Youth sports are evolving in a major way. The backyard soccer goal, asphalt basketball court, and nearby open fields just are not making the cuts anymore. Youth sports are now made up of intense training and competition, with scholarships and championships on the line. Also, because of the rougher nature of sports and methods of overtraining in the 21st century youths are more susceptible to injuries now more than ever. Many people see the effect that playing sports has on a young athlete and can say that many suffer from mental and physical harm. Youth sports are too intense for kids and teens because of the intense pressure from parents, coaches, and peers, life altering injuries, and long term effects on the young athlete and their family. …show more content…
Orthopedic surgeons and pediatricians are saying that injuries that once plagued only professional athletes -- shin splints, stress fractures, tendinitis -- are now commonly seen in high school athletes and even younger peers (Roberts 7). At such a young age kids are susceptible to growth plate injuries, which play a heavy impact on skeletal development. The growth plate is the area of growing tissue near the end of long bones in children and adolescents (Gregorian 4). The femur in the thigh and the humerus in the upper arm are two examples and each has a growth plate at both ends of the bone and the plates determine the future length and shape of the mature bone (Gregorian 4). If injuries plague the growth plate it may cause for the bone to become misshapen as they mature and effect the person later in life. There are a lot of injuries that can be associated with youth sports and the intensity of the game at such a young …show more content…
Some experts cite that the excessive cost of youth sports is driving families away or into debt and be a source for the decline in youth sports (Wallerson 5). Many parents don’t put their child into a sport at a young age only thinking about their future, but as time goes on and the athlete turns into a possible college recruit parents start to put the money in for camps, private lessons, and travel teams. Most of the time the money put into the sport doesn’t come back with a college scholarship. According to the NCAA, only 2 percent of high school athletes receive a college scholarship (Hutchens 11). Of the estimated 40 million youth athletes less than 1 percent will receive a college scholarship (Hutchens 11). So, unless the child is in that 2 percent that receive college scholarships, all the expenses that have been paid toward the sport could have been saved to pay for their college
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.
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
Young athletes put in danger by the competition, aggressiveness, and intensity of sports. Kids everyday are being pushed past limits by coaches parents and fans. The intensity of sports has become so high they are causing mental and physical exhaustion. Sports like wrestling has kids eat different to either lose gain weight. Football player, Baseball player, and even cheerleader have to work out in extreme temperatures. Some kids involved in competitive sports have been taking weight lifting classes and even just conditioning. The youth are being put in danger due to how competitive, aggressive, and intense youth sports have become.
Parents and teachers have preached that getting an education is important since students first entered Kindergarten. Although there is proof that athletes have endured success from both pathways, academics and athletics, it’s the financially safe and most logical choice for a student athlete to solidify his or her future after athletics. Becoming a professional athlete is a high-risk high reward situation but receiving a college education lowers that risk. A college education could potentially increase the knowledge further to enhance their athletic abilities intellectually also (Clary Dec. 13, 2009). Most of the time if the athlete is good enough to go pro it’s likely that they have athletic full–ride scholarships from major college programs. With college expenses the way they are today one might argue that this is a better deal especially if the chance of going pro remains after the athlete graduates from college. After retiring from...
It is not just the injuries that are playing a major effect in kids, but it is the physical and mental draining that is coming from their parents and coaches. Parents are pushing their kids to do all this extra stuff to make them the best on the team. Gerdy reports, “Youth sports programs are no longer about meeting the educational, development, and recreational needs of children but rather about satisfying ego needs of the adults” (Gerdy). These children no longer have a chance to learn the simply fundamentals because of their parents forcing them to the next level too early. Parents are also causing disturbances during their child’s game. Parent misconduct in youth sports refers to any disruptive, abusive, or violent behavior parents. The article responds, “The main purpose of youth sports, that is, to teach and guide young athletes in skill development in their sport of choice, to provide encouragement and support, to build self-esteem, and to allow children to have fun while exercising” (Atkinson). Parents have begun to promote the total opposite but screaming at their kid to do better instead of encouraging. These violent calls from the parents begin to produce emotional suffering and damage to the child because they begin to think too much about being perfect all the time and not enough about just having fun. Also, when these children are the parents and their kids are playing they will
It is said that sport specialization in youth can reduce motor skill development, cause overuse injuries, encourage loss of motivation, and increase emotional stress and burnout” (“Journal of Physical Education,” n.d.).
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.
Sports are a popular pastime among all ages and types of people. People not only participate in them for fun, but also for money, physical fitness, rush of competition, and for many other personal reasons. Playing sports is especially common among young people in schools. Athletics are great and enjoyable for many reasons, but there can be a point where sports participation can go too far and become negative for children and adults. Sports specialization for young people is an increasing trend that results in sports having a negative impact on individuals and society.
Youth sports are a very important part of a child’s development. Youth sports allows kids to grow as a people and to learn important life lessons. Youth sports also allow kids to interact with people as well as work together with others as a unit to achieve a goal. However, kids are being forced, and pushed in sports at too young of an age by their parents. The number of kids who play youth sports is at an all time low in the country, and parents are a major cause of the problem. In the U.S. by age 15, 80 percent of children who play a sport quit the sport (Atkinson). Kids are being pushed too hard at a young age; children are also being forced by their parents to “specialize” in a single sport in a hope for the child to become a professional
Broken bones, jammed fingers, sprained ankles, stitches and so much more; these are some of the many effects of playing youth sports. “Two million injuries and 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations occur each year for high school athletes.” (Lisa Weisenberger, Stop Sports Injuries) Those numbers aren’t just hundreds and thousands but millions of children and teens getting hurt just from playing a sport. Youth sports programs may be fun and enjoyable but can have many negative consequences.
youth sports [were] the one haven for good sportsmanship," says Darrell Burnett, a clinical child psychologist and youth sports psychologist. "Not anymore. It's not just a game anymore." With technology (etc) distracting our children with violence and so on, we cannot afford to ruin what sports may do for them. With sports being just one of the few things left that can contribute to success in life, education, and health, parents need not to put any sort of unnecessary pressure on their kids at such a young age, or any age for that matter, ever.
By now almost everyone has heard about child obesity in America, but just how high are the rates? The answer might surprise you. According to Nate Whitman, a writer for The Huffington Post, “rates of obesity have doubled in 2- to 5-year-olds, quadrupled in 6- to 11-year-olds, and tripled in 12- to 19-year-olds” (par. 2). This is due to more children staying inside and only doing activities such as video games. They do not interact with anyone besides whomever they are talking to online. These findings are astonishing to say the least. What can we do to combat this? Involvement in organized sports helps children develop their social skills, improve their academic progress, and stay active.
Paddock, Catharine. "Young Athletes: Injuries And Prevention." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International Ltd, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Adolescents every year are found with minor and severe injuries when participating in intensive trainings for sports, but is it the training itself causing the injuries or the coaches and parents putting pressure on the athlete? Think of how when you’ve been to a little league game or a sports game for your child or friend. If you listen closely the parent or coach is shouting to the athlete to keep moving or do better. The athlete then begins to feel pressured to do better and some even begin to push themselves so hard they hit a breaking point either physically, mentally or both. To begin with, for some families it is important or traditional that their child participate and excel in sports.
It 's been outrageous , how many kids get injured per year playing youth sports for school and organizations. The youth who play sports receive plenty medical attention throughout the year due to injuries cause from actions made occuring in games. Health plays a big part in sports because if your are are not healthy many things can go wrong with the body including dehydration, heart problems , and muscle spasm. Playing a sport can be very hard to juggle with school and also getting talked down by coaches and parents. Dehydration is a high possibility because of outside sports that happen in the spring/summer and playing and practicing in humid conditions that you are not well prepared for can be bad and there will be consequences. Parents and