It’s a fact of life that a youngster’s involvement in sport usually means an accompanying commitment by someone older, namely a parent, teacher, or coach. Kids grow in sport by being taught lessons about fair play, competition, winning and losing, in addition to developing specific physical attributes like co-ordination, speed, and endurance.

For adults, however, knowing how to make positive contributions to youth sport isn’t always easy. How much coaching and encouragement is too much? When is a child in danger of burning out and losing enthusiasm? What sports are available and appropriate for kids with disabilities?

For many adults involved in youth sport, the answers to these key questions have always represented something of a crap-shoot. Until now, that is. With the publication of Straight Talk about Children and Sport, the Coaching Association of Canada has taken a heads-up, straight-on approach to providing practical responses to the age-old queries about how adults and children from six to 12 years of age can best interact on and off the playing field.

Authors Janet LeBlanc and Louise Dickson use a question-by-question format to address fundamental issues (Why is sport important for children? Why is the role of the coach important? How do children interact with others?) and more specific points relevant to the youth/adult dynamic in sport (What are the risks inherent in early specialization? What factors should be considered in purchasing protective equipment? What can be done if a coach or parent misbehaves?).

If LeBlanc and Dickson had attempted to supply authoritative answers on their own, one might be prepared to dismiss their efforts as the work of two well-meaning but overambitious authors, such is the scope of their undertaking. This, however, is far from the case. Drawing on the direct input of an impressive array of accomplished coaches, physiologists, nutritionists, psychologists, and kinesiologists, LeBlanc and Dickson provide a well-reasoned and thoroughly documented basis for the stances they’ve taken throughout the book.

The image of the overzealous sports parent or coach ruining – through their own misplaced ambitions or aggression – what should represent a pleasant way for kids to spend their leisure time, is still an all-too-common, if easily caricatured, phenomenon in kids’ sport. With any luck, Straight Talk about Children and Sport will go a long way toward eliminating such folks from the stands and sidelines. Any adult with even a passing involvement in kids’ sport will find it an invaluable resource.