Youth sports are a staple in nearly every American’s childhood as highlighted in “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” by Jessica Statsky. Statsky makes two contentions in favor of this argument: first, that the participants of youth sports are not physically and psychologically ready, and second, that the mentality of win or lose is more harmful than helpful during the formative years of a child’s development. I agree with Statsky that children’s sports are too often over competitive, but some competition is beneficial to their development. First, Statsky turns her attention to the physical limitations of imposing such strict and highly competitive norms of adults on children. Making children as competitive as professional athletes with the …show more content…
Scientifically, a failure to recognize the positives of leading an active and physical lifestyle indirectly negates evolution itself. Our bodies adapt to the conditions we experience. For example, a callus forms because an area of your skin is constantly under stress. The callus is a stronger form of the normal skin and makes the body more conducive to perform a desired task. This can be applied to other physical actions and in this particular instance, youth sports. Saying that physical actions inhibit growth is like saying exercising is bad for a healthy body. Humans need the physical skills often performed in sports to grow and maintain a healthy body. However, it is true that modern society tries to stray away from what nature intends by placing far too great an emphasis on strength and skill rather than health and wellness. It is through this misplaced understanding of athleticism that we can attribute most to injury all the same these injuries, like a callus, build resistance. The injuries sustained in sports usually result in a stronger body just because that’s how the body works. If a part of your body is damaged, the natural course your body takes is to rebuild it stronger than ever to prevent future injury. I can say that is true from my own experiences. I remember times when I was younger participating in martial arts. Yes, the …show more content…
At this early stage of the child’s life, it is nearly impossible to believe a child could make a split second decision to make the winning play. The brains of these children are simply not yet wired to make those decisions. It’s through experience that the necessary connections are made in the brain and in turn create the possibility of those amazing plays. Most parents are simply observers during games, and thus it is far too easy to allow expectations for their child to be the star player run rampant. The parents have most likely been alive for three times longer than their child, which means they’ve had considerably more experience both within and outside the realm of sports. The failure to realize that their child lacks experience and thus can’t always act in the same way that the parents would have creates an environment that harms a child’s sense of worth and
The amount of unnecessary behavior by parents at youth sporting events is increasing rapidly and is ruining the kid's experiences and their passion for the sports. Parents in the United States are becoming more involved in their children's sports than the kids themselves. The reason that so many young American athletes are quitting at such an early age is because their parents are making the sports a joyless experience and are placing too much pressure on the kids to win and to be the best. Parents have become out of control at youth sports and it seems that the kids are showing more civility than the parents these days. Parents need to get back to teaching their kids that sports should be played for fun and not just for showing who's the best.
“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.
In “children Need to Play,” Jessica Statsky talks about her concerns regarding the issues of the destructive effects of competitive sports on children. Parents need to acknowledge this reality because it has a great influence on children at this time of age and it has become an integral part of life. As these games are designed on the basis of an adult, there physical and psychological aspects are considered before hand and a child under 14 years of age can easily be damaged on physical and psychological levels because all these sports are dangerous to children. Extreme physical activities put an unbearable strain on the developing bodies. The idea of winning sometimes forces the little ones to go to such extents that sometimes that
Youth sports parenting can be very impactful for children depending on the parenting style. In the article of “Why Kids Quit Sports” the author discusses the major roles that parents play in their kid’s youth sports life. He discusses a personal experience that he had before with a young player from his little league discussing a conversation with one of his team players. He says that a young athlete had told him that she did not want to do sports anymore because her dad kept on coaching her in the car and sidelines of each game. She stated, “I can’t play when he is around, and he insists on coming to every game, every road trip, you name it. It’s like it’s more important to him than it is to me” (“Why Kids Quit Sports”). Parents are the main
After first reading the essay “Sports Should be Child’s Play,” I believe David Epstein made a valid point when discussing the issue of children participating in competitive sports at a too young of an age. He effectively delivered his argument by giving an appropriate amount of evidence without crowding the piece and losing the reader. There were certain sections of the essay that would have been difficult to understand without context, however Epstein was able to guide the reader and explain the evidence and situation when necessary. The title of the essay drew me in because “child's play” coincides with something that can be easily accomplished and is enjoyable. However sports, at the higher level, are challenging and are required to be taken seriously. If children are playing at competitive level too early in their life, it can cause a loss of enjoyment and be detrimental to their physical and mental health.
Though this argument may seem accurate, it does not fully explain some of the major health risks and what the parents and coaches are doing to prevent as many injuries as possible. In conclusion, young athletes should play sports because, youth sports can be a learning experience or it can be a health risk to the athletes. The three main points are how sports keep you healthy, how they build character, and the values that they will learn from sports and how they will use them in the future. Even though there are many health risks involved, the coaches and parents are doing the best they can to prevent their child from getting hurt.
Gatz, Margaret, Michael A. Messner, and Sandra Rokeach. Paradoxes of youth and sport. Albany: State University of New York, 2002.. 12-13.
...es in Youth Sports: A Comparison Between Players' and Parents' Perspectives.". N.P., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Statsky also makes another faulty assumption, which is that competition is an adult imposition on the world of children’s play. She says in her article, “The primary goal of a professional athlete – winning – is not appropriate for children” (629). Children compete to win in the same way that adults do, and they do so on their own without any adult pressure. Common playground gam...
When the coach turned his head, the seven-year-old stuck a finger down his throat and made himself vomit. When the coach fumed back, the boy pointed to the ground and told him, “Yes, there it is, Coach. See?” (Tosches A33).It emphasizes the fact that if a child gets hurt once, they will fear the possibility of getting hurt again ,so they try to find excuses to prevent themselves from playing the game.Second,Statsky states how competitive adults have drained the fun out of children's sports and made the game unappealing for children.She cites Martin Rablovsky, a former sports editor for the New York Times says that in all his years of watching young children play organized sports, he has noticed very few of them smiling. “I’ve seen children enjoying a spontaneous pre-practice scrimmage become somber and serious when the coach’s whistle blows,” Rablovsky says. “The spirit of play suddenly disappears, and sport becomes job-like” (qtd in Coakley 94). It shows the fact that competitive adults are oblivious to their actions and don't notice that what they are doing can really affect a child mentally.Third, Statsky is concerned that competitive sports will lower a child's self-esteem and make them lack confidence.’’Like adults, children fear failure, and so even those with good physical skills may stay away because they lack
.In addition young athletes have become more aggressive. Kids that participate in competitive sports are becoming more and more aggressive and competitive the sports have become themselves. Mitchell reveals "traits like bullying and the need to dominate their oppo...
Our society, in terms of world sports, has grown increasingly impressive. Most professional athletes have been playing their specialized sport since grade school, and although impressive, the people we are rooting for are wearing out quickly. Although youth sports programs are a health benefit to society, they also pose disadvantages to a young person’s growth and development.
Youth sports are a very important part of a child’s development. Youth sports allows kids to grow as a people and to learn important life lessons. Youth sports also allow kids to interact with people as well as work together with others as a unit to achieve a goal. However, kids are being forced, and pushed in sports at too young of an age by their parents. The number of kids who play youth sports is at an all time low in the country, and parents are a major cause of the problem. In the U.S. by age 15, 80 percent of children who play a sport quit the sport (Atkinson). Kids are being pushed too hard at a young age; children are also being forced by their parents to “specialize” in a single sport in a hope for the child to become a professional
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 responsibility to persuade, push, or support the children's fantasies or sporting objectives, even if the kids themselves do not share the same aspirations as his/her parents. Part of growing up is learning what interests you the most. It's how one becomes familiar with who they really are and what they enjoy doing in life. Unfortunately, for many young children, his/her parents seem to take his/her own lives into their own hands. Most parents want their kids to grow up to be "superstars", make it big after the college scenario, and perhaps go on to play professionally or succeed in the Olympics. We all know that there are the few that make it professionally, and having your parent paint a picture for you as you're barely going into grade school is unethical. Yet for the unfortunate, these kids are helpless to the pressure that is put on them at such a young age. Take Todd Marinovich, for example. For the child's entire life he was exercised, fed, schooled, and drilled with his fathers' one g...
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).