ABSTRACT
Anyone who has coached children’s sport knows it is fraught with moral problems and dilemmas, many of which defy straightforward resolution. The familiar aspects of this have to do with encouraging teamwork, commitment, fair play, sportspersonship, and balancing obligations to individual team members and to the team as a whole. But while these represent substantial coaching challenges, they fail to convey the depth of moral complexity that surrounds youth sport and being a youth coach. In fact, youth sport is an arena of vexing moral ambiguity and regret. This is reflected in the flawed moral character of sport itself and in uncertainties surrounding the status of children and our obligations to them – or so I shall argue. There is, I think, a hopeful expectation among parents and lovers of sport generally that children’s sport is, or should be, an innocent source of play and fun and a robust opportunity for moral education and development. In fact, the truth is more complex and troubling. Despite the many positive contributions sport can make to a child’s life, sport also exposes young persons to certain moral and other hazards. Many of these should be better recognized and understood.
