Should Sports Be Better Workers At Our Jobs?

“Are Competitive Sports Bad for Kids?” Mar 31, 2011 | By Rachel Nelson, Web, 20

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.

The youth of today have often been told or led to believe that an activity is not a sport. I beg to differ. As a young man and brother I was convinced that cheerleading was not a sport. My sister would argue anyone on that subject, and so would I after watching them perform. They not only cheer, but take gymnastics to another level of complexity. Cheerleading is definitely a sport with or without competitions. Once I concluded that cheerleading could be considered a sport, I began to apply those same concepts to other physical activities that I enjoy. This application leads me to consider a physical activity that I enjoy and feel I am an expert on; Motocross racing. It is a sport in all the elements defined above.

Every country has a sport that they find most interesting. Due to the nationwide involvement, this sport will result in a great amount of revenue, and a common form of entertainment. In America, it is evident that this sport is football. No other sport pulls in the same amount of revenue, media and nationwide attention than football does. It is popular in all age groups, and is the staple of sporting events to attend while students are in high school and college. Football is the greatest sport in America because of the business it has created, and the national draw that has developed from it.

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.

Contests in skill, strength and speed have occupied an important place in every culture throughout the ages. The meaning of the term sport and the effect that sport has on society is always changing. Sports have especially changed in the last two decades and can certainly be evidence by the growing number of labor disputes and court cases involving all sports.

Majority of successful college sports teams spend over 40 hours a week practicing. That is more time then some full time jobs. The only difference

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.

Scholars have identified six separate components that must be present within a sport in order to be considered as a true sport. One of the first requirements on this list is that the sport must include a

Sports are very vital. They offer a lifestyle, an occupation, and even a dream. Sports require physical activity and skill in which a team or an individual compete against others for entertainment. As David G. McComb comments in "Sports in World History", "there is a high degree of training, investment, and coaching, along with spectators, rules, publicity, and institutional control that come along with these activities." While participating in sports, it is required to be able to undertake a difficult situation and perform the best out of it. Sports are definitely more than just a game.

What makes Jessika Statsky’s “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” an effective piece in the arguments on whether the competitive sports may harm children both physically and psychologically, is her use of clear thesis statement and a full forecast of the reasons she offers to justify her position. Statsky carefully picks her key terms, such as by sports, for example, she means to describe both contact and non-contact sports that emphasize competition. Also she clearly defines to her audience that she is mainly concerned about children of age six to twelve years old.

Sports have been around for centuries, dating back to 776 BC with the first Olympic Games. Ancient civilizations like the Egyptian, Greeks and Mayans all had a sport they enjoyed taking part in. They were created to bring people together and help them settle disputes or conflicts in an organized manner. Great leaders of the ancient world saw a fascination in sports and made it part of their reign to promote the human’s natural competitiveness. Since then, new sports have emerged and also new reasons for one to play. New sports evolve every day all over the world. Everywhere in social media and magazines you will find images of famous athletes and their achievements. Not much history has been left behind by these famous civilizations except for some cave paintings and stories passed down through generations. However, these sports have helped new ones all over the world flourish and the competitive aspect has been kept intact with some modifications to minimize some of its historical brutality.

Sports differ in many ways even the things that should be the same can be complete opposites. I have played football, basketball, soccer, track, and cross country and I never payed attention to running in any of those sports except for in track and cross country. I did not notice the amount of running I did in all those sport until I had to only focus on the running aspect. To this day I can say I have learned lessons in all of my sports, but running sports have taught me the most. Running is mandatory in so many sports, yet it has presented some of the largest obstacles for a me to overcome mentally.

Sports, admittedly, have had a huge impact on our culture. Some of us even use sports as an excuse to gather our family for some quality time with each other, whether they just hangout for the sake of entertainment or engage in a meaningful conversation full of fervid passion when discussing spectacular plays, athletes, and coaches. However, people talk about the multitude of positive traits that sports are associated with, one must be informed about the abundance of issues that sports face; issues that keep sports from being what we want it to be- free from malicious intent and more along the lines of a peaceful collaboration perpetuated by authentic equality; coming together to proclaim our love for the game. Inequality, for example, is

The period of 1865 to 1950 was critical to the formation of “Modern” sport that is recognized today. In an article by Allen Guttmann titled From Ritual to Record: the nature of modern sport, Guttmann outlines seven characteristics that played a central role in the development of sports. These concepts were created as a sociological history of sports and took into place both American and European competitions. Guttmann’s notions of secularism, rationalization, bureaucracy and quantification, among others, all advanced the culture of sports; yet the most important of the stated characteristics is equality.