Bob Salomon – Beyond The Laces Puts Kids First

In the midst of increasing corporatization and politicization of sports in the US, declining participation in youth sports and increased bullying and violence in US schools, New-Jersey-based founder and co-author Bob Salomon is side-stepping all the noise by taking his hit children’s book Beyond The Laces’ simple but powerful message of kindness and perseverance on and off the sports field to the future’s best source of hope – the hearts of kids.

By Joanne Leila Smith

The World Health Organisation claims violence among youths is a global public health problem. Every day, an estimated 227 children and youths (age 0–19 years) die worldwide as a result of interpersonal violence. For each death, many more are hospitalized with injuries. Poor social skills, low academic achievement, impulsiveness, truancy and poverty are among contributing factors to this violence.

If we shift our focus to the United States, according to multiple reports, by May 2018, there were 23 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed. This is an average of more than one shooting per week.

The US National Center for Education Statistics reported that out of an estimated total students of 24.5 million aged between 12-18 years old, 20.8 million kids reported being bullied at school in the 2014-15 school year.

A 2017 report by Diliberti et al ‘Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools’ sponsored by the US Department of Education, claims that among factors that were reported to limit schools’ efforts to reduce or prevent crime “in a major way,” three factors were more likely to be reported than others: lack of alternative placements or programs for disruptive students (30 percent); inadequate funding (28 percent); and federal, state, or district policies on disciplining special education students (17 percent).

Higher percentages of schools located in suburbs (74 percent) and cities (73 percent) reported they had a formal program intended to prevent or reduce violence that included social emotional learning training for students than did schools located in towns (62 percent) and rural areas (51 percent). Interestingly, the highest percentage of school shootings were in regional areas.

Aside from enrichment and/or formal social programs being rolled out across schools as a perfunctory way to tackle youth violence, there appears to be plenty of data that suggests a definitive correlation between regular youth participation in sports and the reduction of childhood aggression and increased emotional self-control.

While youth sports are proven to help combat youth violence, according to the US Aspen Institute Report ‘State of Play Trends and Developments 2017’, the number of kids playing sports keeps decreasing. The Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program claims only 36.9 percent of children ages 6-12 played team sports on a regular basis in 2016 – down from 38.6 in 2015 and 44.5 in 2008. In addition, only 24.8 percent of kids aged 6-12 years old were considered active to a healthy level in 2016, marking the steepest one-year decline on record dating to 2008.

The Aspen Report also highlighted that household income continues to be a major inhibitor to sports participation. In 2016, 29.9 percent of kids from homes in the lowest income bracket ($25,000 or less) were physically inactive. Only 11.5 percent of children in the wealthiest households ($100,000 or more) were physically inactive.

It appears that neighborhood sports died with Generation X too. The extent of kids playing with kids down the street has shifted. According to a household survey of 22 counties in Western New York (Greater Buffalo, Rochester and the Finger Lakes) and Southeast Michigan (Detroit and surrounding areas) the Aspen Report found that fewer than one in five kids now play football near their home, one in 10 for basketball and less than one in 20 for baseball and soccer.

In September 2017, Time Magazine ran an op-ed ‘How Kids’ Sports Became a $15 Billion Industry’ by Sports Journalist Sean Gregory who argued that the corporatization of youth sports makes participation virtually impossible for low-income families and with the added pressure to compete in a privatized model rather than community-mindedness or ‘for the love of it’ has resulted in a substantial drop in local league participation:

“Neighborhood Little Leagues, town soccer associations and church basketball squads that bonded kids in a community–and didn’t cost as much as a rent check–have largely lost their luster. Little League participation, for example, is down 20% from its turn-of-the-century peak. These local leagues have been nudged aside by private club teams, a loosely governed constellation that includes everything from development academies affiliated with professional sports franchises to regional squads run by moonlighting coaches with little experience…But as community-based teams give way to a more mercenary approach, it’s worth asking what’s lost in the process. Already, there are worrying signs. A growing body of research shows that intense early specialization in a single sport increases the risk of injury, burnout and depression. Fees and travel costs are pricing out lower-income families. Some kids who don’t show talent at a young age are discouraged from ever participating in organized sports,” says Gregory.

While the problem of youth violence and declining sports participation as a way to combat it appear to be trapped in a downward spiral of discouragement, we were fortunate to stumble across a group of New-Jersey guys from diverse backgrounds, who have managed to “sidestep the politics and play-to-profit mentality” as the large-than-life founder of Beyond The Laces Movement Bob Salomon puts it, by going straight to the kids with a children’s book that started it all, Beyond the Laces...

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