Argumentative Essay On Competitive Sports

“Are Competitive Sports Bad for Kids?” Mar 31, 2011 | By Rachel Nelson, Web, 20

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

Almost all student athletes get butterflies before that Friday night football game, before the fans get to watch them compete, or even the to get the ability to practice. Many argue that high school sports are a distraction in the classroom or even cause career ending injuries. There are many different scenarios that prove that high school sports do the exact opposite of those. When it comes to high school sports, it keeps students fit, boosts a student’s academic performance, and enhances a student’s self-esteem. High school sports are very beneficial and for anyone who is looking to take on a new challenge to take on.

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.

A point of disagreement among many parents of children who play competitive sports is if the benefits outweigh the risk of injury. It is clear that competitive sports aren’t worth the risks, with high mental costs to send a child where they would be pressured to not let down the team, and when all it takes is a hit to the head to sustain life-changing injuries.

Traumatic brain injury occurs when a person is hit in the head with a blunt force. This significant force to the head can happen playing recreational sports, on the playground, being in a car or motorcycle accident, falling down at home and your head impacting something, a blast or explosion. Traumatic brain injuries are also the leading cause of fatality rate and disability, especially in children, young adults and elderly. TBI is a devastating condition that affects millions of people nationwide, because it can affect the nervous system permanently, it also messes with the neurological, musculoskeletal, cognitive and much more. TBI force a family to deal with not just the physical disability, with the behavioral and emotional roller

Everyone knows academics are the main point of school, but athletics have begun to take over and draw away from that focus. Many individuals believe school sports are more important than ever; however, cost is excessive and players often think about upcoming games or matches, detracting attention from homework. Therefore, districts should eliminate after-school sports because they cost tremendous amounts of money, cause academic failure, and are a major distraction.

Young children having major physical injuries while participating in sports should be of more concern. In the article High School Football Comes With a Risk, by Jeffrey Perkel it states that, “...boys aged 10 to 14 we’re most likely to end up in the nation’s emergency departments with a traumatic brain injury…,” This shows how adolescents are unnecessarily hurting themselves because of these sports. Expectedly, during the 2005-2006 US high school football season an , estimate of 517, 726 injuries were submitted to the RIO. Even my own personal experiences with sports all ended in tragic faults. Swimming with

Keeping children away from what they love to do isn’t fair to them, even though there is a higher risk for their child to suffer from a concussion, because their brains are not fully developed yet. Kids should be able to live their dreams and play whatever sport suits them. If they don’t get to play as a child, how will they know if they like the sport or can play it? They wouldn’t have any experience playing the sport, just watching the games on television or going to them. Sports are not the only way someone can get a concussion. A child could fall off a bed, trip over something, or get into a wreck and hit their head and

The first reason that kids should not play competitive sports is that they are stressful. Kids who play competitive sports often experience stress from wanting the recognition involved with winning. According to LiveStrong, “The mounting pressure to play well can increase stress and make children feel bad and lose confidence should they make mistakes or lose” (Huggins 2017). This shows that kids want to win and be the best player on the team, which can result in stress or pressure. When kids are put on the bench or the team loses, the players may experience low self-esteem. Also, participating in a competitive sport also takes up time because of the intense training schedule that is demanded. Because of that, kids may stress about schoolwork or other activities. This can develop failing grades or other consequences. Time.com states, “Student-athletes tend to take easier classes and get lower grades than non-athletes” (Square 2015). This is important to notice because the intense schedules that the athletes have may not allow enough time for schoolwork. The schoolwork may not be completed or fully understood, which can lead to lower academic excellence and poor grades. Competitive sports are unhealthy to kids’ minds. They can cause stress and pressure, and may lead to poor grades and other academic issues.

In addition, it is believed that the difference in fitness levels and equipment could increase the rate of concussions in student age athletes. Due to increased susceptibility, high school athletes are three times more likely to experience a second concussion during a season (Iverson, 1999). Failure to properly manage concussions may lead to long-term consequences, such as difficulty learning, emotional difficulty and personality changes (Iverson, Lovell & Smith, 2000).

Traumatic brain injuries can have many effects that vary in both severity and symptoms. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy is one effect of a TBI. CTE was discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu. In a CNN article, the authors state

One sport in particular would be football. Children starting tackle football at the age of 5 and 6 are putting themselves at risk for long term damage of their brain and could possibly contract CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) throughout their lives. According to Boston University CTE Center “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head.” In 2002 Dr. Omalu was the first to identify CTE in American football players after examining Mike Webster’s brain after he committed suicide . This is what would start a lot of controversy within the sport

Many experts agree that sports especially contact sports like hockey, can be really dangerous and lead to serious injuries. According to the journal of pediatrics concussions have tripled in the last decade. This means that anyone playing football, hockey, and wrestling are more likely to get hurt than in other sports and if we can get rid of these activity and do something else we could help students avoid these injuries. Not only if we get rid of sports to stop injuries, we can also stop students from being pressured from their coaches or parents.

One of the biggest issues in dangerous sports is that it cause many minor/major effects to the brain. Wake Forest Baptist Health, Dr. Alexander K. Powers estimates that, “Each year U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 children ages 5 to 18 for sports-related brain injuries.” Dr. Alexander K. Powers also reported, “Repeated concussions could put a child at risk for such crippling conditions as early onset