Cost Of Youth Sports Essay

While some may say that the positives of youth sports outweigh the negatives, it is still undeniable that some youth sports have become too intense, because the financial cost has increased tremendously and the number of injuries is very high. First, the cost of youth sports has risen greatly, showing that youth sports is becoming too extreme. For instance, according to Mr. Dorsch, an assistant professor at Utah State University, financial cost of youth sports has grown “up to 10.5 percent of gross income in his research” and is even “hurting family harmony” (Sullivan). Parents are investing so much into youth sports nowadays, whether it is recreational league at a local soccer field or a travel hockey team that plays in other states, that it is not only costing the family more money than before but also breaking the family harmony. The rising cost of

For example, the researchers from the University of Minnesota conducted a research on injury prevention and youth sports. The researchers noted that “sports-related injuries accounted for 41 percent of musculoskeletal injury treated in emergency rooms in 5 to 21 year olds” (qtd. in “Youth Sports-Related Injuries”). This demonstrates that most kids and teenagers are more likely to be injured playing sports more than anything else. Not only can sports injuries—especially concussions—negatively impact children’s performance in school, but they can also be extremely costly. Serious injuries that require hospitalization cause students to miss some school days or prohibit them for participating, which can influence their academic performance. On top of that, the cost of hospitalization is often very high, and even higher if it requires surgical processes. The social and financial impacts of youth sports injuries on the kids themselves and the families prove that youth sports have become too