Parent Violence in Sports

With around 45 million kids enrolled in some type of organized sport, it’s clear that youth sport is a massive part of American culture. Most people remember playing a rudimentary form of soccer or basketball during elementary school, when rules weren’t too important, and having fun was the only goal. While nearly everyone can recall playing some kind of organized sport during their childhood, a very small percentage of people stick with sport beyond middle school, and even fewer go on to play after high school. The amount of children who quit organized sport during adolescence has raised questions about the psychological risks of youth sport. Youth sports in and of themselves are not an inherent problem; however, issues do arise when children are asked to take on too much at too young of an age. While there are risks associated with youth sport, organized sports also provide

In his new book Until it Hurts: America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How it Harms Our Kids, author Mark Hyman shows how parents have turned youth sports into a high stakes game of poker at the expense of their children. Hyman’s explores the history of youth sports in our country and how it has evolved from a fun past time to much more intense sport with heavy participation of parents. This book not only takes a look into youth sports today it will expose a lot of the negativity surrounding it. Hyman does not just point the finger at other parents but offers his own account of

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.

America’s baseball diamonds, soccer fields, hockey rinks, and basketball courts have never been so busy with children. The number of kids involved in an organized sport is not what is so groundbreaking. It’s the way in which children are playing or how their parents are arranging for them to play that may be cause for concern (Ferguson). Much controversy surrounds youth sports with the biggest disagreements coming over parental involvement and the intensity of play. Although there are many benefits for team participation, there is a growing fear that the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives.

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.

Growing amounts of societal issues such as domestic violence and substance abuse have recently put the leagues in the public eye. Sports leagues like the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA should impose stricter penalties to deal with egregious conduct of professional athletes. The inappropriate behavior from athletes reflects poorly on the leagues and teams. The leagues should have standard protocol that comprises the diverse forms of unacceptable actions that currently plague their leagues. It is problematic to suspend the athletes who dedicate their lives to competing professionally in a sport that requires sacrifices from both family as well as the athlete themselves. But if the athlete shows that they believe that they’re above the law, education and adverse consequences become necessary. The athletes are role models for their followers. Young fans are easily swayed and

Professional sports have been in the news for domestic violence for a really long time. Some that may come to your mind could be Ray Rice, Warren Moon, Greg Hardy, and Jose Reyes. Yes, three of these four players are in the National Football League (NFL), but that does not mean that only football players are the ones who have been doing this. The most recent one is Jose Reyes who plays in Major League Baseball (MLB). That is really ones opinion, but some don’t have anything but I slap on the wrist. Commissioners around these leagues usually suspend the player for a couple games until all of the details and videos come out. Ray Rice was suspended two games until they saw evidence then he was suspended for the whole year. Some wanted him banned

Domestic violence in sports is threatening to affect the integrity of the sporting world in many different dimensions. True sportsmanship is rare to find in the sporting arenas in the US. Domestic violence is one of the most common crimes committed among male athletes. The statement is worrying considering that the violent crime rate in America has been steadily reducing. The issue is indeed a highly divisive one considering that the opinions are many and varied. One of the arguments is that the sportsmen should be viewed solely for their actions on the ground. Domestic issues should not be an issue for these people. However, there needs to be a careful consideration that players are human beings and with that comes the mandate to take care

Parental intrusion in youth sports is nothing new. There will always be adults who act inappropriately or disrupt the league. A lot of the problems lie with adults who use youth sports to gratify their own egos, adults who can’t deal with the emotional ups and downs of youth sports and there are even those who see the time and money spent on their child as an investment. There are a lot of reasons for out of control parents when it comes to youth sports. My purpose for this paper is to come up with a plan for a youth sports league that is seeing a lot of parental

The athlete’s parental interference is causing athletic directors and coaches to be bogged down by complaints via email and phone calls (Athletic business, 2015). The parental

These days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life.

Unfortunately, involvement in youth sports has not had the effect most parents are expecting. Instead author Carey informs the reader with disturbing statistics. He asserts 84% of parents surveyed in an issue of SportingKid magazine have witnessed ‘violent parental behavior’ toward children, coaches or official at kids’ sporting events, 80% said they had been victims of such behavior. Violence makes headlines too, as Docheff and Conn speak about a father of a 10 year old ice hockey player ‘confronts’ a coach, engages in ‘some verbal sparring’ until asked to leave. Then ‘the stressed father returns to the rink, challenges the coach again, and begins beating him while young athletes yell helplessly for the crazed parent to stop. It's too late. Two days later, a spokesperson for the hospital announces that the coach has died (par 1).’

Having gone through both elementary and middle school, we have all run into peers who spent a lot of time and energy trying to act like the most popular athlete in any given time period. Kids often try to imitate controversial athletes to bring attention to themselves. Such behavior can bring popularity to a young person. A sad outcome of violence in adult sports is that youth sports end up mirroring adult sports. Young people are encouraged to be aggressive, and often those who are the stars of the team are those who know how to "stretch the rules". Often, young people who do play by the rules are relegated to the bench. As a result, youth athletic teams, even

Raising children in today’s society is not for the faint of heart. Raising children has never been easy, but it is especially difficult in youth sports today. Coaches and parents are putting a lot of pressure on our young sons and daughters. The pressure to succeed in sports at