Are Sports Too Intense For Children

Youth sports are being questioned by the public as being too intense. One of the reasons for this is that sport specialization is up to a record high 25 percent(Sirs). This means that one in every four people are only playing one sport which can lead to injuries and psychological issues. Another issue is injuries in youth sports. Most specifically football is being researched intensely for head injuries that can hurt the children for the rest of their lives. Even though some believe that youth sport programs should be less intense they still believe that all sports are helping the youth grow up to be leaders for the next generation. Although many believe youth sports programs

In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” Jessica Statsky argues that younger children should not be involved in overly competitive sports. Statsky wrote that organized competitive sports were to the disadvantage of children both physically and psychologically. In youth athletics, some parents and coaches put their own dreams in front of their children 's’ well-being by stressing winning. Statsky concludes “all organized sports activities” to be remade as a more enjoyable game regardless of each athlete’s ability and athleticism. The author states many issues that kids have when they are forced to play a sport just to win or that they don’t enjoy. Some kids just don 't enjoy sports, but their parents force it on them. Certain organized sports programs promote winning over physical skills and self-esteem. Statsky brings up valid points that early childhood shouldn’t involve intense physical competition, which is associated with the risk of injury to the body and mind.

Competitive sports in some cases are becoming very unhealthy for children. Most children would rather play on a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team. Youth sports are a great idea to get children up and active, as well as improve their social skills. Just like every other thing in life it is important to practice and work hard to achieve success. However it is unhealthy to push for results over the needs or wants of the child. Aside from the mental stress that young athletes may experience from intense training and physical play long lasting injures is now a growing concern. Fact is competitive sports is a double edge sword if done right it is the greatest thing world, but if done wrong it can be very unhealthy for a child.

In their article, Bruce Kelley and Carl Carchia give a multitude of reasons why many kids aren’t cut out for sports. For example, they said, “Nervous types appalled by the incessant yelling by adults from the sidelines can be excused for believing that all the competition turns off as many kids as it turns on. Sabo found that 45 percent of the students in his survey who started a sport had quit it. Yet as you can see, the reasons for quitting aren't that youth sports are necessarily bad” (“Hey, data, data—Swing!,” 2013). This demonstrates that while some children can thrive off of the pressure put on them, some find it mentally taxing. Additionally, as pointed out by Jacqueline Stenson in her article, “Pushing Too Hard Too Young,” “Kids with a strong internal drive may thrive on the competition. But the pressure can be too much for others, particularly grade-schoolers who aren't as equipped to deal with the stress as older athletes” (2013). This suggests that if too much stress is put on them, children can become extremely uncomfortable while playing sports, and might even start hating sports because of it. Correspondingly, Jacqueline Stenson mentions in her article that “Not only are these youngsters at risk for emotional burnout,

The purpose of this paper is to argue the fact that youth sports are not becoming too intense. After reading the New York Times article I decided to pick this topic and argue against this theory because as a division one athlete I have my own opinions. I picked three sources which can back up and prove that sports being too intense is very much your own opinion.

Each year in the United States, more than 36 million school-aged children participate in an “organized sport” (“Youth Sports Statistics”). Especially over the past few years, many studies have proved or disproved the idea that sports are beneficial for young kids. Those studies have found that youth sports have both positive and negative effects on young children, and research shows parents and coaches have the greatest effect on a child’s experience.

Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.

In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete”, Jessica Statsky talks about the different kinds of students and their approach and mental and physical ability and pressure towards Sports. Statsky differentiates between two sets of children who have physical and mental attributes and towards sports. She gives a few examples and changes that have taken place in the past decades in the sports scenario. When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children. She further states that children should not be pressurized or forced upon their performance and improvement rather they should first be given a chance to understand the sport, their potential and the way in which they develop

In the article “For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point” by Jane Brody the author discusses the underlying problem on whether or not young athletes should be encouraged to push themselves to their physical and mental breaking point in sports from their coaches, parents, or even themselves. Meanwhile, in “Why Parents Should Let Their Kids Play Dangerous Sports” by Jeb Golinkin the writer deliberates why parents should let their children participate in risky sports to understand the significance of failing, teamwork, striving, and succeeding.

As mentioned by Sokolove on page two, “... we increasingly ask more of young athletes, especially if they show talent: play longer, play harder, play faster, play for higher stakes. And we ask this of boys and girls equally -- unmindful of physical differences. The pressure to concentrate on a ‘best’ sport before even entering middle school -- and to play it year-round -- is bad for all kids.” I agree with Sokolove’s quote because overspecialization can harm the social, emotional, and physical development of young athletes. Specifically, in terms of the physical development of an athlete for this reading response paper, overspecialization leads young athletes to commit the majority of their physical activity to one sport and

What makes Jessika Statsky’s “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” an effective piece in the arguments on whether the competitive sports may harm children both physically and psychologically, is her use of clear thesis statement and a full forecast of the reasons she offers to justify her position. Statsky carefully picks her key terms, such as by sports, for example, she means to describe both contact and non-contact sports that emphasize competition. Also she clearly defines to her audience that she is mainly concerned about children of age six to twelve years old.

Looking at trends associated within fitness and wellness I ran across a very interesting article entitled "Pushing Too Hard Too Young" written by Jacqueline Stenson for MSNBC (see link below). This article presents the idea that children at an early age, sometimes as early as three, are being pushed too hard to play in sports. The claim in this article is that these children are sustaining unnecessary injuries, and enduring psychological pressure at a higher level than their skill lever for their age. For these kids training is to the extent, they are required to maintain intense training schedules and practice year-round or on multiple different leagues in an attempt to develop them for future fame.

The childhood years have been highlighted at a crucial time when ongoing participation in physical activity can be nurtured and maintained. When the writer says that by giving younger children an adult standard of sports and games put them at a risk for both physical and mental danger I totally agree with her. Adult sports not only require greater strength but more mental exertion as well. It is almost like putting your own child willingly in danger by destroying his early childhood years. Thus the parents and the mentors need to understand what exactly their child needs. I strongly oppose parents who put too much pressure their children to fulfill their dreams. There is no harm in dreaming of what they want their child to be one day but making them a sacrificial lamb is an emotional scaring to that child.

Not everyone believes competitive sports are good for kids. Some people believe competitive sports are harmful to kids. Competitive sports are good because they improve overall health, teach life lessons, and positively impact kids lives.

The first reason why kids should play sports younger then 12 is because children’s injuries, “children ages 5-12 account for nearly 40 present of all sports related injuries treated in hospitals”(Higgins). “On average the rate of injuries increases with a child’s age. Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21% of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States” (Huggins). Most kids like to do what they want when they want. That’s not okay, their parents need to be on top of that and make sure their children are okay. As kids go on to play sports at a higher age they need to take care of their body’s and not let them get weak and not want to try anymore. “Among athletes ages 5-12, 28 percent of football players, 25 precent of baseball players,