Latest news with #youthSports
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Plastic Turf Fields Are Taking Over America
Across the country, cities and towns are replacing grass fields with synthetic turf, a change that is driven by youth sports teams eager for more year-round playing spaces and the multibillion-dollar turf industry working to convince communities that plastic fields are better than natural ones. Many local officials, at the urging of families involved in youth sports, say turf fields can easily be played on after it rains and don't need to be mowed or reseeded. But some residents, environmentalists and coaches are pushing back, claiming turf — which is made of plastic blades that mimic the look of grass and often sit on a layer of crumb rubber — is expensive to maintain because it must be replaced after several years, is vulnerable to flooding and exposes children to harmful chemicals and hotter temperatures. The debate over whether to install turf over grass fields has become a referendum on sports, health, the environment and the use of scarce public resources. In 2022, Boston effectively banned the installation of artificial turf, and municipalities in California, Connecticut and elsewhere have followed suit. The rift has been particularly intense in Ridgewood, N.J., a bedroom community of 26,000 residents and about 15 miles west of Manhattan. Disputes over turf have spilled onto local blogs and into public meetings, where some of the village's powerful youth sports leagues — there are at least 10 — have lobbied for replacing grass fields at schools and parks with synthetic turf to give their athletes more chances to play, rain or shine. 'It is a sports-crazed town with lots of sports-crazed, Type A parents and sports-crazed, Type A kids,' said Mark Sullivan, a Ridgewood resident who coached softball and baseball, which his daughter and son played. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Pickleball craze hits Hong Kong as teens embrace new sport
A small plastic ball flies through the air between a few teens on a badminton court in Hong Kong's Kowloon Bay. But they are not playing badminton. They are trying a sport called pickleball. Although they just learned this game, they are already hitting the ball back and forth across the court. Seventeen-year-old Chan Yat-long just started learning pickleball, but he wants to continue playing. 'Now I know this sport ... I want to find [more] friends to play together,' said the student from United Christian College. Kennedy Lai is the founder of the Newly Emerged Sports Association. He said pickleball was a hit among young Hongkongers. Anyone can play In 1965, three fathers in the US wanted to create a game their families could easily play together. They used items they had to create this new sport: badminton nets, table tennis paddles and a plastic ball known as a wiffle ball. The sport could be beneficial for young people in Hong Kong. This is because more than 90 per cent of the city's youngsters do not get at least 60 minutes of medium or intense exercise every day. Pickleball offers them a fun, easy way to get active. Lai was a physical education teacher in Hong Kong for about six years. He turned to pickleball after his students struggled to learn traditional sports. '[For] basketball, after I teach dribbling, they don't know how to play the game. I need to use many lessons to let them know the sport,' Lai said. He said this made kids lose interest in his classes. When Lai started teaching pickleball in his classes, he noticed that students could play from the first day. Other advantages of the sport include inexpensive equipment, low injury risks, a small amount of space required and opportunities to socialise. Badminton courts can also be easily converted to play pickleball. Opportunities for a new sport Students are now trying pickleball through the Fly High Charity Sports Programme 2025, which is using sports to improve the lives of young people. The programme is co-organised by the Tencent Charity Foundation and Gaw Capital People's Place. During their first pickleball lesson, the students learned the rules of the game and practised forehand and backhand shots. Then, they tried hitting the ball across the court. Tina Xu Piying, an 18-year-old from United Christian College, said she enjoyed the social side of the game. 'I think the most fun part is, this is a teamwork game,' said the teen, who was trying the sport for the first time through the programme. 'Now Hong Kong has many new sports, and people will want to have a chance to try.'
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Kids now are made in labs" - John Stockton on the most significant difference in young players' development in today's era and during his time
"Kids now are made in labs" - John Stockton on the most significant difference in young players' development in today's era and during his time originally appeared on Basketball Network. John Stockton's path from Spokane gym rat to NBA legend is a story rooted in a very different era of basketball development, one where learning came from pickup games, not private trainers or viral highlight clips. Reflecting on the changing culture of the sport, Stockton is quick to note the stark contrast between his upbringing and the way kids are molded today. Advertisement "Now, kids are made in labs. And so it's kind of hard to teach, you know, just the nuances of the game that you get into playing," he said on a podcast with Adam Morisson. How battling older players shaped Stockton For Stockton, basketball was a nightly adventure, not a scheduled workout. "Absolutely. No, in my front yard, my brother, if I could talk him into playing, those were always bloody messes and I was always unsuccessful," Stockton recalls. "And then, sneak in down at Gonzaga and play against college students and did that every night. I'd do that after practices. So we'd practice at prep. Pat Clark was there with Terry Irwin. And after practice, I'd go home and eat dinner and I'd go sneak in with the students down at GU and just play," he revealed. Advertisement Stockton's basketball education was built on trial, error and the humility of getting his ass kicked by older and stronger players. The modern game, he observes, is dominated by structured skill sessions, trainers and curated social media moments. "Kids work out, which is fine, but also, they don't, you don't play against older people. You don't understand what your weaknesses really are, how you get by them. And so, I'm always just like, go find it, go find a run. But then also, there's not really been as many runs as there used to be," he explains. "But it's the hardest thing to teach kids. You got to go play against older people, get your ass kicked and you figure out kind of like how to survive without a doubt," he said. Advertisement Stockton's formative years were a tapestry of pickup battles, late-night gym sessions and solo shooting when no one else showed up. "There are a lot of Friday nights when everybody's out doing other things, but I would just go down and hope that somebody be down there realistically and end up shooting by myself. So a little bit of a weird kid, maybe in that regard, but I did love it," he said. For him, the game was more than just a repetition of drills. Related: Lance Stephenson explains why Carmelo won't play against Michael Beasley 1-on-1: "Nobody wants to lose their stripes" What today's youth basketball is missing Today's youth basketball scene, Stockton notes, is missing that raw, unfiltered education. The culture has shifted toward individual skill-building and highlight-chasing, often at the expense of learning how to compete, improvise and lead on the fly. Advertisement "It's kind of hard to teach, you know, the just the nuances of the game that you get into playing," he says. The result, he worries, is a generation of players who may have polished moves but lack the instincts and adaptability that only come from battling older, smarter opponents. Stockton's message is clear - the best development doesn't happen in a lab or a private gym but in the crucible of real competition. For Stockton, that's where greatness is forged, not in the spotlight but in the shadows of empty gyms, chasing the next run and learning the game the hard way. Related: "Come to work, do my job, and go home without anybody fu*king with me" - A Jazz official describes Stockton's mentality throughout his NBA career This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Rochester pupil, 11, selected for England Deaf Football team
A pupil from a Rochester school has been selected for the England Deaf Football U11s team. Sonny, who attends All Faiths Children's Academy, had expressed his desire to become a football player to his wears a bone anchored hearing aid, which can make playing football harder as the wind on the pitch often blocks out the sound of his team Sonny was selected, his teacher Beth Welstead said the school was "extremely proud of him". Sonny is also the top scorer for his local club, Anchorians FC, and has been awarded the Golden Boot for his goal scoring said: "My brother got me into football. At first I just played for fun but I carried on playing."I play for a local team and now I've got this far in being selected for the national team, which is great."He added it was his teachers who encouraged him to pursue his goals. Ms Welstead said: "Sonny has got fantastic aspirations and he wants to be a footballer. "Because he found it a bit challenging to play football when the wind blows, we thought Sonny could try out for the Deaf Football England trials."The school said Sonny's story was one of "triumph against adversity" and highlighted the importance of inclusion in sport for young athletes living with disability.
National Post
20-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Up Close: Meet Roughriders receiver KeeSean Johnson
Article content Article content Any game-day superstitions? Article content 'Since I had children, I have to talk to my children before I go out there and play, before I leave the locker room … That's who I do it for, obviously. That's what I strive for is to give them the best life. Article content 'I talk to my mom, talk to my dad. Me and my mom, we say our prayer together; me and my dad, we talk ball together. Article content What would you be doing if you weren't playing football? Article content 'If wasn't playing football, I would probably be coaching or probably helping somewhere with the youth, doing something in that form. Article content 'That's always something I enjoy is spending time with younger kids and being able to give them something positive and showing them a positive role model. Article content 'Growing up in a tougher area, obviously you see different things, and you can still, you know, the sky's the limit. You can do whatever you want, whatever you put your mind to. No one tells you no other than yourself.' Article content 'No, my mom worked so hard to take that stress off of me and just let me and my brother be kids when we were kids and let us focus on school. Article content Article content 'She worked really hard. That was something that she always took pride in, working really hard and making sure if we do good, we get things that we want. And that's what I kind of try to throw into my kids now — as long as you do what you need to do, I can provide for your life and take stress off you to have you focus on what you what your goals are.' Article content Article content 'I'm pretty good at bowling. I can say that. I got into that when I was in Philly. One of my teammates, him and his mom took it really serious. Article content 'I went with them one day and it was like, 'OK, I'm not good at bowling, like at all.' And then it's kind of just, the competitor in me, started to just go, ended up buying my own balls and figuring it out. And now I'm pretty good at bowling. Article content 'When I'm back home, me and my boys, we tend to have a day here and there to go out and bowl.' Article content What else should people know about you? Article content 'I'm very competitive. I don't like losing. Losing is something that's not in me; I could take it, but it's not in me. Article content Article content 'I don't like losing; don't like being wrong. I like to go out there and I try to do my best to be right. I try to do my best on the football field. Article content 'In life, there's obviously ways that you can be wrong and learn different things, but on the football field, I try to do my assignments (and) make sure I know my assignments.' Article content
