early?

'It's not the sense of security,” Nolan said. 'It's the relief of the pressure being off. And the fact that there was that kind of pressure in that decision, is what's wrong. ... The kids should get a chance to visit five schools, per NCAA official visits, and then pick their school based on that.”

I'm not saying there are not exceptionally talented and mature young athletes out there who may be able to handle sport at a higher level and its ensuing attention and pressures. But is it worth the possibility of scarring a child before he or she even gets to truly experience what competitive sports can bring to their life?

Let us know what you think.

l Send comments to njustis@cfu.net