“Harder, better, faster, stronger” The unforgettable iconic lyrics from Kanye West’s “Stronger”, shown above, have become the motivation for many children in today’s world and childhood sports are no exception. It is perceived by many children that winning is everything and should be achieved at any cost, but when a child’s long term health is the price to be paid it becomes a concern. The adults in charge such as youth coaches, parents, and league officials need to rethink and assess their responsibilities, question their decisions, and lastly think about the stress they place upon the American youth. The large majority of the injuries in youth sports are preventable with proper safety measures, yet they continue to increase gradually with …show more content…
A majority of these Injuries are very easy to eliminate when decisions are made based upon the athletes wellbeing along with long term health. When the proper safety measures are taken instead of what will make the athlete the best around in that sport are implemented, children will be able to enjoy sports safely again. Overuse Injuries While the benefits of children being active is an essential component to a healthy lifestyle, excessive workouts can do more damage to the athlete then actual gain. Overuse injuries are the most frequent type of injury a child receives while participating in sports and are caused by the repetitive microtrauma to a body part during the activity (O’Connor). Compared to everyday activities, sports place large amounts of pressure on precise areas of the children's body repetitively and with higher contact speeds which produce greater joint contact. Bruising, swelling, redness, tenderness with irregular palpation, and nerve damage are the most common indicator that an overuse injury has occured. The most common Overuse injuries are the result of two factors intrinsic &
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
Duff, John F. Youth Sports Injuries. A Medical Handbook for Parents and Coaches. New York: MacMillan, 1992. (pp.
Children who are active recklessly engage in activities where injuries can occur. Nobody can predict when or how seriously anybody will get injured during an activity, however, the risks of children playing tackle football is prevalent where the dangers are imminent. The game of tackle football on a youth level is dangerous for children since they are developing physically and mentally. According to an article from The Atlantic, “America’s most dangerous football is in the peewee leagues, not the National Football League” (Barra, 2013). According to a journal article, “sports injuries account for approximately 23% of pediatric emergency department injury related visits” (Podberesky, Unsell & Anton, 2009). “Of these sports injury-related
Some are trading the fun and experience of diversifying between basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. for year-round football. As a result, overuse injuries are occurring at an alarming rate among these one-sport wonders. For example, "Little League Elbow" describes overuse injuries in kids who are repetitively throwing the ball. Kids are sustaining severe injuries to their growth plates, neck and spinal cord that could end their career in pro-sports before it begins....
All injuries are a serious matter, but upper body injuries are more delicate. “Although the majority of contusions to the most parts of the body result injuries that are self-correcting and without serious consequence, even relatively
Have you ever been injured? By sports? If so, what injury did you have? Did you do active rehabilitation? Do you try to prevent injury when exercising? These are some questions that you might need to ask yourself when exercising or participating in sports. You also must know that there are many sports injuries as well as many ways to prevent them.
Injuries can be common while participating in organized sports, competitions, training exercises, or fitness activities says Darice Britt. “Poor training methods, inadequate warm-up, and lack of conditioning are a few of the causes of sports injuries.” (Britt) Although on the other hand, Apostolos Theophilou, DPT, clinical coordinator of the Physical Therapist Assisting program at South University says that Injuries can be caused by a combination of those things, not necessarily the only reasons. “Fatigue and overuse are also significant contributors to an injury, and not excluding also the psychosocial aspects and dehydration that cause athletes to be prone to injuries.” (Theophilou)
The article shares with the reader that children who join competitive sports at a young age can learn discipline and healthy habits when performed right. Jordan strongly suggests athletes, coaches and parents need to be properly educated on safe training techniques and know how to read their children when they have an injury. This way the young athletes can join in on as many sport teams as they want. Over the recent years many regulations and laws have been passed, such as The Lystedt laws that “mandate a gradual return-to-play protocol to better protect youth athletes in all sports from the risks of preventable concussions”(Jordan). This will protect the players who do decide to specialize in one sport at an early
One quote that was used was, “Children who specialize in a single sport and train intensively for it are at higher risk of experiencing overuse injuries, as well as burnout, anxiety and depression, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),” (Perry). She said this because it shows how when children play sports that there is a major health risk involved and they could be depressed and exhausted. Another quote is, “More kids are participating in adult-led organized sports today, and sometimes the goals of the parents and coaches may be different than the young athletes,” (Brenner). Doctor Joel Brenner said this because it shows how the coaches and parents are sometimes more involved in the sport than some of the young athletes. 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.
"Sports Injuries." Childhood and Their Prevention: A Guide for Parents with Ideas for Kids. National Institution of Arthritis and Muscoskeletal and Skin Diseases, June 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
The value placed on the importance of winning in professional sports has hit an all-time high. The astronomical amount of money being spent in the entertainment field of athletics has dictated a win-at-all-costs mentality that has trickled all the way down to negatively affect our youngest athletes - the prepubescent. The athletic world has forever been exploiting our youth as a source of athletic potential, sacrificing the health, safety and welfare of these child-athletes to satiate the intense nationalistic pride of the country and more dishearteningly in the name of the Almighty Dollar. This has caused coaches and athletes to take drastic measures which are sometimes illegal and usually unethical in order to improve performance levels. One of the most controversial training practices center around the impact of strength training in prepubescent children.
It is not just the injuries that are playing a major effect in kids, but it is the physical and mental draining that is coming from their parents and coaches. Parents are pushing their kids to do all this extra stuff to make them the best on the team. Gerdy reports, “Youth sports programs are no longer about meeting the educational, development, and recreational needs of children but rather about satisfying ego needs of the adults” (Gerdy). These children no longer have a chance to learn the simply fundamentals because of their parents forcing them to the next level too early. Parents are also causing disturbances during their child’s game. Parent misconduct in youth sports refers to any disruptive, abusive, or violent behavior parents. The article responds, “The main purpose of youth sports, that is, to teach and guide young athletes in skill development in their sport of choice, to provide encouragement and support, to build self-esteem, and to allow children to have fun while exercising” (Atkinson). Parents have begun to promote the total opposite but screaming at their kid to do better instead of encouraging. These violent calls from the parents begin to produce emotional suffering and damage to the child because they begin to think too much about being perfect all the time and not enough about just having fun. Also, when these children are the parents and their kids are playing they will
How much should a person value their own life? How much should one value the life of your friends and family? More than a medal or a title? Then why do people continue to allow young lives to be put at risk? In recent years, high school football injuries have been on a rise.
Paddock, Catharine. "Young Athletes: Injuries And Prevention." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International Ltd, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
More than 38 million children and adolescents participate in organized sports in the United States each year. The most sports related injuries in kids are scrapes and bruises, brain and spinal injuries, teeth, ankles, knees, ACL, eyes, pulled muscles, sunburn and broken bones.... ... middle of paper ... ...