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Fall youth sports report: small team decline but higher coach compliance and concussion training; basketball registration tops 700
Summary
Sports coordinator reported a roughly 1% drop in fall teams but increases in coaches, background checks, coach training and concussion-awareness compliance; youth basketball registration surpassed 700 with expectations to exceed 1,000 across winter programs.
Kyle Kebaugh, youth sports coordinator for St. Mary's County Recreation and Parks, presented the fall 2011 Community Standards report and told the board the department saw about a 1% reduction in total teams compared with the prior year but increases in coach numbers, background checks performed and coaches completing required training.
Kebaugh said the department recorded a 4% increase in compliance by teams—defined as having at least two coaches per team who passed criminal background checks and completed approved training—and fewer failed background checks than in past seasons. He said the department aims for 100% compliance and will continue working with new league presidents to raise compliance levels.
Kebaugh told the board the department implemented a concussion-awareness program for the first time this fall and that all leagues’ administrators completed the course, representing 100% compliance for administrators. He said the concussion training will remain a component of the department’s community standards.
On registration counts, Kebaugh said youth basketball registration for grades 3 through 8 exceeded 700 participants—one more team than the prior year—and that registration for a 9th/10th grade coed league and a 1st/2nd grade instructional league were ongoing, with staff hoping total participants for the season will surpass 1,000. He said youth lacrosse continued with both boys’ and girls’ leagues at approximately the same registration level as prior seasons and that efforts to reestablish a high school league remain a goal for next year.
Kebaugh also described other offerings: middle school basketball (about 90 participants), middle school cheer (about 140 participants representing all four middle schools), two competitive cheer teams that competed regionally, an adult coed dodgeball tournament that drew eight teams and about 65 participants, and a junior coaches program pairing five high school students (ages 16–18) with mentors to assist in lacrosse, soccer and basketball as part of leadership development and— for one participant—coordination with a Girl Scout Gold Award project.
The board asked questions about specifics of compliance and recruitment of coaches; Kebaugh said staff would continue outreach and training to improve compliance rates.
