Book Excerpt - Sociology of the Family

A lot of people have asked that I post some parts of my book that is due out on June 1st, 2007. Here is a small section on the chapter entitled: Sociology of the Family.

Sociology of the Family.

Participating in youth sports is not just about sports. Its about family.

The effects of youth sports on an athlete and the family is one of the most under-researched dynamics of the development of children. Today, student-athletes are pushed to the limits; overloaded with homework, burdened by the pressures to win, and surrounded by a changing social network of friends and peer issues. Even for the most well-adjusted, mature and motivated child, these pressures can build up over time.

While, there are now more studies about how youth sports play a role in the lives of student-athletes, very few speak to the changes that occur to families when children participate in sports.

In our society today, the American family is ever changing. In the 1950’s, the traditional American family had a stay at home mom, a bread-winning father, and two children. This model of family life created profound change in the way our communities were developed and constructed. In her book, Redesigning The American Dream, Yale professor Dolores Hayden speaks passionately about how homes, neighborhoods, and parks were created specifically for the “traditional” family.

As the role of mothers changed in our society, and as they made a larger push into corporate America, the family model altered. The Second Shift, a monumental book written by Arlie Hochschild outlined the family model in this new state, and the effects of women having to work two shifts a day – one at the office during the day, and a second shift at home with children.

The effects of youth sports on the family are not as well documented, but needless to say just as influential.

Consider this: depending on what club team your son or daughter plays for effects several issues pertaining to family. First, it effects who your child is friends with. In most cases, children are more likely to socialize with their teammates than with peers from their school. Much of this is due to the time commitment players put in with their club teams. In some cases, children will spend 20-30 hours a week with their team.

What club team your son or daughter plays for effects who parents hang out with. For families who have children playing youth sports it seems as though all available time outside of school is allocated to sports. As a result, these families and the players spend vacations together (usually at tournaments), and become a social network of sorts. Moms can be seen sitting along the sidelines of games in their usual groups. Dads will pace up down the field yelling out support, or perhaps hassling the referee. After the games, many times the teams will retreat back to the hotel or go out for dinner. At the restaurant, players will sit together, while parents sit at their own table. Over the course of the meal, parents will talk about the game, work, family life, schools, or even discuss the remodel they just did to their house. All in all, these people become family. One parent remarked, “It is really amazing how close you become with some of the other parents. I guess we all get used to seeing one another almost every weekend of the year. If my son wasn’t on this team, I don’t think I would have ever had the opportunity to meet some of these folks.” Given the diversity of many of these teams, it fascinating to see how parents can come together bonded by only one thing – their kids play on the same team.

The effects on the family don’t stop there. In many ways, a family is very much branded by the athlete in the family. The family can become known as the soccer family or the baseball family. This comes as a direct result of the achievements made by the student-athlete.

....... more to come. please leave me your comments.