Youth Sports Teach Valuable Lessons

In his autobiography Life Lessons from Little League, Vincent Fortanasce says “Winning is never final, and losing is never fatal.” At the end of a game, one team will win and the other will lose. Failure to accept this concept has become detrimental to American youth sports organizations. Our society has become infatuated with winning, and all of the additional perks associated with it. What is considered the “best” for children as young as five years old has grown to an unrealistic extent. Parents want their children to be in a reputable organization, young athletes want to play with highly skilled teammates, and coaches want to recruit talented players all in hopes of being the absolute “best”. The amount of young athletes, ranging from five to fourteen years old, participating in local sports organizations has declined within the last two decades due to the highly competitive and unhealthy environments they are being exposed to.Taking pride in your local community has decreased form an athletic point of view. Representing the place I grew up in was a motivating factor when I put my uniform on for every single softball game I played in high school. I had the privilege to play on the field next to girls I had grown to love the sport with ever since our tee ball days. Today, young athletes are branching out from their homegrown roots to play for club teams who recruit players from a larger region. The popularity of traveling teams has substantially diluted the

Children who participate in sports are less likely to be overweight or obese, have higher self-esteem on average, and are generally more invested in their academics. Sports are oftentimes seen as a gateway to academic opportunity, particularly for kids with fewer resources. While this logic is inherently problematic, it is true that high schoolers who were involved with organized sport were more likely to be enrolled in college later on. Youth sports also give children a place to develop socially by teaching them about teamwork, leadership, and compromise. Team sports in particular can provide children with a sense of belonging to a group, and therefore increase their self-esteem and improve their social competence. There are dozens of reasons why youth sport is important and beneficial to a child’s development, and with millions of participants each year in the United States alone, it doesn’t look like youth sports will be going anywhere anytime

Youth sports ages are considered to be high school sports and below. “And more than 45 national sports groups, including the USTA, MLB, NFL, PGA, and NHL are backing an effort to encourage multi-sport play” (Rosenwald, 2017, p. 3). Kids love sports, and it’s one of the things that they do for fun. Sports keep the youth in today’s society physically and socially active which can help prepare them for their future greatly. Most kids that do play youth sports are out for more than just one sport, which helps kids even more, and that is very helpful for them. When they play more than one sport it helps them develop skill that they can use in other sports. “They(the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and

Youth sports are continuing to be shifted into adult standards, by promoting victory while risking injury. Kids do not have the same physical capabilities of professional athletes on television, yet some parents insist that their kids continue playing extremely harmful sports at a violent level of play. Young athletes should not put constant strain on developing bones and muscles. For example, in baseball, a twelve-year-old trying to throw a curveball puts constant strain on the elbow’s ligaments, and may cause

Youth sports have taken on a whole different identity, thus changing the sporting experience for youth athletes. Today this is what we have, “Children are playing fewer sports, and the less talented are left behind in recreational leagues with poor coaching, uneven play and the message that they aren’t good enough” (Rosenwald). Youth sports used to be much more relaxed and focused on creating an environment for kids to develop socially more than athletically. Yes, skills were still taught during practice, but not with such an intensity that exists today. Today, some youth teams take training and winning very seriously. It has become customary for kids to play on elite teams from a very young age. This creates a gap between the more talented

Competitive sports in some cases are becoming very unhealthy for children. Most children would rather play on a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team. Youth sports are a great idea to get children up and active, as well as improve their social skills. Just like every other thing in life it is important to practice and work hard to achieve success. However it is unhealthy to push for results over the needs or wants of the child. Aside from the mental stress that young athletes may experience from intense training and physical play long lasting injures is now a growing concern. Fact is competitive sports is a double edge sword if done right it is the greatest thing world, but if done wrong it can be very unhealthy for a child.

Each year in the United States, more than 36 million school-aged children participate in an “organized sport” (“Youth Sports Statistics”). Especially over the past few years, many studies have proved or disproved the idea that sports are beneficial for young kids. Those studies have found that youth sports have both positive and negative effects on young children, and research shows parents and coaches have the greatest effect on a child’s experience.

Sports can be viewed as a learning environment that helps individuals learn life lessons, foster strong work habits and develop core values all the while learning a sport skill. Youth sports that truly benefit young athletes should be structured to emphasize participation more than just competition. Children enjoy a sport more when they are able to have fun (Humpries). Despite many excesses some sport programs still manage to promote important virtues like self- confidence, teamwork, personal responsibility, coping skills, and persistence. Through sports kids can learn to stay organized and learn how to prioritize (Ferguson). Sports enables development of physical skills and increasing proficiency makes kids feel good about themselves. It teaches kids that failure is something to overcome and and not to fear (Meyerhoff 8-9). Youth sports has many aspects that are truly benefiting for children, but these benefits are slowly being clouded by the negatives that are prominent in today's youth sports.

However, when we talk about youth sports, our main concern is with providing players with a positive, character building experience. Winning is not the only acceptable outcome for youth players, and coaches need to understand this principle. “With a winning philosophy young athletes may lose out on opportunities to develop their skills, to enjoy participation, and to grow socially and emotionally. Well informed coaches realize that success is not equivalent to winning games, and failure is not the same as losing.” (Enhancing Coach-Parent Relationships in Youth Sports, 15)

“Sports do not build character. They reveal it,” said John Wooden legendary UCLA basketball coach. Sports; specifically, youth sports have become a staple of today 's society. Sports are much more than just a way to stay active, they have important physical, psychological and social development benefits. Children 's participation in athletics is not only fun, but teaches them life skills such as teamwork, hard work, discipline, time management, and it builds character, all qualities that they will carry through adulthood. In spite of all the positives, athletics do have downfalls and faults. Research shows that almost one-third of all childhood injuries are sports related ("Sports Injury Statistics"). Many concerns have come up regarding how competitive youth sports have become, causing children to burnout or become injured; between this and the pressure put on by out-of-control parents, athletes are experiencing extreme amounts of stress and pressure. Despite many pros and cons, youth athletics is a great way to stay active, and learn life-skills if done the correct way with the proper support from both parents and coaching staff.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, the goal of youth sports "should be to promote lifelong physical activity, recreation and skills of healthy competition”(Source A). The American Academy of Pediatrics on Sports

When I talked with my athletic director for the ‘Week Two Home Town Case Study,’ he told me all about how youth sports can help with your future career. He said that anytime you have a background understanding with what’s going on with sports it’s important, which you can definitely learn from being in high school and doing sports. It shows that you get a sense of discipline, goal setting, teamwork, accountability and responsibility

Youth sports is well know if you got a younger kid or teenager that like sports or trying to be in good shape it is god for them to play sports at a younger age. Youth sports is really dangerous but most kids like to play it all over the world. Youth sports is young teenagers or younger kids that play sports for a youth. Yuth sports are very dangerous many kids and teeagers get injured by playing sports. Kid and teenagers get injured because they play sports all year around. But it’s good that younger people play sports at a young age because it will help them be more active in the long run. Proponents believe youth sports have benefits such as help kids be in shape teaches them how to be a leader and let them have fun playing a sport that they love. while opponents say they are dangerous because there are over millions of kids who get hurt by play contact youth sports.

Every all-star athlete had to start learning how to play the game at some point. Whether they had experience with the sport as a young athlete or started playing later on in their lives, they had to develop the skills needed for them to play that sport. Early involvement in sports activity is a popular means of developing these skills. Youth sports is one of the most common activities of childhood. It is where many children develop their bodies and learn social skills along with improving their athletic abilities. In addition to getting children physically active, youth sport programs can be used to address adolescent problem behaviors by cultivating positive character development. Problem behaviors are increasing and they affect the parents just as much as they do the child. Poor behaviors due to the lack of character can harm children as they become teenagers and young adults and also reflects poorly on their parents. Early sports activity with a focus on character development will help instill good character into the rising generations of youth and eliminate the perceived shallowness of athletes. The goal of this tactic, is to improve the mindset of children before they become young adults with a conventional recreational activity they participate in. This review, serves the purpose of informing researchers or psychologists interested in the character development of children, parents looking to have their children participate as young athletes, youth

At a young age, my parents put me in sports: teaching me how to skate at age three, playing football my first year eligible and playing t-ball a year early. Sports can teach a child more than just how to throw a football or shoot a puck, sports have the power to teach a child how to become an adult. Children who are involved in sports at a young age are taught many necessary traits in life. Sports can impact their life and teach them competition, respect and responsibility. Three very valuable traits any man or woman will need in their life. Without sports, children miss out on a valuable experience to learn lifelong traits at a young age.