In the articles, “The secret life of Tiger Woods” by Wright Thompson, and “Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid pressure” by Michael S. Rosenwald, there is a very similar occuring theme that is portrayed. It is if becoming an “elite athlete” is worth making big sacrifices like friends, family, and a normal childhood. I believe that the quest to become an elite athlete, is ultimately not worth the sacrifices it requires. One of the effects of being an “elite athlete” is that you will probably not learn the basic ways of how to live life. One time Tiger Woods was with the navy SEAL’s that he did fun things with like shoot guns, and jump out of airplanes, but one time they went out to eat, and when the waiter brought the …show more content…
Nobody said anything and neither did Tiger, and the other guys sort of looked at one another. Finally one of the SEAL’s said, “Separate checks, please”(Thompson 19). All of the SEAL’s expected Tiger Woods to pick up the check since he was a multimillionaire, but he just keeps people around for as long as he needs them, then he just throws them away. This is probably because he never learned to use manners when he was a kid, because he was constantly practicing golf. Some people might say that it is worth it to practice the most of your life to become an elite athlete, but it can affect you a great amount later in your life. What if someone didn’t even make it to the majors that practiced to be an elite athlete, there is still a chance for that to happen too. Some people don't even realize how hard it actually is, to make your parents proud of you in a sport, and a lot of kids are dropping out of sports just for that reason. The article “Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid pressure” portrays this when it states “The number of children playing team sports is falling, with experts blaming a parent-driven focus on elite travel clubs, specialization in one sport and pursuit of scholarships for hurting the country’s youth sports
In a growing trend that reaches to all corners of the athletic world, coaches are being forced to cope with the added stress of disgruntled parents. More and more they are required to defend personal coaching styles and philosophies, uphold team decisions and go head to head with angry, and sometimes violent parents. The pressure has gotten to the point where coaches all over the country are quitting or being forced out of their jobs by groups of parents. High school athletics should be about learning and having fun, and when parents cross the line between cheerleader and ringleader everyone suffers.
You see sports everywhere, on your TV and even your local park. The value of sports in the average American is astronomical, sports is a major priority in people’s life. Sports teaches young kids how to be successful (and not successful) at life. There is so much that goes into sports that people who never have played will never understand. With each sport there is specific skill that one must master to be good, and with that takes hours and hours of hard work. You can talk about a certain individual’s skill and capabilities that make him great, but the real value of sports lies within a person. Sports creates determination and a competiveness that can be used in other areas of life, not just sports. There are millions of kids who attempt to become professional athletes but as the level of competition increases the number of athletes decreases, very few of them ever becoming a professional athlete but they are able to take what they have learned from sports into different professions in life. When a kid spends hours in the backyard perfecting his swing it can translate to the kid spending hours of hard work in his job. Companies and business like to hire ex-athletes because they already know what kind of person they are, hardworking and
This shows that parents are way too out of control in youth sports.... ... middle of paper ... ... The amount of unnecessary behavior by parents at youth sporting events is increasing rapidly and is ruining the kids' experiences and their passion for the sport.
There has been a vast amount of media exposure on Tiger Woods. The media made Tiger Woods out to be some sort of golf god that nobody could beat and he was totally reshaping the way the game was played. We did not believe that that Tiger Woods was really as good as the media said he was.
Amanda Ripley’s idea that athletics are a distraction in “The Case Against High-School Sports” sparked within me the question of whether all people are equally distracted by athletics in an environment which is heavily focused on academics. The author states, “During football season in particular, the focus of American principals, teachers, and students shifts inexorably away from academics.” I can clearly remember a day last May in high school where I had a late football practice and two AP test the following morning. I recall waking up very tired, sluggish, and upset that I did not get a last minute chance to look over my materials. I remember feeling like I had maybe taken on too much, but I knew I would be alright because I had prepared
Stephen D. Keener, writer for the New York Times, says in his article Sports Teach Kids Valuable Lessons, “The lessons young players gain between the foul lines have guided some to become astronauts, emergency first responders, bestselling authors, military heroes, professional athletes and even president of the United States” (Keener). Keener talks about how playing on a sports team as a child can teach the kid very important characteristics, like: teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship. Any kid who wants to get a job when they’re older is going to have to know how to work well with people, which is where learning the skill of teamwork is so huge. Considering Ripley’s point about sports lowering academics, Keener argues, “These lessons directly translate into the classroom and beyond” (Keener). These are some very important lessons I think that kids can benefit from
Parents and teachers have preached that getting an education is important since students first entered Kindergarten. Although there is proof that athletes have endured success from both pathways, academics and athletics, it’s the financially safe and most logical choice for a student athlete to solidify his or her future after athletics. Becoming a professional athlete is a high-risk high reward situation but receiving a college education lowers that risk. A college education could potentially increase the knowledge further to enhance their athletic abilities intellectually also (Clary Dec. 13, 2009). Most of the time if the athlete is good enough to go pro it’s likely that they have athletic full–ride scholarships from major college programs. With college expenses the way they are today one might argue that this is a better deal especially if the chance of going pro remains after the athlete graduates from college. After retiring from...
There are leaders in every situation and facet of life, leaders are everywhere around us, both in the business world and out in the community. Leaders can be Supervisors, Managers, Pastors, Teachers, or any person in any situation where they are trying to get a group of people to accomplish a specific goal. As stated by Don Clark “Good leaders are made not born” (Clark 2010), leaders are developed by experience, training, education, and by watching and learning from other leaders. Our children are learning how to be leaders everyday. They learn at school from their teachers and after school, they learn from their friends and parents. One of the most impactful leaders of children in every community is a youth sports coach. In 2006 it was estimated that forty-one million children played youth sports (Hilgers, 2006). So if so many kids are playing youth sports why do we sit back and let bad leaders influence them?
Participating in a sport at an early age can be essential to the overall growth process during a child’s upbringing. Whether the participation is through some sort of organized league or just getting together amongst friends and playing, the lessons learned from this can help teach these kids and provide a positive message to them as they develop. There is a certain point, however, when organized sports can hinder progress, which is when adults get too involved and forget about the underlying reason to why they are helping. While adult involvement is necessary, adult involvement can sometimes send the wrong message to children when they try to make participation become more than just about fun and learning. According to Coakley (2009), “organized sports are worth the effort put forth by adults, as long as they do what is in the best interest of their children and put that thought ahead of their own agenda” (Coakley, p. 151). This is a valid argument because once adults put themselves in front of the children and their values, it needs to be re-evaluated as to why they first got involved in the beginning. Partaking in organized sport and activity from a young age can be beneficial to the overall development of children, as long as decisions actions are made in the best interest of the children and not stemming from ulterior motives of adults.
Abstract: Society is affected every day by many different kinds of sports. These sports often govern society's way of life. People all over the nation turn their TVs to sporting events, such as golf, during the weekends. Scott Stossel states that "more than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on the weekends." Parents use sports as a teaching tool for their children. Kids learn teamwork and discipline from team sports programs and sports have also helped many students with their grades. Kids who want to compete in school sports are taught to keep their grades up or they won't be able to play, but the greedy coaches and schools often look around grades to keep their "star athletes" in the games. Adults have been affected by sports in their bank accounts. Tax increases for funding a new stadium, golf course and even school programs have hurt the middle class Americans. Sports have taken control of small communities and soon will take control of society
Everyone loves sports stars. They look great, they appear on television and like rock stars, they perform with the entire world watching. No wonder young adults make heroes out of their favorites. Great athletes teach us more than how to swing a bat or dunk a basketball. In the face of seemingly impossible challenges they teach us that success -- whether on the basketball court or in the classroom -- takes dedication, confidence, and a hefty dose of hard work. Unfortunately, Rick Telander's article, "The Wrong People for the job (athlete's as role models)," is a hasty generalization. I believe his article provides the wrong message among young adults, male or female, throughout the world, and discourages the reader from idolizing any particular sport hero. Telander's article includes hasty generalizations, claims, logical fallacies, and even invalid arguments. He doesn't feel athletes, as role models are the right people for the job.
By now almost everyone has heard about child obesity in America, but just how high are the rates? The answer might surprise you. According to Nate Whitman, a writer for The Huffington Post, “rates of obesity have doubled in 2- to 5-year-olds, quadrupled in 6- to 11-year-olds, and tripled in 12- to 19-year-olds” (par. 2). This is due to more children staying inside and only doing activities such as video games. They do not interact with anyone besides whomever they are talking to online. These findings are astonishing to say the least. What can we do to combat this? Involvement in organized sports helps children develop their social skills, improve their academic progress, and stay active.
According to statistics gathered by youth sports organizations, “Up to 50 million kids play youth sports in America, and 73 percent who begin playing a sport quit before they turn 13” (Binns). The children could have quit because they did not like the disappointment of losing, or because they are exhausted from their parents pushing them too hard. But parents have their reasons for pushing their children into sports. “Studies show that kids who play sports are less likely to become obese, abuse drugs or alcohol or to perform poorly in school” (McCormick). If children are not active, then they will most likely become overweight, and if they have nothing to do in their pastime, they may turn to drugs and alcohol, which usually leads to a decrease of grades in school. A parent putting his/her child in sports gives the child something to do and keeps them fit. Parents also put their child in a sport hoping that he/she will get success out of it “Eager to nurture the next A-Rod or Michelle Kwan, parents enroll their 5- or 6-year-olds in a competitive sports league or program” (Stenson). While not all parents are pushing for future Olympians, the fight for a sports college scholarship is competitive and parents may feel that their child will have a better chance of gaining one if he/she starts competitive sports early. Parents push their children to succeed, and children--not wanting to disappoint their parents--push themselves, sometimes harder than they should. If done right, pushing a child into sports can have a positive effect on the child’s interaction with other children while teaching them commitment and healthy competition. However, focusing on winning and earning a scholarship versus having fun may backfire, because the cons...
With more and more children participating in some sort of organized sport than ever before, there is a constant concern regarding the pressures kids are brought into to excel. Emotionally over-involved parents often think that it is their responsibility to persuade, push, or support the children's fantasies or sporting objectives, even if the kids themselves do not share the same aspirations as his/her parents. Part of growing up is learning what interests you the most. It's how one becomes familiar with who they really are and what they enjoy doing in life. Unfortunately, for many young children, his/her parents seem to take his/her own lives into their own hands. Most parents want their kids to grow up to be "superstars", make it big after the college scenario, and perhaps go on to play professionally or succeed in the Olympics. We all know that there are the few that make it professionally, and having your parent paint a picture for you as you're barely going into grade school is unethical. Yet for the unfortunate, these kids are helpless to the pressure that is put on them at such a young age. Take Todd Marinovich, for example. For the child's entire life he was exercised, fed, schooled, and drilled with his fathers' one g...
At some point students has had trouble either at home or at school and need to release stress or tension. Some of these times the teens choose to do activities that are wrong. Youth want to feel comfort and accepted, therefore they sometimes will do events that are not well for their body just to fit in with a group. There is evidence that proves sports can reduce the likeliness of teens committing crimes, or getting into trouble. Tees look at the negative substances such as drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, and think that they can do whatever they want. Many teens look at these activities and think they are “exciting” or “cool” and want to try them, but if they are busy with sports they most likely will not be as easily influenced. Participation in sports helps keep teens out of trouble by taking up their free time which could be used for mischief, gives them an opportunity to meet new friends for positive role models, provides teens an outlet to develop a higher self-esteem, and also enables student to set goals for on and off the field.