Should Adolescents Be Able To Play Competitive Sports

One reason why adolescents should play competitive sports is because of the health benefits. For example, competitive sports helps decrease the amount of fat, helps joints and muscles, provide healthy bones, and have a controllable weight. Being a least

This proves that playing competitive sports is good for the youth and it can also benefit them by playing on a team. It also gives them a lot of life skills such as confidence that they will use later on in their life when they have a job. Lucy Calkins is an expert in writing and in her article “Get Off That Couch and Play!” she also says that, “Students learn important life skills such as how to accept criticism, how to handle oneself under the pressure of competition, how to work hard toward a goal, how to win and lose graciously” (2014). In addition, to Lucy Calkins article “Get Off That Couch and Play!” that later in life if an adult is at a job interview they will need confidence while they are being interviewed, otherwise they probably won’t get the job. Adults and Children also need to work hard to get towards a goal. Like if someone is at their job and their boss needs something right away, they must get it done and not day dream. In the article “Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at High School Level,” education researcher and writer Grace Chen says, “When children and teens participate in group competitions and activities, they learn skills that

My first reason is that school/youth sports keep kids healthy. Kids who are active in youth sports have a lowered risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, depression and diabetes. ”Fitness can be a way to help prevent 13 different types of cancer.” Additionally, “regular physical activity benefits health in many ways, including helping build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints,” said Facts: Sports Activity and Children. All of the health benefits listed and

One reason kids should not play competitive sports is because of the stress and time commitment they have to put into it. Time management is very important for a child to learn so they can stay focused and complete certain tasks; however, sports greatly interfere with that. Time management can be very effective for a child to develop for the future. According to azcentral.com, a healthy living website, “...sports requires a significant time commitment from children....travel to and from competitions and the events themselves all take time away from children's daily activities”(Westminster 2017). This just proves that sports can be too much of a time commitment. It is not just always fun and games. It requires a lot of attention and valuable time from children, and it may just be too much to handle for them. Also stated in Sports Illustrated, “they are going to lose a lot of their free time...they won’t have time to get too involved and nights and weekends are going to be booked all season long...the off-season could be filled with strength and conditioning requirements” (SI Play 2017). This adds up to suggest that even when the season may be over, it may just never be done! Parents have to spend a lot of time. Based on this, time commitment is essential, and not everyone has that time.

Staying fit in your life is pretty important. In the article Women’s and Children's Hospital University of Minnesota Health care it says, “Physical exercise is good for mind, body and spirit.” .For kids to do sports at an early age, is helping them when they are young and keeping them physically fit, and every parents would want to keep their kids fit.Kirk Mango, a book writer and former gymnast says claims, “In a society where obesity has become a major health issue the physical fitness advantages simply cannot be denied.” . Since society is becoming less and less physically fit it is a big benefit for a kid to be doing sports and being fit.Also in the article Get Off that Couch and Play it says, “ In a nation with an obesity epidemic and a rate of diabetes that continues to grow, physical activity is becoming more and more important.” .Physical activity can help prevent kids of diabetes, and since it is growing constantly if kids would do sports it would decrease the growing

According to The Huffington Post, “Data shows that high school students who play sport are less likely to drop out. Furthermore, participation in sports also has been associated with completing more years of education and consistently higher grades in school. Not surprising that the discipline and goal setting that is learned in competitive sports helps in school.” (Huffington, 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-josephson/15-reason-competitive-sports-are-great-for-kids-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-winning_b_7219150.html) Also, “A recent study conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) investigated the link between physical activity in children and academic performance in school. Initially, researchers predicted that kids who took physical education (PE) during the school day would do better academically, since it helps reduce boredom and helps kids stay focused.” (Sparkpeople, n.d, http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=686) Letting kids play competitive sports can improve their social skills in school and anywhere else. “Youngsters who play sports in school often enjoy enhanced social interaction, reports the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. The socialization that occurs with organized sports can help a youngster learn effective skills for interacting

Organized youth sports are one of the most popular activities in the US and have been for many years. There are approximately 45 million children who play youth sports. [Merkel] This number translates to about 75% of families have at least one child who participates in an organized sport. [Gajula] The most common reasons for children choosing to play a sport are to: have fun, learn new skills, and make new friends. The reasons for parents placing their child in sports are so: their children can compete against others, receive a challenge and strive to be better, and to set winning as a goal for sports and for life. Other important benefits are building good character, obtaining confidence and high self-esteem within themselves, earning respect and leadership roles and skills, acquiring assertiveness, and learning how to deal with conflict.

Youth sports make kids develop great teamwork. because lots of youth sports are team sports and working with other kids really improves your teamwork skills. “working as a team to reach a common goal helps children develop communication and problem solving skills” (USMC). Working with other kids to do or solve really improves their teamwork. Also working as a team will help their team work and make your kid a leader or a loyal supporter. “It is through this experience that some grow into leaders and others into strong supporters” (Chicago Now). When your kid plays sports he or she may become a great leader or supporter which will greatly benifit them later on in life.

"Nationwide, about a third of high school students are overweight or obese...past studies have generally found that while walking and biking to school increases physical activity levels, it has little or no impact on body weight." (O'Connor) A competitive sport is a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities and compete against each other according to a specific set of rules. Competitive sports have always been a contested topic because some people argue that they have high risks of injuries, but others, like myself, say that children should be encouraged to play competitive sports because they instill confidence and happiness, teach important skills and help students in school, and help children maintain healthy weight.

Sport were probably created to have fun and exercise. “Childhood obesity rates have remained at around 17 percent for the past decade.” - The State of Obesity. There is about 73,941,848 people under the age of 18 in America. Imagine 17% of that… That is about 12,570,114 people under the age of 18 that are overweight or “obese”. Just in America. Playing sports is another way for kids to exercise but, in a fun way. It is a game after all. Would like to play a game, or just do exercises. I would want to play

The first reason why kids should continue to play school sports is keeps them healthy. According to the article benefits of sports “Regular physical activity benefits health in many ways, including helping build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.” This shows that sports help improve kids bodies. For example: playing trick helps improve the muscles of your legs. Therefore playing sports can help them improve their bodies.

I believe competitive sports are good for kids because it teaches kids life lessons. First, it teaches us how to deal with things that don’t go our way and that we need to lose and win with grace, according to The Huffington Post. On top of that, it teaches kids teamwork and they need to work with others well, says Livestrong.com.

“Organized youth sports are highly popular for youth and their families, with approximately 45 million children and adolescent participants in the US. Seventy five percent of American families with school-aged children have at least one child participating in organized sports. On the surface, it appears that US children are healthy and happy as they engage in this traditional pastime, and families report higher levels of satisfaction if their children participate.” (Donna L Merkel, May 31, 2013)

Competitive sports are healthy that much has been proven. According to Well.Blogs.Nytimes by Anahad O’Connor with adults that played at least two sports, obesity rates dropped 26%. (Paragraph 4). Many people that believe that by just walking to school will keep them from becoming overweight. However studies show that that only really helps kids that are either already overweight or on the cusp of it. To stay healthy you need to participate in more vigorous activities like sports. It also reacts a healthy lifestyle, which includes social health. Studies all show that kids that play on sports teams are less likely to join gangs and participate in criminal behavior. They also learn how to work hard while having fun. This shows that if you play competitive sports or played them at one point in time you have less of a chance to become obese. This is

Children who participate in competitive sports at an early age tend to remain active throughout their adolescent years. This causes children to become accustomed to exercising, eating healthy, and competing. “Regular physical activity can help reduce the risk of many adult health problems, including diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. However, with less time dedicated to free play and school physical education programs, the result may be lower activity levels and lower levels of fitness for children.” (Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness and Committee on School Health, 2001). You can no longer expect your child to receive sufficient doses of healthy activity at school based on the dwindling programs over