Every athlete's life in Trophy Kids is centered around sport performance. The parents focus solely on sports as a socialization tool and is their only focus in their kids lives. For example, when Justus's dad Josh is talking about why he is so hard on him and says “[his] whole goal is to be there, to give [Justus] the support. It's not necessarily for him to go play football and to make it playing football. It's more of giving him work habits. Giving him something to where he has confidence” (Josh,
The novel All Good Children by Catherine Austen and article “Blind and Bullied” by Sydney Loney reveals that fighting against discrimination in society is well worth it and is the only way to make a change. The characters, symbols, and conflict demonstrate how the only way to be free is to fight against discrimination.
Trophy Kids is a documentary that shows what ones parent would do to get their kids to perform at the top level. Athleticism is the physical qualities that are features of a sportsman. For example, the film is a story concerning four families, who train their children for improvement in a sport. In the pursuit of greatness, the children are pushed diligently under the guidance of a parent.
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.
She argues that kids sign up to be able to be on a team and for the excitement it some with, however, kids fail to see how being in a team is beneficial to their future. Parents should value the commitment and effort kids put into the learning process of the rules, skills and protocols needed to work as a team. Whether a child wins or loses, they learn the importance of commitment and the skills that were needed to help the team out. Although, she mentions that some kids only focus on the attendance rather than the work that is needed to help the team. She quotes Professor Kenneth Barish to support her argument, “The idea of giving trophies only to winners doesn’t emphasize enough the other values that are important… We want kids to participate in sports, to learn to improve their skills, to help others, to work hard and to make a contribution to the team.” She believes that children at an early age value the meaning of a team, that they want to do everything to help each other out, whether everyone works or not. There is an age limit where they start to realize that not everyone put in the effort, but “what matters is showing up for practice, learning rules and rituals of the game and working
According to Bob, YOUR thoughts, attitudes, values, and beliefs show in your life and your kids learn a lot through what they live with you. A trophy doesn’t have any of that..” A child who has a flair for a sport for example, will win because they can, not because of a mini statue of feign significance. Trophies are expedient because they help encourage young athletes to achieve more. In conjunction Cook recognizes that “ the real issues aren’t magically fixed simply by [scuttling] a trophy from the picture.” This is very candidly spoken because, it’s not about a score, it’s about making children grow and letting the youth call their own shots. Loading kids with hordes of pressure to be the best will only make them think less of themselves, because maybe being the best isn’t what they really want. People need to stop acting like private envoys to their children, and more like parents who truly support
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.
Being a professional athlete is one of the most commonly heard dreams of a young boy or girl who currently elementary school. Whether it is realistic or not, these kids will be participating in the sport that they wish to thrive in. But, time after time we hear adults complain about their child’s insane soccer schedule, or how they have to spend their whole weekend traveling for games. The parents complaints shouldn’t be the topic of discussion, in fact the only opinions that matter are the children. The question shouldn’t be asking whether or not youth sports are too intense, it should be asking if it is worth it. If a child loves what they’re doing then they have every reason to continue playing their sport, but if they are not all in, he or she has to question whether or not all the craziness is worth it.
Every child at some point in their lives dream about becoming a rock star, doctor or an astronaut, but the career that stands out the most is becoming a professional athlete. Why? One reason could be the ever increasing media coverage on each individual sport with certain channels devoted for just that particular sport, keeping viewers updated and thirsting to get out and play. Another could be the ease of getting out in the backyard as a kid to shoot the basketball, throw a football, or hit a baseball because it is harder to perform heart surgery or fly to the moon when you're only a child. With that being said; it is easy to look up to a professional athlete and put your heart and soul into them wearing
All of the publicity that is attained by success, and the possibility of this success, places a great deal of pressure and stress on these young single-sport athletes. This stress and pressure takes the fun out of some sports. Youth sports are becoming serious and based more on winning than on having a great time and learning good sportsmanship. Adu points out the winning mindset of athletes in this day and age when he says, “Teams will do anything to win the game. My coach told me to expect that going in and that is exactly how it was. . .I felt like everybody was out to get me” (Goodall, 2003). This
many young athletes’ perceptions that their parents expect them to be extraordinary and would criticize them if they failed to deliver. The added pressure from coaches to be perfect can also deter young athletes’ focus on doing what is right or doing what will allow them to succeed and ultimately satisfy their parents and coaches desires (Madigan, Stoeber & Passfield, 2016).
With more and more children participating in some sort of organized sport than ever before, there is a constant concern regarding the pressures kids are brought into to excel. Emotionally over-involved parents often think that it is their
“Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser,” Vince Lombardi once said. This saying could be the unsung anthem of American sports for children and teenagers. Everyone loves to win. In sports there is always competition. Is there too much emphasis on “the win” for kids and teens? This issue is important because it essentially develops the way children and teenagers think and react; it will affect them later on in life. Too much emphasis on winning is a problem because there is extensive pressure from parents and coaches, and the consequences can be severe.
It’s important for a child to understand the positive impacts of competition despite a loss in a game. Adults go through competition everyday, from getting a job after a successful interview or missing it from an unsuccessful interview to promotion because of work well done or demotion at work. The basics of competition taught early helps a child succeed later in life. Team Sport equips a child to cope with competition in a friendly environment. Achieving a goal by being part of a team will help a child gain healthy competitive skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. Sports also help a child cope well with both a loss and a win as part of life. Learning to positively handle both the winning and losing side of playing a sport combined with good sportsmanship is a characteristic that carries over from childhood to
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
I understand why parents want every kid to get a trophy because they want them all to be happy and you want to make them all feel equal. They think if every kid will get a trophy then there will be no problems anymore and there kid wont be upset when they lose. But there's the problem if there kid isn't upset when he loses then what is there to drive him to get better.