Pressured In Sports

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The Psychological Dangers of Pressuring Kids to Play Sports

There are advantages for playing sports, but some athletes are pressured to play sports by their parents which can lead to more injuries, resentment, and possibly trouble developing interests in other activities. By the late teens, almost 90% of the kids who started playing the sports have dropped out (Nesbitt, Jim). The number one reason they drop out is because sports are not fun. Under that category, kids group everything from no playing time to pressure by their coaches and parents. Kids should get themselves interested, because if they are pressured they may not find it fun as opposed to if they really want to play the sport themselves. Pushing your children to play sports can have many psychological problems. Parents and coaches who push too hard too young, particularly when they emphasize winning above all else, can easily wipe out a child’s motivation to play (“Pushing Too Hard Too Young”). Pressure can even undermine personal strength and can make a person less well-balanced mentally and physically (Evans, Lesli). A lot of kids pressured to play sports are stressed and are quickly developing emotional disorders due to low self-esteem. ("Do You Think We Are Putting Too Much Pressure …show more content…

Parents, coaches, and even the athletes, have the power to do something about the situation the child is in. The coaches could look for signs that the children don’t want to play that sport. They could even have an assessment to determine who should be on the team or how they feel about the sport. Coaches and parents, or even coaches and athletes could have conferences. They could discuss how the child is doing and things that they see that could possibly be a threat. If the child feels like they are burning out on the sport or are being pressured too much, they could also talk to the parents or coaches and actually communicate how they feel and how the pressure is affecting

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