Youth Athletics
In Reading, Massachusetts, one parent was beaten to death by another parent after a scuffle at a youth hockey game (Sachs). In Palin Beach, Florida, a father of a little league player was sentenced to three years in prison after taking a gun and pointing it at a coach (Gehring). In Port St. Lucie, Florida, a headline in the evening paper read, "Spectator Bites off Man's Ear at Youth Baseball Game" (Pallerino). Why would parents act in such negative ways? They are too competitive at youth athletic events.
During my five years refereeing youth sports, I have seen many examples of negative behavior. This past September, a parent, whom I have known for a few years, approached me after a basketball game her child's team had lost. I knew something was going to happen, but there was nothing I could do. Mind you, this is a 7th grade tournament, so the children were 11-and-12 year-olds. The mother asked me loudly, "Why did you tell my daughter to shut up?" I replied that I only told her daughter to hush because her daughter told me quite hatefully that she wasn't the only person that fouled. Now, granted at the time this child was losing the game, I knew that she wasn't feeling too good about herself, so I had told her calmly that she didn't need to be disrespectful. However, as I tried to explain this to the mother, she told me that I do not have the right to do such a thing. She neglected to understand that referees frequently levy technical fouls for disrespectful behavior on the court, but I had just given a warning. I never imagined such a response when the game was over. This mother cursed me with every vulgarity imaginable. She also told me that I was the loser of the community and that I could never do anythin...
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...search.epnet.com. 2 Nov. 2003.
Cox, RachelS. (2001, Mar. 23). Abstract. CO Researcher. 11.11. Oct. 29,2003. <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearchers>
Gehring, John. "More Schools Calling Foul on Unsportsmanlike Behavior." Education Week 21.7 (17 Oct. 2001): 6. EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Camden-Carroll Lib. http://search.epnet.com/direct. 31 Oct. 2003.
Hypes, Julia. Personal Interview. 23 Nov. 2003.
Pallerino, Michael J. "Is the Rash of Parental Violence at Youth Sporting Events
Increasing, or Are We Just Now Recognizing it as a Problem?" SportingKid Magazine. National Alliance for Youth Sports. 2001. http://www.navs.org. 28 Nov. 2003.
Sachs, Michael L. "Lighten Up Parents!" USA Today 129.2666 (Nov. 2000): 62-63.
EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Camden-Carroll Lib. Morehead State University. http://search.epnet.com . 31 Oct. 2003.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how parents are too competitive at youth athletic events. in reading, massachusetts, one parent was beaten to death by another parent after a scuffle.
- Recounts how they have seen many examples of negative behavior during their five years of refereeing youth sports.
- Opines that parents believe that competition gives them an excuse to act the way they do, and that if they pay their money to get into the building, they can act however they choose.
- Narrates how a parent ran onto the floor after their officiating partner, while watching an eighth-grade girls' game, the opposing team lost by one point. they heard everything from "i'll wait all night till you get out of that room."
- Opines that parents want the best for their children, but behaving this way doesn't show them appropriate respect. many children cannot look up to their parents as role models if they display vulgar language.
- Opines that the over-emphasis that youth athletics and recreational activities have on winning is a problem — success in youth sports does not necessarily mean winning. recreational leagues require equal playing time.
- Explains that many coaches try to subvert the "all children playing equally" rule, allowing only their best two or three players to handle the ball and shoot. the other six or seven children get to "participate," but they just run around hopelessly.
- Opines that bad parental and coaching involvement can have two effects: a shortage of officials, and fans, coaches, or players turning violent against officials.
- Explains that if parents keep up this type of behavior, their kids may not want to participate in youth sports.
- Explains that the national recreation and park association and nays are heading up "time out for better sports" for kids. the initiative requires parents and coaches to enroll in a 30-minute sportsmanship-training program.
- Explains that a recent survey polling students about sports showed that the number one reason kids play is to have fun. if children really don't care about winning, why should parents and coaches focus on winning?
- Cites cipriani, nicole, and cox, rachels. on "sportsmanship 101—for parents."
- Opines that the rash of parental violence at youth sporting events is increasing, or are we just now recognizing it as a problem?
Related
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- analytical
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- comparative
- Youth Sports Research Paperargumentative essayYouth sports can be a learning experience or it can be a health risk to the athletes. Youth sports can teach young children the value of hard work and discipline or it can be emotionally and physically damaging. 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 in the future. These three ideas prove that youth sports can be healthy, they build character, and can teach them the value of hard work and discipline for your kid.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that youth sports can be a learning experience or it can become emotionally and physically damaging. sports can teach young children the value of hard work and discipline.
- Explains that young children should play sports because it keeps them healthy and prevents chronic diseases. sports also keep you healthy because they obtain new friends.
- Explains that playing sports at a young age builds character and develops different skills. positive developmental indicators have been associated with sport participation, including improved self-esteem, emotional regulation, problem-solving, goal attainment, social skills, and academic performance.
- Explains that children and adolescents will learn hard work, leadership, and discipline from sports throughout school and life after high school.
- Argues that while most evidence proves why young children should play sports, some pediatricians and doctors disagree with this stance because of the health risk involved.
- Concludes that young athletes should play sports because youth sports can be a learning experience or health risk to the athletes. coaches and parents are doing their best to prevent their child from getting hurt.
936 wordsRead More - Athletes and Sportsargumentative essayAs a parent, all you ever want your kids to do is grow up and be something great. Parents expect their kids to have dreams of becoming a lawyer or majoring in topics like business and medicine. They don’t realize that some kids have goals like playing baseball in the major leagues or becoming a great fisherman that is on television. Not all kids have the same mind-set. People of all ages, all around the world, enjoy either watching or playing sports.
In this essay, the author
- Advises parents to get their kids involved in sports to introduce them to great life skills and keep them in shape.
- Opines that sports teach nothing but positive things to a child; respect, leadership skills, help build character, and learning how to stay healthy.
- Argues that sports are healthy for children, helping them build character and showing them leadership skills.
- Describes the current issues of macmillan social science library, including the opposing viewpoints in context.
935 wordsRead More - Parental Pressure on Children Playing Organized Sportsanalytical essayThese days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience.
- Argues that over-involved parents are responsible for persuading, pushing, or supporting children's fantasies or sporting objectives, even if they don't share the same aspirations.
- Opines that intense training of coaches from club or travel teams becomes an enticement to "win" the next season which may carry on to the off-season to train and become better than the best.
- Explains that an increase in the number of reported instances of parents engaging in abusive, violent, and controlling behavior has led many organizations to reconsider the role of the parent in youth sports.
- Opines that if parents could be less overbearing with their kids, being involved in an organized sport can turn out to be a great deal.
- Argues that america's up and coming youth have enough problems to deal with just growing up in society now that is constantly changing over time.
1014 wordsRead More - Youth Sports are Too Intenseopinionated essayYoung athletes put in danger by the competition, aggressiveness, and intensity of sports. Kids everyday are being pushed past limits by coaches parents and fans. The intensity of sports has become so high they are causing mental and physical exhaustion. Sports like wrestling has kids eat different to either lose gain weight. Football player, Baseball player, and even cheerleader have to work out in extreme temperatures. Some kids involved in competitive sports have been taking weight lifting classes and even just conditioning. The youth are being put in danger due to how competitive, aggressive, and intense youth sports have become.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how young athletes are being put in danger by the competition, aggressiveness, and intensity of youth sports.
- Explains that young athletes are being pushed past their limits and worked so hard it is becoming dangerous.
- Analyzes how young athletes are becoming more aggressive and competitive. they are motivated by coaches, parents, and fans chanting "take em' down!"
- Opines that youth sports are putting kids in danger. they are being picked on and yelled at for what may be an honest simple mistake. 74% of kids surveyed said they had witnessed out-of-control adults at their games.
- Compares how michael jordan, walter payton, lou gehrig, and gabi butler didn't get where they are now by being babied. they were worked and pushed, hard.
- Opines that the harder and more intense youth sports get the more kids put in danger, bullied, and feeling like they have been mentally or physically drained.
680 wordsRead More - Extremely Competitive Youth Sports Parentsanalytical essayParents in the U.S. today are becoming too involved in youth sports and are getting out of control. In the July 24, 2000 issue of Sports Illustrated, there is an article by William Nack and Lester Munson about a father in Massachusetts who killed another father over a little dispute about youth hockey. On July 5, 2000 Thomas Junta, a father of two, got into what seemed to be a minor shoving match with Michael Costin, a father of four, over a play in a hockey practice. After a while the fight was broken up and Junta left the ice arena. A little while later Junta returned with "clenched fists" and pinned Costin to the ground. With Costin's children standing just a few feet away and pleading with Junta to stop, Junta pummeled Costin with punches to the face and slammed Costin's head into the hard rubber mats that covered the floor. By the time someone was able to pull Junta off of him, Costin's face was so badly beaten that even his own children could barely recognized him. Costin was left in a coma and died two days later. This shows that p...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the age for a kid to start playing competitive sports in the united states continues to get lower and lower. parents are placing too much emphasis on winning and being the best, instead of teaching their children how to have fun.
- Analyzes how parents in the u.s. are becoming too involved in youth sports and are getting out of control.
- Analyzes how parents are turning the playing of sports into a joyless, negative experience. according to michigan state university, less than three-fourths of american kids who participate in organized youth sports quit before the age of 13.
- Opines that 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.
614 wordsRead More - Character Integrity: The Crisis Leadership of General Bradleyexplanatory essayAs a coach one of my main goals has been to have a reputation for trustworthiness and helping other people, inspiring them and to bring back integrity, morality, and genuine concern for the players into the sports environment. However, when we take an honest look at sports there is really no surprise issues exists in almost all levels of athletics. We have athletes who have been trained in toxic, inappropriate, misguided, and blatantly disrespectful athletic environments by many coaches who need reminders of what it is to be a role model. I recently witnessed an American League Pitcher, a Professional Athlete, and I am sure a role model to some young child, be ejected from a game for cheating. When it happened my thought was, what a great and honest example of leadership this guy is serving for someone out there. Regrettably, I am sure he inspired someone out there. Personally, a few months ago, I resigned, instantaneously, from a coaching position, which I have sincerely valued and loved for many years. To my bewilderment and too, despite my adamant and persistent objections, and despite medical advice, I witnessed the complete incompetence and negligence of a fellow coach and players father. With complete knowledge of a teen athletes serious acute injury, a coach and players father gladly sent the very eager to please athlete back in the field to play, all with the anticipation of attempting to win a meaningless game and with complete disregard for the players long-term health. Kids are growing up with a misaligned system in place, seeing and being subjected to this type behavior while hearing how great sports are for them. The kids grow up seeing insensitive athletes and coaches daily in person and in the media behaving ...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that sports have toxic, inappropriate, misguided, and blatantly disrespectful environments. they believe that trust, integrity, morality and genuine concern for the players can be brought back into the sports environment.
- Opines that leaders should have ideas of principle-centered individuals with exceptional values, communication skills, confidence, respect, and who effectively know how to use their trust and influence to promote harmony and teamwork.
- Describes general bradley's role as a change agent in the united states army. he led the 12th u.s. army group before the american invasion force embarked on normandy.
- Explains that jaques, t. (2012), crisis leadership: a view from the executive suite. journal of public affairs, 12(4), 366-372.
- Explains key-roberts' strengths-based leadership theory and development of subordinate leaders in military review.
- Explains that jaques, t. (2012), crisis leadership: a view from the executive suite. journal of public affairs, 12(4), 366-372.
- Explains key-roberts' strengths-based leadership theory and development of subordinate leaders in military review.
- Opines that athletes of the future operate in almost a complete void of such role models to follow.
1164 wordsRead More - Assault on the Courtsanalytical essayAround the same time as the Ron Artest ordeal, there began a slew of unacceptable occurrences of fighting and foul play amongst basketball players. The reasons for these changes in behavior seem to have intricate and distinct underlying reasons. These behaviors compromise the attitude our country is built on. The behavior of today’s athlete is a direct reflection on the attitude of today’s youth. The total disregard for authority is becoming the norm. Respect for teachers in all levels of education is at an all-time low.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the decline in professionalism, morals, and integrity in young athletes in professional basketball. before the ron artest event, most players were idolized as gods.
- Narrates how a drunken fan in the pacers vs. pistons game changed the game of basketball forever. ron artest brutally beat an innocent bystander.
- Analyzes how the ron artest ordeal led to a slew of unacceptable occurrences of fighting and foul play amongst basketball players, which compromises the attitude our country is built on.
- Analyzes how basketball players have been pampered since high school, and how the compensation for college coaches has increased in the past few years.
- Analyzes how coaches and officials are still lenient on specific players. they are demonstrating to their players that unlawful acts are acceptable.
- Analyzes how basketball players use inappropriate behavior to capture publicity and boost their image in the hip hop world. the rowdy behavior attracts basketball buffs to avert attention to them.
- Opines that the "must win now" attitude of nba owners has forced general managers to sign younger and younger players who are considered "at risk" due to their history of illegal activity.
- Analyzes how the atrocious acts of nba players, has given the persona of a sport overridden by criminals.
- Opines that professional basketball players should be held to the highest standards. their values reflect our views as a society on "fair game" in everyday professional life.
- Analyzes how professional basketball lost its innocents on november 1st 2004. this disgusting show of aggressive pathetic behavior marked a point in history that is very significant.
1131 wordsRead More - How to Handle Violence in Youth Sportsanalytical essayEveryone agrees that parent involvement is a good thing. But when the parent behaves inappropriately, it creates a poor environment for the children to learn and enjoy themselves. "Sideline rage" with parents behaving badly at youth sports events is such an epidemic, that 76% of respondents from 60 high school athletic associations said increased spectator interference is causing many officials to quit (Associated Press, 6/3/01). Parents are supposed to be role models, and the lessons they teach will determine their values and actions in the future. These days violence in children's sports is not limited to the playing field; overbearing parents are creating dangerous situations on the field.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how thomas junta was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after he attacked michael costin, who later died of his injuries. there are other types of behavior that can still harm our youth.
- Explains that sports rage is defined as any physical attack upon another person such as striking, wounding, or touching in an offensive manner, and/or malicious, verbal abuse or sustained harassment which threatens subsequent violence or bodily harm.
- Explains that violence among parents involved in youth sports quadrupled between 2000 and 2005, citing a study by the national alliance for youth sports.
- Explains that karri strug was the last of her team to perform on the vault at the 1996 olympic games in atlanta.
- Opines that asking a child to play through the pain is practical, since only 21% of children surveyed had been pressured into playing with an injury. parents spend hundreds of dollars on expensive protective equipment to reduce the amount of injuries.
- Opines that parents should understand the difference between verbal abuse and tough love.
- Explains that sports can have both a positive and negative impact on children. it can instill the importance of hard work, cooperation, sacrifice, and teamwork.
- Cites pallerino, m.j. (n.d.). parental violence at youth sporting events in increasing.
- Explains taylor, m.a., do's and don'ts for sports parents. retrieved from www.gym.net.
- Explains that overbearing parents are creating dangerous situations on the field. involving your child in sports is an important part of growing up.
- Analyzes how parents sideline rage hurts youth sports. heinzmann, g.s., mcmahon, r.
1510 wordsRead More - Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes jessica statsky's essay, "children need to play, not compete," which refutes the belief that organized sports are good for children.
- Explains statsky's assumption that overly competitive sports entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing bodies. this is simply untrue. children’s free and unorganized play often results in broken bones and stitches.
- Opines that competition is an adult imposition on the world of children's play. children compete to win in the same way that adults do, and they do so on their own without any adult pressure.
- Analyzes statsky's faulty assumption that winning and losing are an inevitable part of adult life, but they shouldn't be in childhood. to assume that children are psychologically incapable of handling competition and the occasional inevitable loss is to underestimate their abilities.
- Analyzes how statsky uses the all too common phenomenon of the overzealous parent or coach to support her thesis.
- Analyzes statsky's claim that children are unsuited to play organized sports. she quotes a statistic which states that organized sport is selective and singles out exceptional athletes from more unskilled children.
- Analyzes how statsky's essay contains no examples of lasting damage to a former child athlete. if it is her intent to show that organized, competitive sports can cause lasting harm and have no benefits for these children, then lack of benefit must be shown.
952 wordsRead More - What Are Gender Differences In Sportscomparative essayAnnika’s mom was quiet, hardly ever said a word. Annika’s dad; Andy Kaufmann who was a division 1 college basketball standout at University of Illinois, yelled at Annika constantly. Even though he never yelled at the refs, he never missed an opportunity to say something to his daughter after she messed up. Sydney’s parents were the only ones who would prove my theory wrong. Sydney’s mom was loud and yelling at the players and refs. However, Sydney’s dad was also the scorekeeper for West Central. And the scorekeepers are supposed to stay quiet and not say anything to the refs. He still was able to yell at Sydney and get a few remarks to the refs after a bad call. Jaelyne’s and Dani’s parents were both pretty quiet, neither the fathers nor the mothers stood out at the game. Izzy’s parents were not present. Izzy’s brother Gabe was playing in the 8th grade state tournament the same night. However, at other games I had notice that Izzy’s dad would be the only one of the two to stand up and say something to Izzy during the game. The mother would stay pretty quiet the whole time. Maddie’s parents were the same way as Annika’s. Maddie’s dad (Steve) would stand up and yell at Maddie and yell at refs during the game. Maddie’s mom would never say a word. It didn’t happen at this particular game, but I do remember Maddie’s mom actually getting up and going to sit somewhere else because she didn’t want to sit next to Steve because he was being too obnoxious and loud. Logyn’s parents were the stat keepers. Neither of them yelled, but that may be due to the fact that they had to concentrate on making sure they got the stats right. And finally I did not observe Ashley’s (my sister) parents because they knew I was doing the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that they are interested in the difference between males and females' behavior at sporting events.
- Explains the research article that was similar to their study. they found that males were more likely to engage in traditional, masculine sports behaviors than females.
- Explains that they observed a sectional semi-final game between west central and centralia at bluffs high school. they sat at the top row of the bleachers and took notes in their phones.
- Observes that both males and females were dressed silly, wear face paint, make up cheers, and loudly yelled at refs after a bad call.
- Explains that adults were the easiest to see the difference in males and females. they cheered on the girls, but never yelled at the refs after a bad call.
- Explains that even with the parents, the fathers were more likely to be loud and yelling at the game. annika's mom was quiet, hardly ever said a word.
- Explains that if we can understand why males are more obnoxious at sporting events, it could be used to explain why men act the way they do at other social gatherings.
- Posits that males are louder and more obnoxious than females at all ages, with family members being outliers — they are more likely to yell at players, refs, and other fans.
2075 wordsRead More