Essay On Sports Specialization

1315 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Parental pressure on child athletes

Sports for Children: Diversity is Key As a child, Stephen Curry was raised like any other child, except he grew up playing multiple sports. “In an age of hyper-specialization, Curry has reached the pinnacle of his sport by doing the exact opposite. He played basketball, but he also played some baseball, football, soccer and basically everything else in a sports buffet” (Cohen). Now, Curry is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Is this because of his vast background of many sports? In today’s world, children should be introduced to a variety of different sports in order to promote discipline and hard work, prevent injury, and fulfill their college desires. Direction and determination are taught to children through …show more content…

More specifically, children are also increasingly pressured--again, usually by parents and coaches--to specialize in one sport and to play it year-round, often on several different teams (Perry). Now, if sports specialization is such a great idea, then why are kids being “pressured”? As stated before, sports specialization can result in severe injury or even retirement from sports all together. Evidently, parents would not want to risk their athlete’s entire athletic career just because of an overuse injury. Knowing this, a diversity in sports activities is the solution to the problem. Additionally, a specialization in sports can lead to the young athlete not experiencing a sport that he or she may truly enjoy in their life. If a parent already makes a child decide on a sport to play, how will the child know if that is the sport they truly want to participate in? As the child ages, they could realize that the sport they play now is not one that they love anymore, so they could just quit. Deciding at such a young age is not only a hasty decision, but also a terrible one. Finally, this specialization can also create social problems. If a child is already so competitively involved in a sport, then their social lives and relationships with friends are at risk. The clear choice here is to let the child live a normal life by allowing them to make friends and play, rather than taking over their lives with competitive

Show More
Related

  • Youth Sports Injury

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kids are playing in a pressure pot full of stress and this is dangerous. They feel over-responsible toward team mates, parents and coaches and in consequence, are playing with chronic pain and even concussions. One-Sport Wonder Kids are deciding by ages 9-10 they want to excel in one sport in order to win a college scholarship.

    Read More

  • Early Sports Specialization

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sport Management: Burnout and Early Specialization Every year there are a number of children who withdraw from participating in youth sports. While countless leave sports to pursue other interests, a significant number detest their experience in sport. From the intense practices to pressure-filled competitions, young athletes can feel a considerable amount of stress. If this stress remains for an extended period of time, children experience “burnout” and lose their desire to continue playing.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Early Sports Specialization

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, is the number of these children who have taken to specializing in a single sport at very young ages (Kauffman). This sudden, growing increase has escalated the idea of sport specialization rapidly. With that being said, I believe that early sport specialization is not the right choice for some children. A recent study of issues and concerns related to present-day school sports revealed that the coaches, athletic directors, school principals, parents of athletes, and also the athletes felt that there was a pressure to specialize in a single sport and to do so at an early age (“Journal of Physical Education,” n.d.).

    Read More

  • David Epstein Sports Should Be Child's Play Summary

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    After first reading the essay “Sports Should be Child’s Play,” I believe David Epstein made a valid point when discussing the issue of children participating in competitive sports at a too young of an age. He effectively delivered his argument by giving an appropriate amount of evidence without crowding the piece and losing the reader. There were certain sections of the essay that would have been difficult to understand without context, however Epstein was able to guide the reader and explain the evidence and situation when necessary. The title of the essay drew me in because “child's play” coincides with something that can be easily accomplished and is enjoyable. However sports, at the higher level, are challenging and are required to be taken seriously. If children are playing at competitive level too early in their life, it can cause a loss of enjoyment and be detrimental to their physical and mental health.

    Read More

  • Youth Sports Research Paper

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    One quote that was used was, “Children who specialize in a single sport and train intensively for it are at higher risk of experiencing overuse injuries, as well as burnout, anxiety and depression, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),” (Perry). She said this because it shows how when children play sports that there is a major health risk involved and they could be depressed and exhausted. Another quote is, “More kids are participating in adult-led organized sports today, and sometimes the goals of the parents and coaches may be different than the young athletes,” (Brenner). Doctor Joel Brenner said this because it shows how the coaches and parents are sometimes more involved in the sport than some of the young athletes.

    Read More

  • Essay On Sport Specialization

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sport specialization, means to practice and train for only one sport. Some people feel it is better to specialize rather than play multiple sports. There are good and bad that come from being a single sport athlete, but there are good and bad for being a multiple sport athlete.

    Read More

  • Parental Violence and Youth Sports

    2163 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ineffective Argument in Jessica Statsky's Essay, Children need to Play, Not Compete

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.

    Read More

  • Should Youth Sports Be Paid?

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    In my opinion while I will try to the upmost of my abilities to have my child play in a good team it has to be affordable for the whole family. I believe families spending more than 10% of their income in youth sports its’s not just for their kids, they are doing it to satisfy their egos to say that their child is going to be a professional athlete or get a college scholarship. Early specialization in a single sport increases the risk of injury, burnout and depression. This builds an enormous amount of pressure in children who are 5 to 15 years old kids trying to enjoy a sport, but now they are seemed just as dollars signs by both their parents and their teams which are backed by sponsors looking to cash in in young children gullible parents or to cash in on a potential superstar. This leads kids to believe that they are not good enough to participate in any sport there by increasing the likelihood of

    Read More

  • Sports Intensity In Sports

    1998 Words  | 4 Pages

    Each year, parents are spending thousand of dollars on team fees alone not including all the extras like coaching, equipment, and uniforms. Parents are spending all this extra money to one-up each other and to have the better kid. Rosenwald acknowledges, “Parents now start their kids in sports as toddler, jockey to get them on elite teams, and spend small fortunes on private coaching, expensive equipment, sway and travel to tournaments” (Rosenwald). It is like a game for the parents now too. One parent will spend this much money and then the next parent will go spend even more money and it just keeps going. The public refers to these youth sports as the new keeping up with the Joneses. Parents are spending big bucks now to believe the more money they spend now, the more likely their kid will get a college scholarship later on. The article reveals, “The number of children playing a team sport 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 leagues” (Rosenwald). Although this money spending train has made youth sports a large industry, many children are starting to hate sports because of the amount of pressure their parents put on them. The author adds, “Many of the adults trying to fix the problem remember a simpler, less expensive time in youth sports. There was no travel

    Read More

  • The Ever Changing World of Youth Sports

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our society, in terms of world sports, has grown increasingly impressive. Most professional athletes have been playing their specialized sport since grade school, and although impressive, the people we are rooting for are wearing out quickly. Although youth sports programs are a health benefit to society, they also pose disadvantages to a young person’s growth and development.

    Read More

  • Specialized Athletes Essay

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Chapter 5 we discussed how athletes are starting to become specialized athletes at such a young age. I am 100% against this idea. I think that all kids no matter who they are should have the opportunity to broaden their horizon in the athletic field as much as possible. Whether that is trying out a new sport in middle school or high school, I think the more you participate in other sports the more it will help an athlete down the road in their “favorite” sport they would like to pursue after high school. Specializing has started to become relevant to the sport of wrestling.

    Read More

  • Parental Pressure on Children Playing Organized Sports

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    These days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life.

    Read More

  • Sports Psychology Essay

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sports psychology is the study of how psychology influences sports, athletic performance, exercise and physical activity. Some sports psychologists work with professional athletes and coaches to improve performance and increase motivation. Other professionals use exercise and sports to enhance people’s lives and well-being. While finding ways to help athletes is certainly an important part of sports psychology, the application of exercise and physical activity for improving the lives of non-athletes is also a major focus.

    Read More

  • Lessons Through Sports Essay

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sports have always been a vast part of American culture. We give our babies different sports items to play with. From the time they can walk they have sports pushed on them. If you go to any store to buy toys for children you can find all sorts of different sports items for kids. Many parents push these sports items on their child hoping that they will be the next phenom in the world of sports. Who wouldn’t want this for their child? Athletics can open up all types of opportunities. It can pay for college and if they happen to play at the professional level they will be making vast amounts of money. Although sports can be great are these parents pushing their kids to hard? No matter if there are some detrimental aspects to sports there is always the positive of the life lessons that can be learned.

    Read More

More about Essay On Sports Specialization

Open Document