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Winning At All Costs

The reputation that has been associated with youth sports in society today is one that portrays the implementation of solid core values that are important to the development of the youth participants. There are many lessons that can be learned on the field of play that can affect the individual that particular child grows up to become. However, lately that reputation has begun to become seriously tarnished. No longer are youth sports as admired for they character and values that they instill. Instead, the topic has become almost shunned in many circles because of the controversial issue of parental involvement, or in many cases, parental insanity. Parents of kids participating in youth sports have been the cause of countless problems within the institution. Encounters arising from small circumstances, such as a discrepancy or a bad call, are becoming more and more common within youth sports, and the notion that a serious problem is present is becoming clearer with every instance. Youth sports have taken on the form of venues for repeating episodes of parental insanity, slipping from the traditional values, such as teamwork and fair play, which previously placed them on such a high pedestal.
Never was this problem more evident to the nation than in July of 2000, when the focus of the national media shifted to New England for the trial of Thomas Junta, the hockey father on trial for killing his son's coach in a post-practice argument. Junta was eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of Michael Costin, and sentenced to a six to ten year term in prison, (Bronston, 3). This landmark case sent shock waves through the world of youth sports and left many parents concerned for the safety of their children and themselves. The problem of over- involvement in youth sports was merely a rising concern at the time this tragic event occurred. It may have taken the images of Junta's son on the witness stand to alert people about the severity of...