Taking Back Sundays: Families Opt Out of Youth Sports

Posted by: Lauren Young on December 04

This entry is written by BusinessWeek contributing editor Mark Hyman who is the author of Until It Hurts (Beacon), a book about impact of parents, coaches and other adults on youth sports to be published in April 2009.

A lot of us comment - ok, complain - about our children’s crazy sports schedules and how they gnaw at the time that our families could be spending together. On a vacation. At the dinner table. Just hanging out on a Sunday.

Andrea Grazzini Walstrom of Burnsville, Minnesota, has had her share of angst about this issue. But unlike most of us, she’s actually doing something about it.

Grazzini Walstrom, an ex-jock, freelance writer and children’s advocate, started an organization called Balance4Success with the purpose of restoring perspective to the lives of overscheduled families. The group is small and modestly funded, according to its energetic leader. But Balance4Success is giving voice to the concerns of a lot of parents who are overwhelmed trying to keep up with their kids’ commitments for organized sports – games, practices, private lessons, summer sports camps and more.

I’m particularly intrigued with one idea being championed by Balance4Success. It’s called “Taking Back Sundays” and it’s as simple as it is inspired. The program encourages parents to opt out of youth sports for their families every Sunday.

No practices. No games. No travel team tournaments. If a coach insists that a child has to show up for a team event, a parent insists as forcefully that she or he won’t be coming, that Sunday is a family day.

Taking Back Sundays started in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb where Grazzini Walstrom lives and works. There are more than 100 families taking part, she told me by email. The program – strictly voluntary, of course - hasn’t spread much beyond this small community.

A couple of explanations come to mind. The optimistic: As more parents outside Minnesota learn of Taking Back Sundays, they’ll sign up. And the realistic: Though the idea is appealing, most of us feel pressure to keep our kids in the game, fearing that they’ll fall behind their friends if we don’t.

I can’t honestly say whether I would have been in the Taking Back Sundays Club when my kids were at home and playing sports nonstop. But the more I hear, the more sense it makes. If you’re ready to take the plunge - or just curious – it’s worth surfing to the Balance4Success Web site. Be sure to take a look at the Taking Back Sundays pledge.

Raise your right hand and repeat after me.

For additional discussion on young athletes, check out Hyman’s blog.

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