SportsLetter

SL Interview: Michael Messner talks about his new book on youth sports

A professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California, Michael Messner has long studied sports through the lens of gender identity.  His books include "Taking the Field: Women, Men, and Sports," "Out of Play: Critical Essays on Gender and Sport," "Power at Play: Sports and the Problem of Masculinity," and the widely-used textbook "Men's Lives" (now in its eighth edition).

With his latest book, "It's All for the Kids: Gender, Families, and Youth Sports" (University of California Press / Amazon), Messner turns his attention to youth sports.  He believes the subject is ripe for study, not least because "two-thirds of American youth are currently involved in at least one organized or team sport," he writes.  He also notes that, in academic circles, "there have been very few book-length studies of youth sports – despite the fact that this is where we find the largest number of participants at any level of organized sports (excepting spectatorship)." 

Messner took eight years to research and write "It's All for the Kids," drawing in no small part on his personal experience as a volunteer assistant coach-scorekeeper for his two sons' AYSO soccer and Little League baseball teams in their hometown community of South Pasadena, Calif.  The wide-ranging book examines every aspect of this culture, including the "glass ceiling" women face within the coaching and volunteer ranks, the separate-but-not-always-equal division between girls and boys teams, and what Messner describes as the "gender comfort zone" within youth sports.

SportsLetter recently spoke with Professor Messner in South Pasadena.
--David Davis

The NFL and the FIT Kids Act

Some NFL players are on offense against childhood obesity.  According to ESPN, seven NFL players were in Washington DC today "to push for passage of the FIT Kids Act. The bill would require schools, districts and states to report on students' physical activity, and to give youngsters health and nutritional information."  The players led invited schoolchildren in a series of calisthenics on the west lawn of the Capitol. 

NFL players know fitness, no doubt.  But football at all levels has had its issues with obesity, which cast a somewhat ironic quality to the day's proceedings.  Alabama offensive lineman and NFL draft-day hopeful Andre Smith, pictured above, might want to take a look at the NFL's Play 60 program, for example.  A 2007 NY Times article concluded "that weight problems among high school football players — especially linemen — far outpaced those of other male children and adolescents."  Any battle against childhood (or adulthood) obesity is a good one.  Here's hoping the NFL can make a difference.

Fields of green in Portland

Late Wednesday afternoon the Portland, Oregon, city leaders voted in favor of a financial package that will aid Merritt Paulson, owner of minor league baseball's Portland Beavers and the United Soccer League's (USL) Portland Timbers, in his effort to bring an MLS team to the city.

According to an earlier article in the Oregonian, as part of the agreement "Paulson is also required to give $100,000 a year to nonprofit youth sports groups, 30 percent of which must be used for field improvements. He also agreed to hold an annual open tryout for soccer players who aspire to be on the Timbers; give local high school teams free access for practices at both stadiums; hold an annual Special Olympics event at one of the stadiums; make the stadiums available for community events at least three times a year."

The vote and hearings were contentious and there are a few financial holes left to fill.  It appears, however, that a rich soccer tradition in Portland will continue to grow; from the first edition of the Timbers in the NASL to the successful women's and men's programs at the University of Portland, and now to the possibility of an MLS team, the City of Roses loves it some futbol.

No pass, no one plays

A North Carolina state lawmaker doesn't like what he sees when he looks at test results coming out of the state's schools.  As a result, Senator Charlie Albertson has proposed state Senate Bill 377, which "would bar interscholastic athletics at schools where more than half of the students score below the 50th percentile on end-of-grade or end-of-course tests for at least two straight years."

As reported in this article by WRAL.COM, athletes counter that the opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletics is what motivates them to do well in the classroom.  The debate continues.  Stay tuned ...