The Seattle Times – Jerry Large
“There’s a national movement to put the fun back into youth sports and to make the development of lifelong physical and mental benefits more important than winning. For a couple of years, people who have expertise in child development, sports and other fields have been meeting to talk about where we are and where we ought to be with regard to children and sports. This year they launched a report and action plan, “Sport for All / Play for Life.” Chuck Ayers sent me a copy. Ayers is best known for running the Cascade Bicycle Club for 16 years, but all kinds of sports have been a part of his life since he started playing Little League at around age 6. His father died before Ayers was 2 years old, leaving his mother to raise five children in rural Connecticut. Sports filled part of the void for him, and over the years he’s worked to help more children benefit from sports. For the past year Ayers has been a research associate at the Center for Leadership in Athletics at the University of Washington College of Education.”(more)