c. 2006 Religion News Service

CLEVELAND _ The gymnasium walls did not come tumbling down.

Would-be Bobby Knights and the intense sports parents who enable them survived.

And none of the more than 11,000 Northeast Ohio fourth- to eighth-graders who play Catholic Youth Organization basketball warmed the bench this year.

A landmark program that puts Catholic values ahead of winning was such a success, Diocese of Cleveland officials say, that they will establish guaranteed-playing-time rules for youth volleyball and football.

What the Cleveland program also has done, said a Notre Dame University professor who assists parishes and dioceses on youth sports issues, is pave the way for other Catholic programs across the country to mandate equal playing time rules for youth.

“Cleveland is courageous in that it is such a large entity and is willing to take a public stand” despite the flak, said F. Clark Power, associate director of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethical Education.

No more can CYO leaders say that equal playing time is a “pie in the sky” idea in the sometimes rough-and-tumble world of Catholic youth sports, he said. “Cleveland’s doing it,” Power said. “Cleveland is … a flagship.”

Under the new “No Child Left on the Bench” rules in the Cleveland diocese, each fourth- through sixth-grader on basketball teams of 10 or less (which is the great majority of squads) must play at least half the game. Seventh- and eighth-graders must play at least one quarter.

“Most organizations will talk about character building,” said Greg Dobie Moser, diocesan director of youth and young-adult ministry. “But if you are not willing to wrestle with the tiger called playing time, you miss one of the issues.”

There are no national rules for playing time. Standards recommended by the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based National Alliance for Youth Sports call for leagues to set a minimum time and offer opportunities “for meaningful play for all children.”

Donald Ruedlinger, president of Youth Basketball of America in Orlando, Fla., recommends squads of 10 or less and that each child play as much as possible. “You’ve got to have them all playing. It’s no good if they’re not playing,” he said.

For years, the Catholic diocese has had guidelines encouraging equitable playing time for all CYO youth, Moser said.

But in a sports culture where some coaches and parents care more about championships or developing their own kids at the expense of others, not everyone took the church’s advice.

Some parents viewed CYO athletics as a way to give their children an advantage to join a prominent high school team, or even the pros.

The CYO, Moser said, had to address playing time because it is a Catholic organization. “The team is a Christian community. It really needs to reflect Christian values.”

Over several years, program officials prepared the community for the change. They came up with a mission statement and required every youth coach to undergo training. A community task force developed the rules over 18 months.

The task force quickly agreed that fourth- through sixth-graders should play at least half the game. At the older ages, the panel decided to limit mandatory play to a quarter to reward those children who put more time and dedication into their sports.

The CYO program hopes to establish playing-time rules for all its sports, which also include baseball, softball and soccer.

Power, a psychology professor at Notre Dame, said the tendency to value competition and winning over child welfare at younger and younger ages represented “very disturbing trends” in youth sports.

But sports leagues needed to get past the vocal minority of adults who emphasize winning and look at the issue of playing time from the best interests of the child, he said.

Sports offer important opportunities for social, moral and physical development, Power said.

“If all this is true, the playing-time issue is a no-brainer,” he said. “If you were to talk about good nutrition, would you just give it to the healthiest?”

Power said it was particularly important that Catholic organizations show children they are valued members of the community.

`We are all parts in the body of Christ,” he said. “We need to respect all the parts.”

DSB/JL END BRIGGS

(David Briggs writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland)

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