More Than Just a Game - by Christopher Bjork & William Hoynes (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In More Than Just a Game, the authors present compelling first-person stories, original research, and much-needed perspective about the billion-dollar youth-sports industry.

This book will explore parental attitudes and struggles and show parents how to navigate the profit-driven system of youth sports that frequently ignores the needs of kids. Dr. Bjork and Dr. Hoynes examine the most pressing issues in the world of youth sports, including:

• How taxing athletics can be developmentally for children.
  
• The financial impact the ever-popular travel teams have on families.
  
• Excessive time commitments and expectations.
  
• The conundrums and challenging decisions the families of young athletes' face.
  
• Inherent disadvantages of being an underprivileged young athlete.
  

They connect the patterns in the behavior of the adults they observed to broader trends in our society. They also provide parents with the information they need to understand the contemporary youth-sports industry--to see the bigger picture--and help them make conscious and more informed decisions for their children that are consistent with their core values. Concrete suggestions are highlighted, such as how to identify the appropriate team for a child, how to select activities that will help young athletes develop emotional and physical resilience, and ways that parents can create balance in their children's lives.

Ultimately, the authors' eye-opening research gives youth-sports parents a grounded perspective that will help their kids find success on and off the field.

About the Author

Christopher B. Bjork, PhD, is professor of education and coordinator of teacher education at Vassar College. His most recent book, High Stakes Schooling, was published by the University of Chicago Press (2015). He currently serves on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Sociology of Education, the International Journal of Sociology of Education, and Schools: Studies in Education. As a faculty athletics representative at Vassar, Dr. Bjork attends Athletics Department meetings and workshops, interviews candidates for coaching positions, and weighs in on decisions about awards for athletes. In the world of youth sports, he has served as a travel team soccer and Little League baseball coach.

William Hoynes, PhD, is professor of sociology on the Jane Baker Nord '42 Chair in Media Studies at Vassar College, where he has served as Chair of the Sociology Department and Director of both the American Studies Program and the Media Studies Program. Hoynes is a cultural sociologist whose research explores contemporary media and culture in the United States. Dr. Hoynes has written widely about the media industry in the United States and is author of several award-winning books. He has been a board member of the Rhinebeck Little League for more than fifteen years and is a former board member of the Rhinebeck Soccer League. He has served as a travel team baseball and soccer coach and volunteer assistant high school basketball coach.