Wednesday, November 13, 2013

My Film, "3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story" World Premiere Set!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“3 TEAMS:  A YOUTH SPORTS STORY” TO HAVE PREMIERE ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 2ND AT CLEARVIEW THEATER IN PORT WASHINGTON AT 7PM.




Checkout our website at www.3teamsmovie.com, Follow us on Twitter @3_teams and/or like us on Facebook at 3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story 


 


Long Island based documentary film shows a Dad, Coach and former Hofstra Player’s journey through the crazy world of Youth Sports while coaching each of his three kids’ basketball teams.

Port Washington, NY.  November 13, 2013- Introducing the upcoming documentary film "3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story."   Over 40 million kids play Youth Sports in America and One Man--Rob, a Dad, a Son of a coach, a former NCAA Division 1 player and Youth Basketball coach thinks the way we approach Youth Sports today has gone terribly wrong.  This year he's coaching his three kids' (8, 11 & 13 years old) basketball teams.  He's trying to do Youth Sports the right way and make some positive changes in the way we teach our kids how to play, 

Like millions of parents Rob Weingard coaches Youth Sports in his hometown.  His father was a college coach and athletic director and he played division 1 college basketball at Hofstra University, leading the nation is assists in 1985.  Now he coaches his three children:  Crew in the seventh grade, daughter Stevie in sixth grade and third grader Jensen.  The basketball season’s schedule is hectic, but for many families the sports seasons never end… Over the past twenty years there has been a transformation in Youth Sports.  What was once a community oriented activity, stressing fundamentals and teamwork has now become an industry based on individual competition and advancement.  Parents pit children against each other scrambling for an unrealistic dream of college scholarships.  How did this become the new normal?  And how will it affect our children as they grow into adults?  To find answers Rob went on a journey seeking out other programs and experts in the Youth Sports field like former NBA player and author of the book Just Let The Kids Play, Bob Bigelow, psychologist Dr. Rhonda Yoss-Kaplan, camp director and former director of admissions of C.W. Post University Steve Nisenson and author and host of “The Sports Edge” on WFAN, Rick Wolff.   

On his journey Rob goes into the highly controversial world of AAU Basketball and travel teams which according to many has become a for profit way for kids to play sports and be noticed by college coaches with hopes of landing that scholarship.  Fueled by the notion that the more that one plays, the better player that they’ll become, kids spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars playing on travel teams and teams governed by the AAU in the same season.  The core concept is simple pay to play and travel with “top” athletes from other communities in hopes of getting college exposure.  But is all of that extra activity worth it and at what cost?  How much commitment is left for a young athlete to invest to any one team? 

The myriad of issues of Youth Sports are addressed in this documentary from the overloading of kids’ schedules, the actual odds of an athlete receiving a scholarship and the lack of free play for today’s kids in the super structured world of today.  Rob also visits two programs that “do it the right way,” West Islip Lacrosse a perennial state and national level contender and the legendary Bridgehampton Killer Bees basketball program that has more NY state basketball championships that any other school and yet has less than 20 boys in their whole high school. 

Rob meanwhile is coaching his three children’s basketball teams and we follow these very unique squads as they progress through their seasons.  Crew’s seventh grade team consists of youngsters on the verge of playing for their high school teams.  Stevie’s sixth grade girl’s team is a fun group of girls who make every practice seem like a sleepover party and yet they learn to play the game and become teammates.  Jensen travels from his hometown to nearby Hempstead to play in a much different community than his own and in his first basketball league season run by an unforgettable lady coach/police detective.
“3 Teams: A Youth Sports Story” hopes to shed some light on the issues that face parents and coaches of Youth Sports and hopefully provide some answers and ways for the kids to have fun and take home some lessons for life.