Pushing Too Hard Too Young Analysis

Argument Essay

Drew Inman

Competitive sports is hotly contested because some think children should be able to play them. However, others argue kids should not be able to compete in competitive sports because there’s a possibility in every sport for bad injuries, kids are pressured too much and have a lot of stress on the field, and some sports are very expensive. One reason I think this is that there is a possibility in every sport for bad injuries. According to the article “Pushing too, hard too young”, “Metzl diagnosed a pelvic stress fracture in one 9-year-old girl who had been playing soccer two to three hours a day, five to six days a week.”(Stenson 2004, 2) This demonstrates that even young children can get terrible injuries. This

According to Jacqueline Stenson, kids endure intense training schedules, pressure to win and be the best, and very painful injuries.(Stenson, 2004, p. 1) This means that children aren’t having any fun participating in sports. If they aren’t having any fun, then they can’t learn anything that sports offer. Also, Avery Faigenbaum from the University of Massachusetts said that the typical response to kids that have stopped playing sports is “It’s not fun anymore… They’re getting turned off of sports at a young age -- and that’s a sad tale…”(Stenson 2004, 1) Children can’t learn the benefits of sports, mostly because they are way too worried about winning than connecting with their teammates. Children aren’t having any fun, and they are way to pressured. In addition, the text says that the pressure to win can be too much, particularly in grade-schoolers who aren’t good at dealing with stress as much as older athletes. (Stenson, 2004, p. 1) All in all, this suggests that children aren’t prepared to play so aggressively, and they aren’t prepared to handle all the responsibilities that adults do while playing competitive sports. Furthermore, this proves that children are way too pressured to play competitive sports, and they have a lot of stress on the

In the article “High Costs of Youth Sports”, it states that “...parents spend $671 on average per year to cover the costs of uniforms and the hefty fees charged for registration, lessons and coaching, and at least 1 in 5 ends up spending over $1,000 per child, every year.”( VisualNews.com 2013, 1) This is important to notice because people are willing to pay hundreds to even thousands of dollars to play a sport that they most likely won’t hold onto or benefit from. Furthermore, that money could be used for something that could actually benefit you, like college or university. In addition, according to the text, Utah State University claims that families spend as much as 10% of their income on sports, mostly due to league fees, camps, equipment, training and travel. ( Barone, 2017, p. 1) This is significant because if your family is spending that much money on sports, there is a possibility they won’t be able to provide other things for you. This means they could go in debt, all because of sports that don’t have a big benefit as you get older if you stop playing them. Also, the text states that “Sky-high costs are preventing some kids from participating. Overall sports participation rates have declined in the U.S in recent years, and the trend is most evident among kids from lower-income families.”( Barone 2017, 1) All in all, this suggests that if the prices keep rising, kids won’t be able to play