Back in March, when cabin fever was at an all-time high and drifts of snow were beginning to melt, thousands of people were checking the mailbox every day.
They wondered if everyone else had gotten theirs. Had they been dropped off the mailing list? What if the registration deadline has passed already?
And just before panic set in, it finally arrived: the park district summer program guide-pages and pages of answers to the sometimes endless hours of summer.
The summer guide lists neat things to do for ages 6 months to senior citizens, from mini-Mozarts for the 2-foot-and-under-musically-incline d-crowd to Snappy Tappers for the 55 and older set.
Participation in park district programs in Du Page County has multiplied partially because of a population explosion. But Kay Forest, executive director of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association, said that there is a heightened awareness of park districts in recent years.
Forest attributes the awareness to a number of evolving trends, one of which is a growth in programming for preschoolers.
”I think one of the reasons for the increase is because children are starting programs at an earlier age,” Forest said.
”If people have had a good experience working with their park district in sports leagues or other programs, they are going to trust them to take their preschoolers because they hire qualified people to do it. Before it used to be a learn-to-swim program for the little kids. Now it`s everything from mom and tot tumbling to tot art,” Forest said.
The fitness factor is also swelling the ranks of park district programs.
”Fitness is a trend nationwide and it is important for the park and recreation field to be a leader in those trends. Professionals in park and recreation and also the schools are realizing that children are less physically fit and so they are encouraging them to be more active and to do more things outdoors,” said Forest.
”You can`t just put your child in front of a television set,” she said. Park districts are offering organized sports at a much earlier age. Ten years ago the minimum age allowed to participate in sports such as tennis was 1st grade. Other sports such as baseball, soccer, gymnastics and wrestling were offered only to children age 8 and above.
Today, peewee sports, for 3- to 5-year-olds, is one of the most popular year-round activities.
Rosemary Macdonald, a mother of three, moved to Wheaton three years ago from a community just outside Philadelphia that didn`t have a park district.
Macdonald described the Wheaton programs as outstanding for the cost as well as a good social experience for both herself and her children.
Erin, 6, and Colin 5, have been enrolled in Wheaton`s Superstar Sluggers, soccer and tracksters, peewee soccer, T-ball and ballet. They have also participated in three years of SuperTots, a summer camp for preschoolers. Claire, 18 months, has yet to test the waters of park district programming.
”It`s a good way to find out where their interests lie without spending an arm and a leg. I`ve found that Colin really enjoys soccer and seems to be good at it, so that is something I will keep him in,” Macdonald said.
”Erin took many years of ballet and I thought her teacher, Carol Klein, was exceptional. She was strict, but she taught them to follow directions and have fun at the same time.”
Can there be too much of a good thing? Forest said children have gotten away from free play, and are more programmed than when she was growing up. And she is not sure whether that is good or bad.
”When I was young, we used to run to a park and play, we didn`t go to a program because there weren`t any programs,” Forest said. ”Apparently there is a need out there. It could be that more parents are working, have two incomes and are busier. Or maybe everybody is finally getting off their rear ends, getting out and being more active.”
Forest cautions parents about the effects of sports on kindergarten and preschool children. Those first experiences can have a lasting effect.
”Parents are going to have to be careful about stressing the right kind of sports participation,” Forest said. ”Kids can be ruined by the wrong attitude of coaches as far as stressing winning as opposed to having fun, learning the game and working as a team.”
The National Youth Sport Coaches Association was created to help improve out-of-school sports for youths under the age of 16. The association found that a high percentage of children drop out of organized sports by the time they are 13 years old due to a poor experience as a young child in an organized sport.
The Illinois Chapter of NYSCA, located in Palatine, offers programs, services and certification for those who participate in their workshops. Upon completion, the coaches are asked to sign a ”coaches code of ethics,”
emphasizing fair play and sportsmanship and that the game is for children and not adults.
Parents are also asked to sign a code of ethics similar to that of the coaches.
Naperville Park District`s 1991 spring program guide has a player information form for girls softball that declares a ”bill of rights for young athletes.”
Those rights include an equal opportunity to strive for success, the right to be treated with dignity and the right to have fun in sports.
Some communities such as Hinsdale do not have a park district but rather a parks and recreation department. In Hinsdale, the department does not provide organized sports such as soccer, baseball or football but does provide the field allocations for other organizations to run the activities.
The Hinsdale Park and Recreation Department offers numerous swimming activities, tennis lessons, craft programs and Tot Time in the park.
Park district facilities and recreational areas are changing with the times. The districts are responding to the voices of the community for more space for swimming, fitness, playgrounds and environmental regions.
A number of communities have voted ”yes” to increase tax dollars to improve and update recreation facilities. One example is Clarendon Hills, where the swimming pool is undergoing extensive renovation after voter approval last year.
Elmhurst Park District and Wheaton Park District recently opened fitness clubs to better accommodate the demand for fitness activities.
”Fitness programs and fitness clubs continue to be popular, especially with the over-30 age group,” said Ray Morrill, superintendent of recreation for the Wheaton Park District.
”Our concern for our health and wellness is exemplified not only by the increasing number of public and private fitness centers but also by the specialized services offered such as personal trainers, nutrition consultants, computerized exercise logging, personal assessments and wellness classes.”
But some park district programs promote pure fun instead of physical fitness.
With summer on the doorstep, park districts stand ready with dozens of free special events, from ice-cream eating contests to fish-o-ramas.
And those feeling hot and sedentary should take along that park district program guide: You can always use it as a fan.
