Cognitive Sports Research Paper

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,

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.

Have you ever been put in a life or death situation? Hopefully not! However, some things you do may feel like “life or death” situations at the time, especially for young children. Competitive sports can help with conquering those fears. There will be times when you feel pressure; as if you’re under a spotlight. Moments when it seems like people are almost daring you to fail. By participating in competitive sports, children are prepared for these moments. These are the times where you go back to what you have learned, all the hours you put in to learn a skill. These are the times worth living for because by putting in the work, you have trained yourself to expect success. Competitive sports have a positive impact on children and teach

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.

Jessica mentioned in the essay that competitive sports are psychologically damaging to children. Kids tie their ability to win and their performance to their self-worth and self-esteem. Her suggestion for fixing this issue is to not allow any competitive sports that allow scoring between the ages of six thru ages nine. One of the works that she cited said that children are more survivalist in nature and not physical. I would argue that from the moment of birth we are competitive in nature. Children below the age of twelve think more on the survivalist spectrum. However, a crying baby is trying to survive by competing with the mother for her attention. This competition leads to survival. If this is not fostered and groomed properly by the adults involved within and outside of the sports arena then it can cause psychological harm, no different than a neglectful

In light of Jessica Statsky’s book ‘Children need to play, not compete’, she argued that, with the vivid increase of sporting competition lately in the United States, children have been exposed to the adults hard and rigorous training by devoted parents and coaches at their tender age making a game that is supposed to be fun and joy look hectic and strenuous to them due to the standard of training they are made to go through and also the belief that they must always win thereby making them lose the spirit of sportsmanship, and neither gaining satisfaction nor benefiting from them. In as much as sports are good for physical, mental and emotional growth, it should be organized in a manner that the youths will enjoy the game at the end of it rather than the fear of being hurt or defeated by the other competitors.

’”(John O’ Sullivan 2014.) This shows that children can be yelled at by the coaches because of the way they do things, causing stress. Not to mention another quote from the article “The Race to Nowhere in Youth Sports” says, “The path is a race to nowhere, and it does not produce better athletes. It produces bitter athletes who get hurt, burnout, and quit sports altogether.”

Many children are losing time with family to play and train for sports. Parents are putting more and more money into sports each year, this pressures the child to like and play that sport for a long time. If you let your child play competitive sports he or she may be under a lot of pressure or become prone to sports related injuries and burnout.

The problem with a very competitive mindset is that rush of adrenaline, and then the kid doesn't realize that they have gotten hurt. Youth sports is a common source of injuries for kids, and that isn't good for their bodies. Kids are still at a developing age, where nothing isn't fully developed until you are 25. For example, it is very common for kids to get concussions in sports like basketball, soccer, taekwondo, etc. If a kid gets more than one concussion, it really isn't good for them.

“Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser,” Vince Lombardi once said. This saying could be the unsung anthem of American sports for children and teenagers. Everyone loves to win. In sports there is always competition. Is there too much emphasis on “the win” for kids and teens? This issue is important because it essentially develops the way children and teenagers think and react; it will affect them later on in life. Too much emphasis on winning is a problem because there is extensive pressure from parents and coaches, and the consequences can be severe.

Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).

Youth sports are an incredibly healthy way for kids to grow and release energy. Children in preschool can begin to take part in sports like dance and soccer, and as they grow older, the lists of sports gets longer. However, there are negatives of sports that are often not talked about by parents, coaches, schools, or the media. As a result, stigmatization occurs, leaving children struggling with sports to suffer alone. With youth sports, elevated levels of stress occur, and as a consequence, mental health can decline. Youth sports can have an adverse psychological effect on young athletes and it is an effect that can be damaging for children for their entire lives.

children away from the focus of the game (Kohn and Nelson, 1990). It is also clear that