YOUTH SPORTS TIPS
Patrick Cohn, Ph.D and Lisa Cohn

In a recent survey of 650 parents on an online site about plastic surgery, 68% of parents surveyed said 
they would allow their teens to undergo plastic surgery to avoid bullying.

The survey shows just how far parents will go to prevent their kids from being bullied--a problem that 
is rampant in youth sports.

Bullying is one of the top issues parents write us about. For example, one parent wrote, “I have a very 
gifted athlete who started her sports at age 9. Her coaches are amazing and she progressed to the National 
level quite quickly. There were a couple of girls on the team that were jealous of my daughter, they would 
belittle her, make rude comments, leave her out of events, and just ignore her.”

Another parent told a story about her son, who returned to soccer after breaking his arm, only to be bullied for not playing we ll.

“There was an incident last week where the boys all teased him at training because he isn’t confident at 
heading the ball and his form isn’t perfect. He was almost in tears and now doesn’t want to return to play 
the rest of the season out.”

It’s common for kids to drop out of sports for being bullied. However, it’s often hard for parents to 
intercede before the damage is done because young athletes are often too embarrassed to talk about being 
the victims of bullying. 

First and foremost, parents need to keep an eye out for signs of bullying:

Are your sports kids suddenly less interested in going to practice?

Do they seem more anxious about going to practices or games?

Do they make excuses for avoiding practices and games? 

If so, you should talk to them. Tell your sports kids that i t’s very common for kids to be bullied and ask 
them if they’ve seen or experienced any harassment, teasing or intimidation on their team. 

You could also talk to the coach. Be diplomatic. Don’t blame the coach. 

In addition, it’s not a bad idea to attend practice to get a feel for how the team members—and the coach-
treat one another. 

If you do believe that kids are bullying each other—or the coach is harassing or teasing the kids—talk to the 
other parents. See if you can band together to talk to the coach and the administration.

Keep in mind that the majority of young athletes drop out of sports by the time they are 13 because sports 
isn’t fun anymore. Don’t let your child join the ranks of kids who quit!

Sincerely,

Patrick Cohn, Ph.D and Lisa Cohn