The Amazing Growth of Youth Sports

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“On your toes,” Ole yelled, at all his teammates.

Ole is my ten year old son, who has been playing soccer since he was in first grade. He plays two seasons a year and we are on our tenth season. Ole has started showing leadership with his teammates this season. Ole's team shows him respect, he is a very strong player that has always has his teammates backs. No matter how tired he is, he is right there to help his teammates out. When Ole started playing soccer I would have never dreamed of him taking this path. Our family was never into sports, this just fell into our laps while raising our children. Since my eyes have been opened to youth sports, I have seen my son grow with soccer. His growth is incredible every soccer season, I can't wait to see how Ole will grow. I believe that the playing of sports benefits children of all ages, because the lessons and values they learn in sports outweigh the downfalls.

An article in Parks in Recreation, A Matter of Picking Your Game, By Boris Weintraub, covers how popular youth sports has become. After World War II, parents became concerned about the safety of their children. As television became more popular so did youth sports. Little league baseball was first founded in 1939, in 2007 there was 2.6 million youths playing on Little League teams. For these youth players, this can turn into high school squads and for the more elite, Babe Ruth and Pony leagues. A survey in 2007-2008 showed that 54 percent of youths participate in school sports. For both girls and boys, soccer has ranked on the top five for youths that participate in sports.

Playing sports can benefit children of all ages. Many children at a young age are ready to join along with their school friends ...

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... 37.1 (2006): 39-49. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 June 2011.

Theokas, Christina. "Youth Sport Participation—A View of the Issues: Introduction to the Special Section." Developmental Psychology 45.2 (2009): 303-306. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 June 2011

Weintraub, Boris. "YOUTH SPORTS." Parks & Recreation 44.7 (2009): 36-41. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 June 2011

Whitaker, Jonathan, Andy Cunningham, and James Selfe. "YOUTH SPORTS INJURIES AND THEIR IMMEDIATE MANAGEMENT: A REVIEW." Physical Therapy Reviews 11.3 (2006): 171-177. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 June 2011

Wiersma, Lenny D., and Angela M. Fifer. "The Schedule Has Been Tough But We Think It's Worth It": The Joys, Challenges, and Recommendations of Youth Sport Parents." Journal of Leisure Research 40.4 (2008): 505-530. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 June 2011.

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