I love sports.  I love youth sports.  I love what sports teaches kids.  Unfortunately, youth sports can also be a place where young athletes are exposed to the wrong lessons in life.

A previous post on this page even addresses another aspect of youth sports: trophies. But a new phenomenon in youth sports makes me crazy.   Placing young athletes at street corners to beg for financial support!

Don't Ask The Kids To Beg

I have to be honest. The blog title unfairly singles out soccer moms.  In the last few years, I’ve seen track teams, cheerleading squads, dance teams and soccer teams involved in this practice.

At busy intersections, both in big cities like Houston and in my own city of 100,000 people, adults have placed young athletes on the corners to solicit donations from motorists.  Really?

When I put my child on a street corner with a bucket to request money from strangers, what message am I sending to my kid?

If I need money:

• Just tell someone you need it and they will give it to you?
• Don’t find a way to earn it.  Relying on the charity or the guilt of strangers takes a lot less effort.
• Charity and the good will of others can take the place of my own hard work and ingenuity.

Side note:  I don’t like it when I see churches or other ministries at intersections either…

Here are some time tested fund raising ideas that will reinforce a critical lesson young athletes need to know:

Achievement is sweeter and can only come after hard work.

• Hold a car wash (not in bikinis) or bake sale.
• Borrow multiple lawn mowers and blanket a few neighborhoods offering to cut grass for a donation.
• Have athletes solicit sponsorship from local business owners.  (Great preparation for the business world.)
• For a small fee, hold a sports day for children of working moms during the summer months that is less than the cost of a sitter.
• Sell candy bars, coupon books, or wrapping paper.

The Bottom Line:

These are just one man’s ideas and not all that creative.  If the adults and the athletes got together to brainstorm fundraising options, I have no doubt they would make this list better.

The parameters I suggest are:

• Real work is involved.
• Something is offered in return for the financial support.
• Athletes are taught about being self-sufficient and innovative, not passive reliance on others.

Self-respect comes from earning something through hard work, not receiving hand out for something you haven’t earned. 

I hope it is the lack of ideas that has created this trend and not laziness on the part of the adults.

Question:

What are some ideas you have for these teams?