Reforming Sports Before the Clock Runs Out

Rating:
Summary: The Triumph of Corporate Sport Culture
Review: Bruce Svare is obviously passionate about sports. Many of the most gratifying moments of his life have come from either playing sports or coaching young people in a variety of grassroots leagues. Yet during his life time he has seen the true joy of sports, what some people might call the "play" component, all but extinguished. Little leaguers are trained like pros and young basketball players play on AAU teams year-round chasing the all but impossible dream of an athletic scholarship or a shot at the pros.

Svare does not come out and say it, but he is obviously heartbroken that something he loves is being destroyed before his very eyes. It is like visiting a beautiful lake where you spent the best summer days of your youth and finding it fouled by pollution and surrounded by ugly condominiums. Savre, like Rip Van Winkle, awoke in mid-life to see a sports landscape he could hardly recognize, one scarred by performance enhancing drugs, excessive media hype of young athletes, and the transformation of athletes of all ages into mini professionals.

It was not always like this, and Svare's book traces his personal journey into this increasingly strange land where even junior high school athletes are recruited by armies of high school coaches, and high school football stars announce the college they will attend on ESPN. It is hard not to be drawn into this book because regardless of what one thinks of the criticisms raised by Svare, it is obvious that he is a good man who is genuinely chagrined by the "runaway sports culture." His suggestions for reform are well worth reading, and offer very reasonable alternatives. But still one has to wonder if there is any going back.

Rating:
Summary: Important Reading for Anyone Interested in Sports
Review: Dr. Svare provides an intriguing, honest, and scary look at the American sports culture. Whether it is discussing poor sportsmanship among coaches and fans, steroid abuse by players, or the never-ending chase for the athletic scholarship, the author provides poignant examples of major problems in sports. One of the most important questions raised in this book for me was the discussion concerning athletic halls of fame - why do we have athletic halls of fame in our institutions of learning and not any academic halls of fame? Shouldn't we be promoting success in academics in our educational system? If people see a trophy case of athletic accomplishments but none about academic achievement, what does that say about our priorities? This book is a must read for anyone with an interest in sports as a fan, participant, or concerned citizen about the future of sports.

Rating:
Summary: Important Reading for Anyone Interested in Sports
Review: Dr. Svare provides an intriguing, honest, and scary look at the American sports culture. Whether it is discussing poor sportsmanship among coaches and fans, steroid abuse by players, or the never-ending chase for the athletic scholarship, the author provides poignant examples of major problems in sports. One of the most important questions raised in this book for me was the discussion concerning athletic halls of fame - why do we have athletic halls of fame in our institutions of learning and not any academic halls of fame? Shouldn't we be promoting success in academics in our educational system? If people see a trophy case of athletic accomplishments but none about academic achievement, what does that say about our priorities? This book is a must read for anyone with an interest in sports as a fan, participant, or concerned citizen about the future of sports.

Rating:
Summary: A Mindopener for Sports Fans
Review: Many years ago I began to express publicly my views about the abysmally negative state of college and high school athletics in the United States. Often, the person to whom I expressed my views would dismiss my observations and arguments on the basis that I was a "pointy-headed academic" who resented the positive status being given to the athletic departments of academic institutions.
As an academic, I tried to develop my arguments from well-researched publications. I could never recommend to nonacademics that they read the publications from which I drew my propositions. Professor Svare has given me exactly the book to which I can direct people who find the reading of academic texts to be dull and often unfathomable. Svare's book is the work of a person who, all his life, has deeply appreciated the pleasure and benefits of engaging in athletic activity. Anyone who reads this book will know that this is the work of a person who has developed a deep knowledge of all aspects of athletics -- participating, coaching, administering, studying, gathering data, networking, and writing skillfully and clearly about his subject.
Svare uses literary devices that can engross a reader, while conveying to the reader the fine details of the status of athletics in the United States. Many of his careful analyses are embedded in what one might call "case studies." In several chapters, Svare tells the stories of athletes whose career he has carefully studied. He demonstrates his expertise by supplying data on the career of the person under study as well as describing the person's style of play and achievements. At the same time that he lays down his case studies, he embeds the details of the study in the broad context of how the sports culture has affected the person being discussed. Even without those details, a reader can be induced to experience the deep sorrow that is generated by the kinds of tragedies that the sports culture has brought about. But, Svare has not simply delivered a negative diatribe about the status of American athletics. He has, as he describes in his book, taken serious action to promote a reform of athletics in educational institutions. Aside from describing the various ways in which he and other dedicated persons can contribute to the efforts to bring about reform, Svare offers his own well-formulated recommendations for action to bring about needed reforms. Though I might fruitlessly advocate more radical reform, I can agree with Svare that the first moves would be to convince professional sports organizations that they should develop theor own minor league teams, rather than use universities as venues for pre-professional development. There also is merit in the recommendation that colleges ban participation in intercollegiate athletics during the first year of the student's stay at university. I also would agree that scholarships should be granted to cover the costs of the complete college career of the scholarship winner. The winner should be allowed to settle into college life before taking on the demands of heavy sports schedules. Scholarship winners also should know that whatever happens in regard to their athletic activity, they will be able to continue as students at the institution in which they have enrolled. I can't imagine how anyone who reads this book would deny that he/she should become involved in promoting reform.

Rating:
Summary: A Mindopener for Sports Fans
Review: Many years ago I began to express publicly my views about the abysmally negative state of college and high school athletics in the United States. Often, the person to whom I expressed my views would dismiss my observations and arguments on the basis that I was a "pointy-headed academic" who resented the positive status being given to the athletic departments of academic institutions.
As an academic, I tried to develop my arguments from well-researched publications. I could never recommend to nonacademics that they read the publications from which I drew my propositions. Professor Svare has given me exactly the book to which I can direct people who find the reading of academic texts to be dull and often unfathomable. Svare's book is the work of a person who, all his life, has deeply appreciated the pleasure and benefits of engaging in athletic activity. Anyone who reads this book will know that this is the work of a person who has developed a deep knowledge of all aspects of athletics -- participating, coaching, administering, studying, gathering data, networking, and writing skillfully and clearly about his subject.
Svare uses literary devices that can engross a reader, while conveying to the reader the fine details of the status of athletics in the United States. Many of his careful analyses are embedded in what one might call "case studies." In several chapters, Svare tells the stories of athletes whose career he has carefully studied. He demonstrates his expertise by supplying data on the career of the person under study as well as describing the person's style of play and achievements. At the same time that he lays down his case studies, he embeds the details of the study in the broad context of how the sports culture has affected the person being discussed. Even without those details, a reader can be induced to experience the deep sorrow that is generated by the kinds of tragedies that the sports culture has brought about. But, Svare has not simply delivered a negative diatribe about the status of American athletics. He has, as he describes in his book, taken serious action to promote a reform of athletics in educational institutions. Aside from describing the various ways in which he and other dedicated persons can contribute to the efforts to bring about reform, Svare offers his own well-formulated recommendations for action to bring about needed reforms. Though I might fruitlessly advocate more radical reform, I can agree with Svare that the first moves would be to convince professional sports organizations that they should develop theor own minor league teams, rather than use universities as venues for pre-professional development. There also is merit in the recommendation that colleges ban participation in intercollegiate athletics during the first year of the student's stay at university. I also would agree that scholarships should be granted to cover the costs of the complete college career of the scholarship winner. The winner should be allowed to settle into college life before taking on the demands of heavy sports schedules. Scholarship winners also should know that whatever happens in regard to their athletic activity, they will be able to continue as students at the institution in which they have enrolled. I can't imagine how anyone who reads this book would deny that he/she should become involved in promoting reform.

Rating:
Summary: An expose of what has gone wrong
Review: Reforming Sports Before The Clock Runs Out: One Man's Journey Through Our Runaway Sports Culture by Bruce Svare (Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, State University of New York - Albany) is an expose of what has gone wrong in the areas of youth, amateur, high school, and collegiate sports today. The father of two athletes, a college professor, a coach, and a sports administrator, Svare deftly examines the failings of what comprises our contemporary sports culture including the unhealthy emphasis upon early specialization and the professionalization of young athletes; the promotion of winning at any cost with an attendant decline in sportsmanship; elevated violence and misbehavior on the parts of athletes, coaches, parents, and fans; the favoritism afforded very costly competitive sports that only serve a small number of young people with our school systems, and so much more. If you are a concerned parent, educator, or athletic events policy maker, then you need to give a careful and thoughtful reading to Reforming Sports Before The Clock Runs Out.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reading
Review: When I picked up this book, I simply could not put it down. It is superbly written and I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in sports. Dr. Svare has put into words what I have been trying to say about the sports culture and it growing negative influence on our society. Like Dr. Svare, I was once a rabid follower of sports and unconciously participated in the exploitation of young men and women through our runaway sports culture. It took some of my own negative experiences to finally wake me up to the train wreck that will eventually happen. The clock is really running out and Dr. Svare presents some sad stories about how sports has corrupted our society, but also he give realistic solutions that can help truly reform sports before the clock runs out.

Dr. B. David Ridpath
Marshall University