Kanye West's Stronger

“Harder, better, faster, stronger. Now that, that don’t kill me can only make me stronger” The lyrics of Kanye West’s Stronger has become the inspiration for many people in today’s world and sports is no exception. It is a goal by many people that success is to be reached at any cost, but when that cost comes to possibly hurting a child’s future, the people such as coaches and parents who are there need to take a step back and think about their decisions and the importance of the child’s future. Most sports related injuries that have been caused can be preventable, yet they continue to rise all the time with children. Studies show that more than 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger get hurt playing sports (Orthopedic Society for Sports).

In sports, many athletes do not have the skills needed to play the sport safely, often ending in injuries. “At the age of 5, a child has not fully developed the motor or social skills that are necessary to safely participate in a competitive or team sport, putting a child of that age into a team or contact sport endangers the child as well as the other athletes playing.” It is often recommended to wait until kids are 8 to 12 to let a child into competitive sports. It is the job of the coach to make sure that the athlete has the skills needed to play in a sport. A study done at the University of Minnesota said that “coaches should ensure that athletes have learned skills involved in sport specific

If safety measures are not followed it creates an increased risk of injuries. Not practicing safety rules is stupid and puts lives at risk of all those who are in the sport. A problem in young athletes in America is overtraining, or burnout syndrome. Burnout means “a series of psychological, physiological, and hormonal changes that result in decreased sports performance”, can have a big impact on a young athlete and their future in sports. When an athlete has burnout syndrome their interest in their activities goes down ias well as their work and drive. They may also be stressed by normal activities. Pressure from parents, coaches and peers is a huge factor in burnout syndrome. They often push the athlete to perform at a higher level, and after looking that only “0.2 percent to 0.5 percent of high school athletes make it to the professional level”, parents and athletes dreams of going are going to stay dreams. “It is recommended that athletes learn to recognize their mental and physical limits so as to protect themselves from injury, for if such boundaries are pushed, the damage may be