Sage Donnelly's Exceptional Teenage Athletes

Sport’s are an aspect of life that affect societies across the globe. Athletics affect everyone's life, whether that be playing the sport, watching games, or hearing about a sporting event. There is a big difference between playing an individual sport and players relying on their own athletic abilities versus a team sport when members of the team rely on their teammates to complete each individual's specific responsibility to reach the team's goal. Team sports bring people together in countless ways, and they teach many life skills for the athletes that participate in them. Some of these skills include communication, teamwork, discipline, work ethic, dedication, leadership, and numerous more that will help them in their personal and work

“Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.”(Billie Jean King) Most students from first grade to twelfth grade say that sports are a big part of their life and make them who they were meant to be in a positive way. Some people might argue that students in sports or extracurricular activities have lower grades than the other students, but it's the opposite way around. Sports improve your performance in school because they strengthen your concentration ability and leadership traits.

The popular media example we chose discusses how Rosie MacLennan had the pressure to defend her Olympic gold, and how she recovered from her concussion. It talks about how she had to change her training to accommodate her injury. As trampoline routines involve twists and flips, it took Rosie awhile to fully recover from her concussion. Due to the concussion impacting her negatively, she had to seek help to improve “her balance, timing and focus.” Rosie had to practice one step at a time, as she did not want to reinjure herself. Overall, this discusses the pressure on Rosie since her goal was to win an Olympic gold, while struggling with an injury.

Participation in youth sports in the United States is on the rise. “Organized youth sports are highly popular for youth and their families, with approximately 45 million children and adolescent participants in the US” (Merkel, 2013). There are many benefits for children that can be attributed to sports such as: physical activity, learning motor skills, sense of belonging, stress relief, and many more. With childhood obesity on the rise recreational sports has never been needed more than it is today. “Over the past three decades, the incidence of obesity in children has tripled, with one of every three children being affected” (Merkel, 2013). Obesity has many long-term health problems related to it such as: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure cancer, asthma. We can attribute this health problem to changes in our society over like increased technology, increased crime rates, fast food and isolated suburban neighborhoods. Sports and other physical activities are needed to keep children from causing further damaged to their future.

As a casual reader of the sports section of this newspaper, you come across many articles depicting the triumphs of local athletes. However, very rarely do these articles describe the actual athlete behind the success. Athletes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They range from the incredibly talented to the horribly uncoordinated. Some are great teammates while others would rather be a one man team. Certain athletes seek out attention from the people around them while others are modest and stay in the background. The fact of the matter is that there is a wide spectrum of different types of athletes that exist in this world and no two athletes are exactly the same. However, each can be put

A 2016 study by the NCAA revealed that there are nearly eight million students who participate in high school athletics in the United States, yet only 480,000 of them will compete at NCAA schools ("Probability of Competing Beyond High School"). Of that approximate 16% who become a student-athlete, an even smaller percent will graduate and become professional athletes. For example, data from the 2015 NFL Draft demonstrates that there is less than a 2% chance of playing in the NFL. During the 2015 Draft, there were 72,788 NCAA football participants, only 16,175 of those were draft eligible for the 256 slots which equates to a 1.6% chance of being drafted to the NFL. According to the NCAA, of the 256 NCAA players selected in the 2015 NFL draft 236 were from Division I FBS institutions, 17 were from Division I FCS programs, two were from Division II programs, and only one was from a Division III program. Student-athletes from the power five conferences accounted for for 200 of the 256 draft picks (SEC=54, ACC=47, Pac-12=39, Big Ten=35, Big 12=25) ("Probability of Competing Beyond High School", 2016). With there being a small percentage of playing professional sports after college, the importance of a college degree has become a priority for many student-athletes.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is requiring colleges and coaches to make an effort to track the grades and progress of student athletes. There are more than 360,000 student athletes, according to the data only 1% of those student athletes will ever play football professionally. NCAA wants to make sure that student athletes are prepared for careers other than professional sports. Education World.com is an online source of teachers, administrators, and school staff members. World Education has provided resources since 1996. The article did not list an

Drive through any town in America on a Saturday morning and I am sure that you can find a park or school field that has a practice or games going on. It is estimated that 36 million youth between the ages of five and eighteen will participate in one or more organized sports each year (statistic brain). That is more than the entire population of Texas and most of Oklahoma. What is it that brings all of them, and their families out to line the fields throughout the United States? By the numbers, one can see the impact of athletics in America, if it is positive or negative is the real question. Many believe that this is part of growing up and that it will build character. Others are worried about the effects of competition and risks of injury to the young athletes.

In Reading, Massachusetts, one parent was beaten to death by another parent after a scuffle at a youth hockey game (Sachs). In Palin Beach, Florida, a father of a little league player was sentenced to three years in prison after taking a gun and pointing it at a coach (Gehring). In Port St. Lucie, Florida, a headline in the evening paper read, "Spectator Bites off Man's Ear at Youth Baseball Game" (Pallerino). Why would parents act in such negative ways? They are too competitive at youth athletic events.

Sports are part of our lives and inspire a lot of person all around the word to become a champion. I think almost every competitive athlete aspires to complete at the Olympic Games one day and to hope to accomplish awesome performances. Few are those who reach this level and make it a living but we all know that it is possible. Some people say that you can only be an Olympic champion if you have a lot of talent but I don’t believe in this vision. I think you need way more than talent to succeed and that the key to success is hard work, passion, determination and confidence. I this text I will talk about Canadian’s performances and show why we should be proud of our athletes and I will also talk about the emplacement of the games in Rio.

Often seen as a hobby, a sport is an athletic activity that requires skills or physical expertise in which an individual or team competes against others for pleasure. These activities bring people together, creating a competitive outlet for the audience and the athletes involved. The value of sports has a significant impact on becoming a part of one’s identity by allowing one to be bonded with others from a different culture. In fact, sports act as a fundamental aspects of identity through its competitive nature, supporters and involvement from the audience.

Character development is not something that can be gained or developed over night. Character development is the multiple life skills that an individual builds within themself throughout their lifespan. When a person develops good character in their early years of life, they will benefit in the long run because they used the life skills they gained and put them to use, becoming a successful individual in all aspects of life.

Participating in high school sports allows athletes to meet new friends and create numerous meaningful friendships with their teammates. Athletes who play multiple sports together and spent countless hours with each other begin to truly develop a strong relationship with their teammates that extends beyond athletics. Athletes begin to not only consider their teammates as friends but as their family. Playing different teams exposes athletes to building relationships with the opponent. After years of playing against each other, athletes begin to form an acquaintanceship which can develop into a friendship. The community enjoys following and watching high school athletics; therefore, the people form a relationship with the athletes. Some, not knowing the athlete personally, follow their success in the newspaper or on social media

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).

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