Pubdate: Sat, 31 Jan 2009
Source: Royal Gazette, The (Bermuda)
Copyright: 2009 The Royal Gazette Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.theroyalgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2103
Author: Colin Thompson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DRUGS AND CRIME SPORTS' BIGGEST ENEMIES SAYS VISITING LECTURER

Aspiring athletes are not immune to the threat of obesity, drugs, 
crime and other anti-social behaviour which rank among the biggest 
challenges they will face in their development, according to author, 
coach and lecturer Fred Engh.

Engh will be the keynote speaker during the Ministry of Youth and 
Sports' Annual Conference to be held today at Elbow Beach Hotel (9 
a.m.) and the message he brings is a universal, if not, sobering one.

The 70-year old Florida resident is president and founder of the 
National Alliance for Youth Sports, a non-profit organisation whose 
remit is to create a "positive and safe environment" for all to enjoy 
in youth sports in the US.

He is also author of the book 'Johnny Hates Sports', a publication 
that scrutinises the current state of sports at youth levels in the US.

"Today's environment is perhaps the most challenging that we have for 
young children," he told The Royal Gazette. "They are faced with 
issues of crime, violence, drug abuse and other anti-social behaviour.

"Another thing children today are confronted with is obesity which is 
a result of the electronic age. A lot of children are no longer 
getting out like past generations who were forced to get out and play 
and learn how to be creative.

"But I think my greatest concern is that far too many children have 
idle time that can lead them into the temptations of drug abuse. Drug 
abuse is probably the greatest challenge and problem around the world 
that children face and so we have to create alternatives.

"The tremendous temptation of drugs and the money that is involved is 
drawing children away and so we have to be able to create in their 
minds the end results of that behaviour. By bringing children 
together through a sports setting we can instil in their minds the 
negative end result of drug abuse and anti-social behaviour - and the 
earlier the better."

Only recently a Bermuda Football Association (BFA) study highlighted 
the scourge of "inappropriate" social behaviour which has manifested 
itself in and around the local football landscape. But perhaps more 
alarmingly it also revealed that participants in youth football have 
already "established" links to local gangs and, as such, are 
restricted from "moving freely between club venues island-wide".

"Sport is a very powerful entity and if we can keep the kids settled 
and focused on sports then hopefully we can get rid of the negativity 
that takes place," commented Ministry of Youth and Sports Senior 
Sports Development Officer Cal Simons.

"We at the Ministry realise that youth play an important part in 
Bermuda and felt the need to switch our focus to developing youth 
through sports. And so our whole concept going forward is to try and 
encourage the national associations to develop their youth through sports."

He added: "Sports are something that bring people together and so our 
theme for the conference is developing youth through sports. And we 
(Ministry) thought that Mr. Engh, with all of his experience working 
with youth, would be a good choice to come here and make a 
presentation to the national associations, teachers and anyone else 
with a genuine interest in sports."

According to Engh, far too often people underestimate the important 
role that sports, in all its various forms, play in the development 
of well-rounded citizens in any community.

"What most of us don't realise is the power of sports. Outside of 
school is the outside classroom where we all learn about life 
skills," he said. "We can learn things such a perseverence, team 
work, how to win and lose, training and discipline. All of the things 
that we learn in sport carry over into what we do in life, and so 
there's some very powerful things that sport has to offer.

"In countries around the world, the bigger the base of the pyramid, 
where more children are participating, the more opportunity there is 
for them to reach the elite level. But our programme (National 
Alliance) isn't about children reaching the elite level in sports, 
it's about mass participation and giving every child that opportunity 
to learn and gain the value that sports have to offer.

"Everybody has to compete in society and in sport we can learn how to 
compete with pride, fair play and ethics which helps to make us all 
good citizens. And some day I would like to see that every child is 
given the opportunity to learn important life skills through sports."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom