March 14, 2025 • 39 mins
The Better sports for kids ...better kids for life began with the founding of the National Alliance for Youth Sports. Its founder ,Fred Engh ,tells the story of how it began
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
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(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Sports for kids in America begin with what we affectionately
called sandlot ball, where kids organized their own games, made
their own rules, and played until the sun went down.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Then came along parents, I'm gonna get.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
You night because you let me down.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh you did.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
I don't give you what you do in the letding Dale.
I don't care if you're going to play on pcent,
I'll get you boys.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
It's a cloud of day.
Speaker 6 (01:15):
The National Alliance for Youth Sports was born out of
a desire to bring order to the world of organized
sports for children in America. While for the most part,
children have a great experience playing sports, far too often
parents and coaches lose perspective. This program is aimed at
bringing some of America's best experts to talk about what
(01:35):
we can do to change the atmosphere of win at
all costs and parent poor behavior to one that focuses
on children having a positive learning experience through sports. Here's
our host, Fred Ang, the founder of a National Alliance
for Youth Sports.
Speaker 7 (01:55):
Hey, good morning, and thanks for being here. I apologize
for this vertical picture. I messed up because somebody told
me that it would sound better if I did it
on my cell phone, but I forgot to turn out
to turn it sideways. But anyway, so this morning I
got to thinking about, you know, so many people say
(02:17):
to me, how did the National Alliance for Youth Sports
ever begin? And how did this thing get to where
it is today. So a few years back, there was
a hockey dad who killed another hockey dad, if you
could believe that, at a practice, and all of a
sudden everything happened for our organization. We became the focal
(02:40):
point for youth sports and American and what was wrong
so many times? So I did a podcast and I thought,
you know, maybe this will spell it all out. So
I'm going to play the podcast for you. This will
give you an idea how the whole organization began.
Speaker 8 (02:59):
And today I have a special person who has devoted
his life to children and sports. He is Bred Angred
is the author of Unsinkable Spirit, an award winning book
published in twenty fifteen that looks at his fascinating life,
and in nineteen ninety nine he authored Why Johnny Hates Sports,
a first of its kind look at the serious problems
(03:22):
plaguing organized sports and more importantly, what needs to be
done to correct them. Bred is the founder of the
National Alliance for Youth Sports, a nonprofit organization committed to
providing safe and fun sports for America's youth since nineteen
eighty one. He is also the founder of the International
Alliance for Youth Sports, the International Arms of NAYS NAYS
(03:44):
the acronym for National Alliance for Youth Sports and that
began in two thousand and three that works to build
the value of sports worldwide and provide children in underprivileged
regions with opportunities to learn and play sports that have
never been available to them before. As one of the
world's leading experts in the youth sports field, his educational
(04:06):
programs for coaches administrators, parents and officials involved in out
of school organized sports, along with youth development programs that
give children a healthy start in sports, are used in
more than three thousand communities in more than a dozen
countries and on several continents. He grew up in Ocean City, Maryland,
and is a graduate of the University of Maryland. And
(04:27):
he is the father of seven children and resides in
West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Michael. And I'm
looking forward to hearing more about this seldom discussed topic.
So welcome to the show.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
Fred, Thank you Patt, and thanks for having me.
Speaker 8 (04:40):
Well Fred. Before we get into the conversation about your book,
I want to let everyone listening know that at the
end of our conversation, I am going to close with
a song written and played by you is for a
trailer from an upcoming movie called Born Again and Again,
about a woman who dies and comes back to life,
and I just thought it would be neat to share
your music talent as well as your passion for children
(05:02):
in sports, So everybody stay tuned for that now, Fred,
your memoir Unsinkable Spirit is your story that shares your
beginnings that led you to create the organizations you've built today.
Share a bit of your past so that we understand
why you do what you do well.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
It's a question of it asked many times, so it
should be very easy to answer. My background was in
physical education and I graduated from, as you mentioned, University
of Maryland Division the Eastern Shore. And I love the
idea of physical education because I've loved sports all my life.
(05:42):
My background in sports itself was I was a wrestler
in high school and for a couple of years in college,
and then I got into the area playing golf and
played on the golf team in college, and so I
really loved sports. But then when I graduated, I got
into teaching physical education at the elementary level, and after
(06:05):
that I was offered an opportunity to be a coach
and athletic director at a high school level in Wilmington, Delaware,
and then I went on from there to be a
recreation professional where we had about fifteen thousand kids in
the program, and all of a sudden, I began to
see in the program parents behaving in a way that
(06:29):
was really abusive. Their coaches were preaching when at all costs,
and we're talking about children, you know, kids as young
as six, seven, eight, nine years old or who are
growing and developing. And I really began to question it.
But then I saw it in my own family, with
my kids playing and different games I would go to,
(06:51):
and I began to see that happening and said, who's
doing anything about this? And nobody seemed to be doing
anything about it, And so I created the first ever
training program for the volunteer parents to go out and coach,
you know, their kids in sports, didn't matter what sport, football, baseball, basketball, whatever.
(07:14):
And there was a lot of rebuke of all of
that in Wilmington, Delaware that you know, I'm out here
as a volunteer parent, you can't ask me to be trained.
I got enough to do, and so I said to them, look,
you don't have to be trained, but if your team
wins the division or wherever you're in, you don't qualify
(07:34):
for the championship. Well guess what happened. Everybody went to
the program and that really started the whole thing off
at and then following that, I was invited to work
with an organization is the Division of the Sporting good Manufacturers,
And so I was in Chicago and I invited all
(07:59):
of the national organizations like Little League and Pop Warner
Football and amateur softball and on and on to a
meeting to see if I was correct in seeing what
was going on in my own experience, but was it
really happening in all these other sports. So all the
leaders of those organizations left, and there was one thing
(08:20):
that was in common, and that was the fact that
parents lose perspective of what's going on. And I tried
to get the organization that I was with the division.
It was called the Athletic Institute. I tried to get
them to create an organization that would deal with all
of it. And they thought it was crazy. They thought
that you're never going to get coaches to be trained,
(08:42):
You're never going to get parents and leagues and people
to follow it. And so I quit and went on
my own. And as I went on my ome, it
was pretty tough because at that time, my wife and
I had just had our seventh child, and there I
was out there in no man's land, because when I
(09:03):
quit my job, I'm saying, oh, what am I going
to do now? And so you know, just by a
stroke of luck, things happened, and too long to tell
on this show, But what happened is it was the
creation of in the beginning, and the organization was the
(09:23):
National Youth Sport Coaches Association, and we trained coaches in
recreation departments across the country and things began to catch
on and with a snowball effect. After a number of years,
we ended up having about three thousand chapters across the
country implementing our program for parents and coaches and administrators.
(09:48):
And many of the communities across the country would make
it a requirement that you couldn't lease those ball fields
that we see out there. They're public fields that are
owned by you and me, the taxpayers, and so the
local recreation departments made it mandatory that they couldn't lease
the facilities unless their coaches and parents were trained. So
(10:13):
that led finally to the idea that we were really
getting the program solid that I thought, why don't we
give a try internationally, because in developing countries it's so
sad to see the kids by nature want to play
but have no opportunity. And so through a number of
(10:35):
meetings and traveling and whatnot, we now have programs in
countries all over the world that allow children the opportunity
to go out of play sports.
Speaker 8 (10:47):
Wow, what a beautiful story. And as you were saying that,
I'm thinking, we wouldn't allow our children to be in
the care or in the hands of anybody really who
has no training. You wouldn't send them anywhere, even like
a day camp, unless somebody had some type of training.
And yet when it comes to sports, we do that
very same thing. So I find that fascinating that these
local facilities in ballparks made this mandatory training before they
(11:11):
would they would allow them to use those fields. That's huge.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
Well, absolutely, and you know it's sad that we can't
look across America and somebody to be able to say,
just like you did that, Hey, this makes a lot
of sense. Why would we allow people out there that
don't have any training, don't have any understanding of what
this is all about. Because what happens is with the
(11:36):
typical parent. And there are some wonderful great parents. I
understand that because I've had a lot of them coach
my kids. But there's some very ugly people that are
out there coaching because they have the wrong aspect of
what this is about. They think this is professional sports.
They go to the college games and the pro games
(11:57):
that sit in a stand and yell and stream and
curse what's going on and thinking that they know more
than the coaches. But those are the people that are
out there coaching your kids that used to be mine.
And so why we allow this? Nobody ever knows?
Speaker 8 (12:15):
Yeah, exactly. Now, your memoir Unsinkable Spirit was written after
your first book, So why does Johnny hate sports? Is
that correct?
Speaker 5 (12:25):
Yeah? The first book was basically about the things I'm
talking about, and that I describe and tell a lot
of what I call horror stories that happen out there
because of the lack of perspective and people out that
are watching their kids playing sports. I mean, anybody's listening
to this show would understand that, you know, you sit
(12:49):
in the stands, that's your your you know, your blood
out there playing and it's very difficult to be, you know,
in control of yourself is when things aren't going the
way you want. And so people that are parents that
we hear the sitness stands and scream and yell. I
tell the story in the book about the very first
(13:11):
time that we videotaped a soccer program and there was
a mother just as the game began. These were kids
were like eight to nine years old, and the mother
ran from one end of the field to the other,
back and forth, just screaming and screaming at her son
and to the hustle and whatnot. I think, oh, my lord,
(13:33):
how can anybody be this cruel to a kid who
was just out there trying to have fun. And then
at the break at the halftime, somebody came up to
me because they knew that we were videotaping, and said,
did you see what happened on the other side of
the field. I said no. They said, well, the coach
grabbed which apparently was his son and threw him up
(13:54):
against the fence because he didn't think he was playing
well enough. So you are just hundreds and hundreds of
stories that go on that are going on now that
because parents lose the whole idea that these are children
that are growing emotionally, socially, physically, mentally, and all of
(14:18):
this should be a very good learning experience for them.
Because that's why I have believed in sports and its
value throughout my career, because what happens is that when
we're playing, think of all the things that we learn
just by the fact of playing, like abiding by rules,
(14:38):
if you don't buy by rules, you get penalized in life.
If you don't abide by rules, you can end up
in jail in life that if you don't really stick
to what you're doing and persevere, then you give up
and you lose, and you end up the rest of
your life saying gee, I should have tried harder. So
you could go on and on with sports and talk
(15:00):
about all the values that they have, but we destroy
that when the facts are clear that by the age
of thirteen, almost seventy percent of the kids that ever
started as young as four and five and whatnot, almost
seventy percent are not out there playing anymore. In surveys
(15:20):
that were done, people ask why is that. Well, the
number one reason the kids said, it seems to be fun. Well,
I guess it does cease to be fun. You know
that if you're nine years old and somebody tells you're
a stupid idiot because you drop the pass or or
missed a basket in basketball. So that's the whole problem
(15:42):
of it in sports for kids in America, And that's
why I wrote that first book.
Speaker 8 (15:47):
Yes, as you're talking, I'm thinking exactly the same thing
that you mentioned, that sports really is that perfect medium
for so many life's lessons. And yet if these children
are bullied and basically it's abusive, I mean they're being
abused on many occasions, how are they going to take
those lessons that they learn in sports and now apply
them to the rest of life. There's far and wide
(16:08):
reaching ramifications.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Well, absolutely, And you know the thing is, as you
mentioned with my other book with Unsinkable Spirits, I wanted
to tell the story to people so that because I've
heard so many people that will say, how did you
ever do this? You have a wife and seven kids,
you quit your job, It had to be horrible and whatnot,
(16:34):
and trying to get off the ground and whatnot. And yeah,
I still have nightmares today knowing that at times, thinking,
you know, how we going to pay the rent? What
happens if this doesn't work? And that can be very scary.
And so many people get to that edge of wanting
to do something with their life and they back off
(16:57):
because of fear. And I was forty three three years
old when I decided to do this, when I started
the organization, and we had my wife and I had
an office about besides the closet in your house and
the only way that we're generating any income was that
(17:19):
I put together a manual that would be sectioned on
first aid, safety and coaching tips and et cetera for coaches.
It's the only way that we're generating any income anyway.
So I went to the bank because we were getting
(17:43):
low funds and I had to borrow five thousand dollars.
And the president of the bank laughed at me. He said,
I think you have the cart before the horse, And
I said, why is that. He said, well, we're not
going to pay your salary here. We have no collateral,
nothing that shows you. I got the message real quick.
(18:07):
I went back to the office. There was a check
that had come from the US Army because we were
overdrawn off for guy to tell you four hundred forty dollars,
my wife tells me on the phone as I'm in
the office there and there was a check there for
seven hundred and thirty two dollars. I ran and put
(18:30):
it in the bank, barred three thousand dollars from my mother,
who didn't have that money to give. I went to
New York for a meeting with because I had been
with the sporting good manufacturers, I had arranged a meeting
of three top residents of three top sports organizations, and
(18:54):
I walked out of there with thirty six thousand dollars
two weeks after almost the whole thing was over. That's
a great story.
Speaker 8 (19:05):
It's an awesome story, and I just think that's really inspiring.
Oh people get turned down and then they walk away
and give up.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
So there are a lot of people out there that
you know, are in their forties. It's a time of
their life that they, you know, look back and say,
am I doing what I really want to do? And
so I tell the story in unthinkable spirit of how
I overcame a lot of these fears and anguish and
(19:34):
suffering kind of wing quotes there. But you know, it's
a thing to inspire people to say, look, plead me
if a lot of If I can do it, a
lot of people and anybody can do it. And it's
what I call three different things. It's vision, it's passion,
(19:54):
and it's commitment. And I talk about that in the
book that no matter what that they're so many people
that have things that they totally believe in. I say,
you have to have a vision before you can take
that step. You have to know exactly where you're going,
what you want to do, and you have to see that,
you have to really see that, feel it inside deeply.
(20:16):
And then the next thing is you have to be
passionate about it. I mean, you have to think that
nothing is going to stand in your way to ever
make you stop doing this. And the last thing is
then you have to commit. You have to commit to
work hard and stay at it, and for ninety percent
of the people there'll be a success. And that's what
(20:39):
you see so many people in our society that are
successful because of those things. And that's what I try
to do in Unthinkable spirits.
Speaker 8 (20:48):
Oh I love that that. If no one takes anything
else from what you had to say today, that's perfect vision, passion,
and commitment. And you've done that and you're a fine
example of that. Why did you call it unsinkable spirit?
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Well, that's a good question because the first book that
I did with the publisher, they came back and told
me what the title would be and why Johnny h Sports,
And I remember my wife saying, I don't like that title.
It's so negative and whatnot. And so I said, with
(21:24):
this book, I'm just going to go and let certain
people that I know, read it and come back and
give me the different ideas of excuse me, what it
could be. And I'm going to came back with unsinkable Spirit.
And I said, well, that's a little bit egotistical sounding,
(21:45):
and the person said, no, no, no, that's not what
it's about. It's about telling people that you have to
have is unsinkable spirit to really survive. And it's not
really about you, It's about them and what they need,
you know, to see from this book.
Speaker 8 (22:04):
I thought it was a perfect title when we talk
about organized sports when it comes to youth programs, and so,
why does Johnny hate sports? We mentioned some of it,
it's parents, it's coaches. What do you see as the
main factor that really contributes to the fact that Johnny
might hate sports?
Speaker 5 (22:21):
Well, again, as I say, the title is kind of misleading,
because not all kids hate sports. No, But to answer
your question, is the ones that do hate sports, and
there are many of them, because that number seventy percent
verifies that they quit. Is a few things. One nobody
(22:45):
ever asked the kids if they want to be competitive
in sports. All kids, by nature want to play, and
so when Billy or Mary sign up to play sports,
it's not them signing up when they're six years old,
parents signing them up. And I say to parents that, look,
never sit down and ask your kids what they want
(23:08):
to do before you just sign them up to play
the league whatever. And most parents will say no, not really.
I said, well, think of it. What if you put
a list together and you say, I'm going to give
you billy and marry These things aren't drama, music, sports,
and let them decide which one really excites them. And
(23:32):
they look and say, well, yeah, but I want my
kid playing baseball or football or whatever. And so therein
begins the problem of why Johnny ate sports? Because we
did a study at the Northern Kentucky University several years
ago test the kids on their skills, and would you
(23:53):
believe this that the skills of throwing, catching, hitting, and kicking,
which are required in sports, forty nine percent of the
kids did not reach the minimum level to feel successful
in any of those categories.
Speaker 8 (24:09):
Interesting.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
So it's like I've always described taking a kid that's
in the first grade and putting war in peace in
front of them and saying here and I'll start reading
exactly what would happen to the kid. So that's what
happens so often in sports that they are not ready
and prepared is one thing, But there's the huge difference
(24:31):
between kids wanting to compete and kids wanting to play.
And there are kids that are born competitors who love competition.
They can take a lot of the yelling and screaming
of some parents because they're competitive and winning is the
most important thing in their minds. They're born that way.
But there's an enormous number on the other side who
(24:53):
just want to go out and get on lighting boards,
seesaw swings, run around and just play. And there's a
vast difference between the two. And when you thrust the
kids that just want to play into something that is
very competitive, then you got big problems that you've got
kids saying I hate sports. Yep.
Speaker 8 (25:14):
Now you mentioned the idea of winning where coaches just
want to make sure everyone wins. Here's a question. Should
it be that the best team or the best person
wins or is everyone a winner because they showed up.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
Well, that's a good debatable question out there that it
depends on the age pat What happens is kids below
the age of ten, sports is a social experience. It's
not a sports experience. But there are some kids below
the age of ten that are competitive, as I say,
But for the most kids below the age of ten
(25:49):
just want to go out and play, So winning doesn't
mean that much to them, in losing doesn't mean What
means something to them is that after the game they
can go get piece or ice cream or whatever. And
that's why they're there, because they're going to get something
to eat after the game. So winning and I get
(26:12):
so many people that think that I am against the
idea of competition and winning and nothing could be further
from the truth because I'm a very very competitive person.
But winning at all costs is what it's bad. That's
the bad thing about sports for kids, because now you
(26:34):
have coaches, and what happens there is you put upstandings, scoreboards, championships,
all star teams, all those things are based on one thing,
and that is winning. And you have coaches. Can you
imagine you go out and coach a team and you're
out there an average of eighty hours a season and
(26:56):
your team is zero to twenty two. Well, so many
other coaches fear that and they do unbelievable things to
avoid that, and it's called winning at all costs, so
they'll cheat and do whatever they have to do to win.
And that's what's wrong about winning. Winning at all costs
is wrong. Winning is wonderful.
Speaker 8 (27:20):
What about physical education in schools these days? How are
schools helping or hurting well.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Being a physical educator. It's one of the real thorns
in the side that I've had for that whole area,
because typically what happens with so many people that get
into physical education they think it's an extension of their
playing sports days in college, and they're not into it
(27:50):
for the right reasons. So they get very frustrated very
early because the system can only allow them to have
an hour or a half hour a week and there
where they can't do anything with the kids other than
take a ball and go out play kickball for a
half hour, and that's the end of it. And they
sit over in the corner and read a magazine. They're
(28:10):
not motivated to do anything. Sure, there are some people
that in school systems across the country that really get
it with physical education, but by and large, it's almost
a joke. And to see people talking about today that
we need physical education in schools, it becomes a joke.
(28:31):
In itself also because it has never been anywhere other
than the bottom of totem pole. And when it's at
the bottom of the totem pole, the administration of the
school anytime, if just anything to drop because of academic needs,
physical education is at the bottom, and it ends up
(28:54):
becoming nothing more in glorified recess for kids.
Speaker 8 (28:58):
Yes, no, I agree. I look back on just on
the phizzed days growing up in elementary school and junior
high and sometimes they were just it was a harrowing experience.
So I get it. Is there a sport that a
child can participate in that just by the nature of
the sport would avoid most of this kind of negativity?
Speaker 4 (29:17):
No, okay, yeah, as long not as long as you
put up a scoreboard and then you have the standings
who wins, you know at.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
The top, and the wind loss columns. There's not a
sport that I know of it that doesn't happen. You know,
you can say bowling, Well, either's a score in bowling. Yeah,
you're playing badminton or table tennis or whatever. There's always
a win and loss, and that's what that's what sports
are about. There's always somebody on one end of the
(29:50):
picture in the other and that's what's so attractive and
wonderful about sports. But it's not only sports. It's playing cards,
playing board games, somebody's winning and losing. Kids today get
on the internet and you know they're in all kinds
of gaming things that they're doing and it's all about
winning something. So is there anything that they can just
(30:12):
play and play for fun? Yeah, seesaw swings and whatever
they want to play and buy themselves and just invent
their own activities. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (30:25):
Well, now share if you would a little bit more
about the National Alliance for Youth Sports. And I also
want to mention that you have chapters so that if
folks are listening and they want to build something like
this in their community, is that possible.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
Of course, you know, any parents that's listening. I say
to a group, pat I've talked to the hundreds of
audiences over the years, and I'll say, you know what,
out of this group of five hundred people, there will
be two people that will walk out of here and
do something the rest of you won't. And typically that's
(30:57):
what's happened over the time. But that doesn't mean that
somebody is listening that couldn't say yeah, I want to
do something in my community, Well, all they have to
do is let the recreation department in their community know
that there's an organization, the National Alliance for Youth Sports,
(31:19):
that offers every topic that can cover kids playing sports
in America, from the development of skills to the training
of parents, that the training of the administrators that run
these leagues, the total thing. And all they have to
do is contact our organization. We're a nonprofit organization and
(31:43):
it wouldn't be in existence today if recreation departments weren't
gaining value aross the countries. I mean, I'll give you
a good example. The US military. The Army in particular,
makes it mandatory on every Army base worldwide all of
our programs for coaches, parents, administrators, and youth development. So
(32:08):
if it's good enough for all these communities in the
US Military, then it certainly ought to be good for
a listener's audience. And that's why I say that I
think that it's something that I would hope some of
the people the listeners. But there's an old expression that
I've lived with that is so true, and that is
(32:31):
that ninety percent of the people are looking for ten
percent of the people to lead them. I say, what choice,
what area do you want to be? You can choose
to be one of the ninety percent or you could
be the ten percent person. But if you're going to
get ten percent, then you better have what I mentioned before,
and that's that vision, the passion and commitment to do something.
(32:54):
And I just suggest people that with my book with
Unsable Spirits that I think when you read that that
you will come out of that saying hey, if this
person can do that, then I can do what I
want to do and what I envisioned. It would make
(33:14):
my life meaningful.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
And where can folks go to learn more about the
National Alliance for Youth.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
Sports be very simple today, right, it's the acronym AYS
and it's nays dot arg and there's all that information
that you can look on there and there's no costs
for the program. So it's not a matter of I'm
(33:41):
selling something. It's a matter of selling the value of
sports for kids.
Speaker 8 (33:48):
Excellent. Thank you for that, NAYS dot Org.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
Brett.
Speaker 8 (33:51):
I know there's so much more we can talk about,
but I want to give you the opportunity to bring
up anything that we missed that you would like to
talk about today.
Speaker 5 (34:00):
Well, as I mentioned, Pat, I think you know self serving?
Is it sounds? I certainly would like people to consider
getting the book and Unsinkable Spirit, and it can be
you can just look on Amazon dot com. That's the
easiest way to get it. Anything else that I could
(34:21):
talk about, I could talk for probably another hour and
a half, you know, and I could tell stories that
people would say, You've got to be kidding me, that
that's not really what happened and is in sports. And
I get asked so many times why do I still
have all this fire in me to keep doing this?
(34:43):
And it's because I see the value that we're losing.
Speaker 8 (34:46):
Well, children are our future and we need to take
care of them. So I understand why you still have
this fire, as all of us should. And so I'm
going to encourage everyone listening to visit your website and
ay dot org to get a copy of your book,
Unsinkable Spirit, and to be inspired by you and for
(35:06):
what you've done in your life, and to become that
ten percent, not the ninety percent, the ten percent, and
to realize what their vision is, their passion and their commitment.
And Fred, you are a fine example of all of that.
Thank you for taking the time to share just a
little bit about what you're doing today. Hopefully folks will
head over to nysnais dot org and learn more and
(35:28):
get a copy of your book. Thank you so much
for taking the time today.
Speaker 5 (35:32):
Well thanks a lot for having me. Pat.
Speaker 7 (35:41):
Well, there you have it. I said there listening to
that for the first time, I've heard that. Whatever a
number of years it was. But you know the amazing
part about it is people would say, well, it's not
as bad as it is, or maybe was then, and
maybe things are better. But the next section, you know,
what we have we do with the organization is called
(36:03):
the press box. So you'll see that not much is
happening that is making a change, because look at some
of these things. Here's the press.
Speaker 9 (36:24):
Fred Angs Billy Jones's Father is more than just a
story about a boy and his father. It's an eye
opening journey into the emotional struggles faced by children in
the world of competitive sports. As you turn the pages,
you'll see how unrealistic expectations and unchecked ambitions can shape, mold,
(36:45):
and sometimes break a child's spirit. This book dives deep
into the human experiences that resonate with so many and
calls on us to reflect on the roles we play
in the lives of young athletes.
Speaker 7 (37:02):
Well talking about the press box. Every week, OURPR director
at the National Alliance for You Sports does a survey
around the country. So if you want to hear anything
that goes on and you think that things may have
settled down, let me read a few of these from
this week only. Here's the first one. A youth soccer
(37:24):
coach arrested for child porn autorphy possession. Next one child
allegedly made sexual deals with moms in exchange for playing time.
Speaker 5 (37:35):
Can you believe that.
Speaker 7 (37:38):
A tennis coach is charged with production of child porn?
I mean to go on and on for just this week,
but let me read this and then you can think, yeah,
and a kid in the sports I've been thinking, Wait
a minute now, I gotta be a little more careful.
This guy's warners his name is made sexual deal with
(38:00):
players' moms which resulted in playing time for their sons.
The narrative both who accused, the guy who being caught
by players engaging in sexual activities in the media room,
scoreboard room and above the field in the stadium press box.
These are the people that are out there coaching kids
(38:23):
and then may be coaching your kids. So is there
any reason make sure that your community there is something
set up like the National Alliance and the rec departments
to be able to take care of these things. I
think so. So thanks a lot for tuning in this
week and next week I got a special guest. I
(38:44):
hope he is able to be here, a hockey professional player.
So thanks again for being here.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
This program is sponsored by Sirdarf Publishing in the interest
for better sports for kids, Better kids for life. In
this best selling book, a child, while failing to live
up to his father's expectations, is shamed and humiliated beyond belief.
He vows to never allow his own son to face
(39:15):
the same
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
solely those of the hosts and their guests, and not
those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We
make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,
or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability,
explicit or implied shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio
or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should
be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing
(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Sports for kids in America begin with what we affectionately
called sandlot ball, where kids organized their own games, made
their own rules, and played until the sun went down.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Then came along parents, I'm gonna get.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
You night because you let me down.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh you did.
Speaker 5 (00:59):
I don't give you what you do in the letding Dale.
I don't care if you're going to play on pcent,
I'll get you boys.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
It's a cloud of day.
Speaker 6 (01:15):
The National Alliance for Youth Sports was born out of
a desire to bring order to the world of organized
sports for children in America. While for the most part,
children have a great experience playing sports, far too often
parents and coaches lose perspective. This program is aimed at
bringing some of America's best experts to talk about what
(01:35):
we can do to change the atmosphere of win at
all costs and parent poor behavior to one that focuses
on children having a positive learning experience through sports. Here's
our host, Fred Ang, the founder of a National Alliance
for Youth Sports.
Speaker 7 (01:55):
Hey, good morning, and thanks for being here. I apologize
for this vertical picture. I messed up because somebody told
me that it would sound better if I did it
on my cell phone, but I forgot to turn out
to turn it sideways. But anyway, so this morning I
got to thinking about, you know, so many people say
(02:17):
to me, how did the National Alliance for Youth Sports
ever begin? And how did this thing get to where
it is today. So a few years back, there was
a hockey dad who killed another hockey dad, if you
could believe that, at a practice, and all of a
sudden everything happened for our organization. We became the focal
(02:40):
point for youth sports and American and what was wrong
so many times? So I did a podcast and I thought,
you know, maybe this will spell it all out. So
I'm going to play the podcast for you. This will
give you an idea how the whole organization began.
Speaker 8 (02:59):
And today I have a special person who has devoted
his life to children and sports. He is Bred Angred
is the author of Unsinkable Spirit, an award winning book
published in twenty fifteen that looks at his fascinating life,
and in nineteen ninety nine he authored Why Johnny Hates Sports,
a first of its kind look at the serious problems
(03:22):
plaguing organized sports and more importantly, what needs to be
done to correct them. Bred is the founder of the
National Alliance for Youth Sports, a nonprofit organization committed to
providing safe and fun sports for America's youth since nineteen
eighty one. He is also the founder of the International
Alliance for Youth Sports, the International Arms of NAYS NAYS
(03:44):
the acronym for National Alliance for Youth Sports and that
began in two thousand and three that works to build
the value of sports worldwide and provide children in underprivileged
regions with opportunities to learn and play sports that have
never been available to them before. As one of the
world's leading experts in the youth sports field, his educational
(04:06):
programs for coaches administrators, parents and officials involved in out
of school organized sports, along with youth development programs that
give children a healthy start in sports, are used in
more than three thousand communities in more than a dozen
countries and on several continents. He grew up in Ocean City, Maryland,
and is a graduate of the University of Maryland. And
(04:27):
he is the father of seven children and resides in
West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Michael. And I'm
looking forward to hearing more about this seldom discussed topic.
So welcome to the show.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
Fred, Thank you Patt, and thanks for having me.
Speaker 8 (04:40):
Well Fred. Before we get into the conversation about your book,
I want to let everyone listening know that at the
end of our conversation, I am going to close with
a song written and played by you is for a
trailer from an upcoming movie called Born Again and Again,
about a woman who dies and comes back to life,
and I just thought it would be neat to share
your music talent as well as your passion for children
(05:02):
in sports, So everybody stay tuned for that now, Fred,
your memoir Unsinkable Spirit is your story that shares your
beginnings that led you to create the organizations you've built today.
Share a bit of your past so that we understand
why you do what you do well.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
It's a question of it asked many times, so it
should be very easy to answer. My background was in
physical education and I graduated from, as you mentioned, University
of Maryland Division the Eastern Shore. And I love the
idea of physical education because I've loved sports all my life.
(05:42):
My background in sports itself was I was a wrestler
in high school and for a couple of years in college,
and then I got into the area playing golf and
played on the golf team in college, and so I
really loved sports. But then when I graduated, I got
into teaching physical education at the elementary level, and after
(06:05):
that I was offered an opportunity to be a coach
and athletic director at a high school level in Wilmington, Delaware,
and then I went on from there to be a
recreation professional where we had about fifteen thousand kids in
the program, and all of a sudden, I began to
see in the program parents behaving in a way that
(06:29):
was really abusive. Their coaches were preaching when at all costs,
and we're talking about children, you know, kids as young
as six, seven, eight, nine years old or who are
growing and developing. And I really began to question it.
But then I saw it in my own family, with
my kids playing and different games I would go to,
(06:51):
and I began to see that happening and said, who's
doing anything about this? And nobody seemed to be doing
anything about it, And so I created the first ever
training program for the volunteer parents to go out and coach,
you know, their kids in sports, didn't matter what sport, football, baseball, basketball, whatever.
(07:14):
And there was a lot of rebuke of all of
that in Wilmington, Delaware that you know, I'm out here
as a volunteer parent, you can't ask me to be trained.
I got enough to do, and so I said to them, look,
you don't have to be trained, but if your team
wins the division or wherever you're in, you don't qualify
(07:34):
for the championship. Well guess what happened. Everybody went to
the program and that really started the whole thing off
at and then following that, I was invited to work
with an organization is the Division of the Sporting good Manufacturers,
And so I was in Chicago and I invited all
(07:59):
of the national organizations like Little League and Pop Warner
Football and amateur softball and on and on to a
meeting to see if I was correct in seeing what
was going on in my own experience, but was it
really happening in all these other sports. So all the
leaders of those organizations left, and there was one thing
(08:20):
that was in common, and that was the fact that
parents lose perspective of what's going on. And I tried
to get the organization that I was with the division.
It was called the Athletic Institute. I tried to get
them to create an organization that would deal with all
of it. And they thought it was crazy. They thought
that you're never going to get coaches to be trained,
(08:42):
You're never going to get parents and leagues and people
to follow it. And so I quit and went on
my own. And as I went on my ome, it
was pretty tough because at that time, my wife and
I had just had our seventh child, and there I
was out there in no man's land, because when I
(09:03):
quit my job, I'm saying, oh, what am I going
to do now? And so you know, just by a
stroke of luck, things happened, and too long to tell
on this show, But what happened is it was the
creation of in the beginning, and the organization was the
(09:23):
National Youth Sport Coaches Association, and we trained coaches in
recreation departments across the country and things began to catch
on and with a snowball effect. After a number of years,
we ended up having about three thousand chapters across the
country implementing our program for parents and coaches and administrators.
(09:48):
And many of the communities across the country would make
it a requirement that you couldn't lease those ball fields
that we see out there. They're public fields that are
owned by you and me, the taxpayers, and so the
local recreation departments made it mandatory that they couldn't lease
the facilities unless their coaches and parents were trained. So
(10:13):
that led finally to the idea that we were really
getting the program solid that I thought, why don't we
give a try internationally, because in developing countries it's so
sad to see the kids by nature want to play
but have no opportunity. And so through a number of
(10:35):
meetings and traveling and whatnot, we now have programs in
countries all over the world that allow children the opportunity
to go out of play sports.
Speaker 8 (10:47):
Wow, what a beautiful story. And as you were saying that,
I'm thinking, we wouldn't allow our children to be in
the care or in the hands of anybody really who
has no training. You wouldn't send them anywhere, even like
a day camp, unless somebody had some type of training.
And yet when it comes to sports, we do that
very same thing. So I find that fascinating that these
local facilities in ballparks made this mandatory training before they
(11:11):
would they would allow them to use those fields. That's huge.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
Well, absolutely, and you know it's sad that we can't
look across America and somebody to be able to say,
just like you did that, Hey, this makes a lot
of sense. Why would we allow people out there that
don't have any training, don't have any understanding of what
this is all about. Because what happens is with the
(11:36):
typical parent. And there are some wonderful great parents. I
understand that because I've had a lot of them coach
my kids. But there's some very ugly people that are
out there coaching because they have the wrong aspect of
what this is about. They think this is professional sports.
They go to the college games and the pro games
(11:57):
that sit in a stand and yell and stream and
curse what's going on and thinking that they know more
than the coaches. But those are the people that are
out there coaching your kids that used to be mine.
And so why we allow this? Nobody ever knows?
Speaker 8 (12:15):
Yeah, exactly. Now, your memoir Unsinkable Spirit was written after
your first book, So why does Johnny hate sports? Is
that correct?
Speaker 5 (12:25):
Yeah? The first book was basically about the things I'm
talking about, and that I describe and tell a lot
of what I call horror stories that happen out there
because of the lack of perspective and people out that
are watching their kids playing sports. I mean, anybody's listening
to this show would understand that, you know, you sit
(12:49):
in the stands, that's your your you know, your blood
out there playing and it's very difficult to be, you know,
in control of yourself is when things aren't going the
way you want. And so people that are parents that
we hear the sitness stands and scream and yell. I
tell the story in the book about the very first
(13:11):
time that we videotaped a soccer program and there was
a mother just as the game began. These were kids
were like eight to nine years old, and the mother
ran from one end of the field to the other,
back and forth, just screaming and screaming at her son
and to the hustle and whatnot. I think, oh, my lord,
(13:33):
how can anybody be this cruel to a kid who
was just out there trying to have fun. And then
at the break at the halftime, somebody came up to
me because they knew that we were videotaping, and said,
did you see what happened on the other side of
the field. I said no. They said, well, the coach
grabbed which apparently was his son and threw him up
(13:54):
against the fence because he didn't think he was playing
well enough. So you are just hundreds and hundreds of
stories that go on that are going on now that
because parents lose the whole idea that these are children
that are growing emotionally, socially, physically, mentally, and all of
(14:18):
this should be a very good learning experience for them.
Because that's why I have believed in sports and its
value throughout my career, because what happens is that when
we're playing, think of all the things that we learn
just by the fact of playing, like abiding by rules,
(14:38):
if you don't buy by rules, you get penalized in life.
If you don't abide by rules, you can end up
in jail in life that if you don't really stick
to what you're doing and persevere, then you give up
and you lose, and you end up the rest of
your life saying gee, I should have tried harder. So
you could go on and on with sports and talk
(15:00):
about all the values that they have, but we destroy
that when the facts are clear that by the age
of thirteen, almost seventy percent of the kids that ever
started as young as four and five and whatnot, almost
seventy percent are not out there playing anymore. In surveys
(15:20):
that were done, people ask why is that. Well, the
number one reason the kids said, it seems to be fun. Well,
I guess it does cease to be fun. You know
that if you're nine years old and somebody tells you're
a stupid idiot because you drop the pass or or
missed a basket in basketball. So that's the whole problem
(15:42):
of it in sports for kids in America, And that's
why I wrote that first book.
Speaker 8 (15:47):
Yes, as you're talking, I'm thinking exactly the same thing
that you mentioned, that sports really is that perfect medium
for so many life's lessons. And yet if these children
are bullied and basically it's abusive, I mean they're being
abused on many occasions, how are they going to take
those lessons that they learn in sports and now apply
them to the rest of life. There's far and wide
(16:08):
reaching ramifications.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Well, absolutely, And you know the thing is, as you
mentioned with my other book with Unsinkable Spirits, I wanted
to tell the story to people so that because I've
heard so many people that will say, how did you
ever do this? You have a wife and seven kids,
you quit your job, It had to be horrible and whatnot,
(16:34):
and trying to get off the ground and whatnot. And yeah,
I still have nightmares today knowing that at times, thinking,
you know, how we going to pay the rent? What
happens if this doesn't work? And that can be very scary.
And so many people get to that edge of wanting
to do something with their life and they back off
(16:57):
because of fear. And I was forty three three years
old when I decided to do this, when I started
the organization, and we had my wife and I had
an office about besides the closet in your house and
the only way that we're generating any income was that
(17:19):
I put together a manual that would be sectioned on
first aid, safety and coaching tips and et cetera for coaches.
It's the only way that we're generating any income anyway.
So I went to the bank because we were getting
(17:43):
low funds and I had to borrow five thousand dollars.
And the president of the bank laughed at me. He said,
I think you have the cart before the horse, And
I said, why is that. He said, well, we're not
going to pay your salary here. We have no collateral,
nothing that shows you. I got the message real quick.
(18:07):
I went back to the office. There was a check
that had come from the US Army because we were
overdrawn off for guy to tell you four hundred forty dollars,
my wife tells me on the phone as I'm in
the office there and there was a check there for
seven hundred and thirty two dollars. I ran and put
(18:30):
it in the bank, barred three thousand dollars from my mother,
who didn't have that money to give. I went to
New York for a meeting with because I had been
with the sporting good manufacturers, I had arranged a meeting
of three top residents of three top sports organizations, and
(18:54):
I walked out of there with thirty six thousand dollars
two weeks after almost the whole thing was over. That's
a great story.
Speaker 8 (19:05):
It's an awesome story, and I just think that's really inspiring.
Oh people get turned down and then they walk away
and give up.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
So there are a lot of people out there that
you know, are in their forties. It's a time of
their life that they, you know, look back and say,
am I doing what I really want to do? And
so I tell the story in unthinkable spirit of how
I overcame a lot of these fears and anguish and
(19:34):
suffering kind of wing quotes there. But you know, it's
a thing to inspire people to say, look, plead me
if a lot of If I can do it, a
lot of people and anybody can do it. And it's
what I call three different things. It's vision, it's passion,
(19:54):
and it's commitment. And I talk about that in the
book that no matter what that they're so many people
that have things that they totally believe in. I say,
you have to have a vision before you can take
that step. You have to know exactly where you're going,
what you want to do, and you have to see that,
you have to really see that, feel it inside deeply.
(20:16):
And then the next thing is you have to be
passionate about it. I mean, you have to think that
nothing is going to stand in your way to ever
make you stop doing this. And the last thing is
then you have to commit. You have to commit to
work hard and stay at it, and for ninety percent
of the people there'll be a success. And that's what
(20:39):
you see so many people in our society that are
successful because of those things. And that's what I try
to do in Unthinkable spirits.
Speaker 8 (20:48):
Oh I love that that. If no one takes anything
else from what you had to say today, that's perfect vision, passion,
and commitment. And you've done that and you're a fine
example of that. Why did you call it unsinkable spirit?
Speaker 5 (21:02):
Well, that's a good question because the first book that
I did with the publisher, they came back and told
me what the title would be and why Johnny h Sports,
And I remember my wife saying, I don't like that title.
It's so negative and whatnot. And so I said, with
(21:24):
this book, I'm just going to go and let certain
people that I know, read it and come back and
give me the different ideas of excuse me, what it
could be. And I'm going to came back with unsinkable Spirit.
And I said, well, that's a little bit egotistical sounding,
(21:45):
and the person said, no, no, no, that's not what
it's about. It's about telling people that you have to
have is unsinkable spirit to really survive. And it's not
really about you, It's about them and what they need,
you know, to see from this book.
Speaker 8 (22:04):
I thought it was a perfect title when we talk
about organized sports when it comes to youth programs, and so,
why does Johnny hate sports? We mentioned some of it,
it's parents, it's coaches. What do you see as the
main factor that really contributes to the fact that Johnny
might hate sports?
Speaker 5 (22:21):
Well, again, as I say, the title is kind of misleading,
because not all kids hate sports. No, But to answer
your question, is the ones that do hate sports, and
there are many of them, because that number seventy percent
verifies that they quit. Is a few things. One nobody
(22:45):
ever asked the kids if they want to be competitive
in sports. All kids, by nature want to play, and
so when Billy or Mary sign up to play sports,
it's not them signing up when they're six years old,
parents signing them up. And I say to parents that, look,
never sit down and ask your kids what they want
(23:08):
to do before you just sign them up to play
the league whatever. And most parents will say no, not really.
I said, well, think of it. What if you put
a list together and you say, I'm going to give
you billy and marry These things aren't drama, music, sports,
and let them decide which one really excites them. And
(23:32):
they look and say, well, yeah, but I want my
kid playing baseball or football or whatever. And so therein
begins the problem of why Johnny ate sports? Because we
did a study at the Northern Kentucky University several years
ago test the kids on their skills, and would you
(23:53):
believe this that the skills of throwing, catching, hitting, and kicking,
which are required in sports, forty nine percent of the
kids did not reach the minimum level to feel successful
in any of those categories.
Speaker 8 (24:09):
Interesting.
Speaker 5 (24:10):
So it's like I've always described taking a kid that's
in the first grade and putting war in peace in
front of them and saying here and I'll start reading
exactly what would happen to the kid. So that's what
happens so often in sports that they are not ready
and prepared is one thing, But there's the huge difference
(24:31):
between kids wanting to compete and kids wanting to play.
And there are kids that are born competitors who love competition.
They can take a lot of the yelling and screaming
of some parents because they're competitive and winning is the
most important thing in their minds. They're born that way.
But there's an enormous number on the other side who
(24:53):
just want to go out and get on lighting boards,
seesaw swings, run around and just play. And there's a
vast difference between the two. And when you thrust the
kids that just want to play into something that is
very competitive, then you got big problems that you've got
kids saying I hate sports. Yep.
Speaker 8 (25:14):
Now you mentioned the idea of winning where coaches just
want to make sure everyone wins. Here's a question. Should
it be that the best team or the best person
wins or is everyone a winner because they showed up.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
Well, that's a good debatable question out there that it
depends on the age pat What happens is kids below
the age of ten, sports is a social experience. It's
not a sports experience. But there are some kids below
the age of ten that are competitive, as I say,
But for the most kids below the age of ten
(25:49):
just want to go out and play, So winning doesn't
mean that much to them, in losing doesn't mean What
means something to them is that after the game they
can go get piece or ice cream or whatever. And
that's why they're there, because they're going to get something
to eat after the game. So winning and I get
(26:12):
so many people that think that I am against the
idea of competition and winning and nothing could be further
from the truth because I'm a very very competitive person.
But winning at all costs is what it's bad. That's
the bad thing about sports for kids, because now you
(26:34):
have coaches, and what happens there is you put upstandings, scoreboards, championships,
all star teams, all those things are based on one thing,
and that is winning. And you have coaches. Can you
imagine you go out and coach a team and you're
out there an average of eighty hours a season and
(26:56):
your team is zero to twenty two. Well, so many
other coaches fear that and they do unbelievable things to
avoid that, and it's called winning at all costs, so
they'll cheat and do whatever they have to do to win.
And that's what's wrong about winning. Winning at all costs
is wrong. Winning is wonderful.
Speaker 8 (27:20):
What about physical education in schools these days? How are
schools helping or hurting well.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Being a physical educator. It's one of the real thorns
in the side that I've had for that whole area,
because typically what happens with so many people that get
into physical education they think it's an extension of their
playing sports days in college, and they're not into it
(27:50):
for the right reasons. So they get very frustrated very
early because the system can only allow them to have
an hour or a half hour a week and there
where they can't do anything with the kids other than
take a ball and go out play kickball for a
half hour, and that's the end of it. And they
sit over in the corner and read a magazine. They're
(28:10):
not motivated to do anything. Sure, there are some people
that in school systems across the country that really get
it with physical education, but by and large, it's almost
a joke. And to see people talking about today that
we need physical education in schools, it becomes a joke.
(28:31):
In itself also because it has never been anywhere other
than the bottom of totem pole. And when it's at
the bottom of the totem pole, the administration of the
school anytime, if just anything to drop because of academic needs,
physical education is at the bottom, and it ends up
(28:54):
becoming nothing more in glorified recess for kids.
Speaker 8 (28:58):
Yes, no, I agree. I look back on just on
the phizzed days growing up in elementary school and junior
high and sometimes they were just it was a harrowing experience.
So I get it. Is there a sport that a
child can participate in that just by the nature of
the sport would avoid most of this kind of negativity?
Speaker 4 (29:17):
No, okay, yeah, as long not as long as you
put up a scoreboard and then you have the standings
who wins, you know at.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
The top, and the wind loss columns. There's not a
sport that I know of it that doesn't happen. You know,
you can say bowling, Well, either's a score in bowling. Yeah,
you're playing badminton or table tennis or whatever. There's always
a win and loss, and that's what that's what sports
are about. There's always somebody on one end of the
(29:50):
picture in the other and that's what's so attractive and
wonderful about sports. But it's not only sports. It's playing cards,
playing board games, somebody's winning and losing. Kids today get
on the internet and you know they're in all kinds
of gaming things that they're doing and it's all about
winning something. So is there anything that they can just
(30:12):
play and play for fun? Yeah, seesaw swings and whatever
they want to play and buy themselves and just invent
their own activities. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (30:25):
Well, now share if you would a little bit more
about the National Alliance for Youth Sports. And I also
want to mention that you have chapters so that if
folks are listening and they want to build something like
this in their community, is that possible.
Speaker 5 (30:37):
Of course, you know, any parents that's listening. I say
to a group, pat I've talked to the hundreds of
audiences over the years, and I'll say, you know what,
out of this group of five hundred people, there will
be two people that will walk out of here and
do something the rest of you won't. And typically that's
(30:57):
what's happened over the time. But that doesn't mean that
somebody is listening that couldn't say yeah, I want to
do something in my community, Well, all they have to
do is let the recreation department in their community know
that there's an organization, the National Alliance for Youth Sports,
(31:19):
that offers every topic that can cover kids playing sports
in America, from the development of skills to the training
of parents, that the training of the administrators that run
these leagues, the total thing. And all they have to
do is contact our organization. We're a nonprofit organization and
(31:43):
it wouldn't be in existence today if recreation departments weren't
gaining value aross the countries. I mean, I'll give you
a good example. The US military. The Army in particular,
makes it mandatory on every Army base worldwide all of
our programs for coaches, parents, administrators, and youth development. So
(32:08):
if it's good enough for all these communities in the
US Military, then it certainly ought to be good for
a listener's audience. And that's why I say that I
think that it's something that I would hope some of
the people the listeners. But there's an old expression that
I've lived with that is so true, and that is
(32:31):
that ninety percent of the people are looking for ten
percent of the people to lead them. I say, what choice,
what area do you want to be? You can choose
to be one of the ninety percent or you could
be the ten percent person. But if you're going to
get ten percent, then you better have what I mentioned before,
and that's that vision, the passion and commitment to do something.
(32:54):
And I just suggest people that with my book with
Unsable Spirits that I think when you read that that
you will come out of that saying hey, if this
person can do that, then I can do what I
want to do and what I envisioned. It would make
(33:14):
my life meaningful.
Speaker 8 (33:16):
And where can folks go to learn more about the
National Alliance for Youth.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
Sports be very simple today, right, it's the acronym AYS
and it's nays dot arg and there's all that information
that you can look on there and there's no costs
for the program. So it's not a matter of I'm
(33:41):
selling something. It's a matter of selling the value of
sports for kids.
Speaker 8 (33:48):
Excellent. Thank you for that, NAYS dot Org.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
Brett.
Speaker 8 (33:51):
I know there's so much more we can talk about,
but I want to give you the opportunity to bring
up anything that we missed that you would like to
talk about today.
Speaker 5 (34:00):
Well, as I mentioned, Pat, I think you know self serving?
Is it sounds? I certainly would like people to consider
getting the book and Unsinkable Spirit, and it can be
you can just look on Amazon dot com. That's the
easiest way to get it. Anything else that I could
(34:21):
talk about, I could talk for probably another hour and
a half, you know, and I could tell stories that
people would say, You've got to be kidding me, that
that's not really what happened and is in sports. And
I get asked so many times why do I still
have all this fire in me to keep doing this?
(34:43):
And it's because I see the value that we're losing.
Speaker 8 (34:46):
Well, children are our future and we need to take
care of them. So I understand why you still have
this fire, as all of us should. And so I'm
going to encourage everyone listening to visit your website and
ay dot org to get a copy of your book,
Unsinkable Spirit, and to be inspired by you and for
(35:06):
what you've done in your life, and to become that
ten percent, not the ninety percent, the ten percent, and
to realize what their vision is, their passion and their commitment.
And Fred, you are a fine example of all of that.
Thank you for taking the time to share just a
little bit about what you're doing today. Hopefully folks will
head over to nysnais dot org and learn more and
(35:28):
get a copy of your book. Thank you so much
for taking the time today.
Speaker 5 (35:32):
Well thanks a lot for having me. Pat.
Speaker 7 (35:41):
Well, there you have it. I said there listening to
that for the first time, I've heard that. Whatever a
number of years it was. But you know the amazing
part about it is people would say, well, it's not
as bad as it is, or maybe was then, and
maybe things are better. But the next section, you know,
what we have we do with the organization is called
(36:03):
the press box. So you'll see that not much is
happening that is making a change, because look at some
of these things. Here's the press.
Speaker 9 (36:24):
Fred Angs Billy Jones's Father is more than just a
story about a boy and his father. It's an eye
opening journey into the emotional struggles faced by children in
the world of competitive sports. As you turn the pages,
you'll see how unrealistic expectations and unchecked ambitions can shape, mold,
(36:45):
and sometimes break a child's spirit. This book dives deep
into the human experiences that resonate with so many and
calls on us to reflect on the roles we play
in the lives of young athletes.
Speaker 7 (37:02):
Well talking about the press box. Every week, OURPR director
at the National Alliance for You Sports does a survey
around the country. So if you want to hear anything
that goes on and you think that things may have
settled down, let me read a few of these from
this week only. Here's the first one. A youth soccer
(37:24):
coach arrested for child porn autorphy possession. Next one child
allegedly made sexual deals with moms in exchange for playing time.
Speaker 5 (37:35):
Can you believe that.
Speaker 7 (37:38):
A tennis coach is charged with production of child porn?
I mean to go on and on for just this week,
but let me read this and then you can think, yeah,
and a kid in the sports I've been thinking, Wait
a minute now, I gotta be a little more careful.
This guy's warners his name is made sexual deal with
(38:00):
players' moms which resulted in playing time for their sons.
The narrative both who accused, the guy who being caught
by players engaging in sexual activities in the media room,
scoreboard room and above the field in the stadium press box.
These are the people that are out there coaching kids
(38:23):
and then may be coaching your kids. So is there
any reason make sure that your community there is something
set up like the National Alliance and the rec departments
to be able to take care of these things. I
think so. So thanks a lot for tuning in this
week and next week I got a special guest. I
(38:44):
hope he is able to be here, a hockey professional player.
So thanks again for being here.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
This program is sponsored by Sirdarf Publishing in the interest
for better sports for kids, Better kids for life. In
this best selling book, a child, while failing to live
up to his father's expectations, is shamed and humiliated beyond belief.
He vows to never allow his own son to face
(39:15):
the same
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