Persuasive Essay On Young Athletes

There are many fans and parents that like going to games to see their favorite players or kids play and they spend their game time watching their players make baskets or scoring touchdowns. But, there are also those fans that sit in the bleachers game after game whose players never seem make it off the bench. This happens more often in High School sports than college and professional sports. The coaches of any sports team usually put in the best players or maybe they have a favorite player that's the “star” player that gets more time in the game and more practice and help outside the games and practices. Certain players, however, should not get more attention from their coach or coach’s than others.

You get last place in your tournament. The coach walks up to you looking disappointed and hands you a trophy. You look down at the trophy confused on how you go it and notice that it reads “participation”, but why hand out a trophy if you didn’t really earn it? A popular issue today is whether or not participation trophies should be given out to young athletes. There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this debate, however I believe that it is wrong for these no good trophies to be handed out. Here are some of the reasons on why I believe this.

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.

In an age where everyone is expected to be recognized, there must be an understanding that the world does not progress by congratulating the “average.” I believe that giving participation trophies makes people stop competing; especially if the trophies are given at a very early age. For example, a team of small children have a terrible baseball season, but it’s okay! Because the coach gives out trophies to everyone. This in turn only teaches the child that no matter how bad life gets, they will always be rewarded. Participation trophies create future generations of entitled adults as seen by today’s generation. We need to reward kids that work hard for what they do for the sake of risk and reward. That is simply how progress is made in society. Yet I agree with one point made by the opposing side. I believe that participation should be recognized sometimes. Participation can teach kids that teamwork matters in every little aspect of society. Participation trophies should be eliminated but participation should still merely just be recognized with a pat on the back as said by Betty Berdan, a high school junior from Connecticut. Participation trophies overall hinder the growing and learning process of kids; whether it is through sports, or any other competitive involvement.

Should everyone get a trophy? I do not think that youth sports athletes should receive participation trophies at all. Many people believe it is worth a buck to give a child a smile but, I do not. I do not think everyone should receive a trophy because it waste good money from the organization. If children just receive trophies for trying their hardest they are not going to try any harder the next year and their best may not be good enough. On the other hand coaches and parents believe that youth athletes should be rewarded for their hard work. Participation trophies are unnecessary because youth athletes play to win not just to receive a trophy they didn’t earn.

High school athletics are important to athletes that eat, sleep, and even dream sports. This is awesome for anyone that loves and has a passion for the game. What happens after a couple years of high school athletics if a player is really good at what they do? These athletes will start getting offers from colleges and if they are good enough then they may get offers from the NBA.

I think it would great for college athletes in the NCAA football video game to receive compensation from the game because the colleges shouldn’t be the only ones benefiting from the game. There are athletes that get injured playing college football and their careers are done, so I feel it would nice for athletes to receive something from playing the game of football, especially after college. If college athletes that don’t make it professionally in a sport could receive compensation for their time playing sports, it would create opportunities for them to start businesses and become involved in other careers.

When I think of trophies, I think of winning. The first thought that jumps into my head is that someone is great at a sport, or someone has an amazing talent. But is that how it should be? I don't think so. According to Parker Abate, a long-time athlete and writer for the New York Times, "the trophies that are given to less-talented athletes who participate in youth sports do not have to say “1st Place,” “M.V.P.,” or “Champion.” These young athletes should be honored in lesser ways and all deserve to feel some form of accomplishment." I completely agree with Abate's thoughts on the subject; self-esteem is a huge part of life, and watching a teammate receive a trophy while not receiving one yourself can be extremely degrading. I believe trophies should be given to all participants in an activity regardless of their abilities because it will give them all self-confidence, remind them of their activities, and because they deserve to be rewarded for their work.

Participation trophies are a highly debated topic among childrens sports. Many people beleive it is unessarcary, while others beleive it boosts self-esteem to non-confident young athletes. Participation Trophies should not be handed out because kids will learn that if the just give a little effort towards accomplishing something they will get rewarded.

Participation trophies only hurt kids. These trophies have been given out in many sports for decades but they do not mean much to older children. Something as simple as golden painted plastic will not keep a child playing for long after their first years. Children must also be taught how to compete early on. These trophies create a lack of competition in youth athletes and should not be given to children above the age of ten to help teach them life skills and to protect them from struggling in their future lives when they will have to compete for jobs.

Should Every Kid Get a Trophy? To start, an abundance of young athletes get participation trophies each year, some kids don’t even really participate by not coming to practices or games. They do not put any effort into the sport at all. Some people strongly believe that not all young athletes should get a trophy.

Many People think that the collegiate sports are just a form of entertainment for them and the players but the players think of these sports as a job. The NCAA is the National Collegiate Athletic Association and it is the center of making all of the rules for collegiate sports. They decide on if student athletes are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act or not. Student athletes do not get enough recognition and seen as students or entertainment but not as employees. Although some people do not believe student athletes deserve the recognition of being employees, others know they should because these students fall under the title employee from the requirements placed by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Do you have a passion, something you love to do more than anything? Imagine people trying to stop you from doing what you love because they think it’s not useful or a waste. Some people say competitive sports cost too much and they are way too dangerous for young kids to participate in. However, for many youth, competitive sports play a positive role. When kids play competitive sports, they are happier and they learn how to be healthy. Also, they learn life lessons that they will need for the future.

American high schools are bound to have plenty of sports for all students to play. So why not pick a sport to play in high school? The reader will learn the many reasons why playing sports is a vital part in a student's life. Highschool sports will allow students to become better educated and get higher grades. By playing sports, students will be able to make more friends and enjoy school more. Lastly, if students were to be able to get a sports scholarship for college, their parents will only have to pay little to no money. High school sports are good for students because they can get a better education, make more friends, and have a better chance at getting into a good college.

Organized youth sports are extremely popular among youth and their families, with approximately 45 million children and adolescent participating in the US. There are many characteristics children can develop while playing youth sports such as confidence, self-esteem, leadership, respect, independence, assertiveness, and conflict resolution. Competition can help kids learn more, improve faster and reach a higher level of excellence than they would be able to without the ongoing challenge. Competitive sports can help keep kids active and health as they grow, and other distractions increase that may lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. People argue that it can destroy self-esteem and lead to resentment. Programs and coaches overemphasizing