Too Hard, Too Young
Every year it is estimated that 45 million kids play organized sports (Atkins). Sports give kids an outlet for physical activity, and teach them valuable lessons such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and listening. However, if you start a child in competitive sports too young then they can burnout, and may cause unnecessary pressure on the kid. This might make the sport not fun for the child anymore, or take over their life and make it kind of an obsession. There are also many benefits for kids to participate in competitive sports, such as being competitive, taking risks, teamwork, and much more. So now, we are going to take a closer look and examine both sides of kids playing competitive sports.
Problems
Burnout is the …show more content…
Once a child is in competitive sports over the next couple years training gets harder and training becomes more and more often. Eventually taking over the offseason which could lead to joining more than one team or a traveling team, which means that kids might not have time to do other things they like doing. It is normal for a child to get nervous before a big game but if a child fakes illnesses, or strains or sprains a muscle it could mean that parents, coaches, or themselves are pushing too hard or that your child is training too hard.
Kids that are six or seven might not get the idea of sports, and when they are eight or nine they might get frustrated because they tried their hardest to win, but they lost. If parents or coaches push a kid too hard and make winning the most important thing it puts a lot of pressure on the child and then it isn’t fun to them anymore. Most kids that quit say it is because it isn’t fun anymore. Most kids would rather play on a losing team then sit on the bench of a winning …show more content…
The first step is allowing children to play multiple sports, at a non-intense level. Doing this will help prevent overuse injuries as well as a child burning out from a sport at a young age. Sport psychologist Dr. Rainer Martens, suggests that “competitive stress may be likened to a virus. A heavy dose all at once can make a child ill. A small dose carefully regulated permits the child to learn how to channel anxiety so that it aids rather than inhibits performance. Carefully selected competitions together with realistic objectives and expectations will enable the child to learn that sport is fun and can be enjoyed whatever the
Every year it is estimated that 45 million kids play organized sports (Atkins). Sports give kids an outlet for physical activity, and teach them valuable lessons such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and listening. However, if you start a child in competitive sports too young then they can burnout, and may cause unnecessary pressure on the kid. This might make the sport not fun for the child anymore, or take over their life and make it kind of an obsession. There are also many benefits for kids to participate in competitive sports, such as being competitive, taking risks, teamwork, and much more. So now, we are going to take a closer look and examine both sides of kids playing competitive sports.
Problems
Burnout is the …show more content…
Once a child is in competitive sports over the next couple years training gets harder and training becomes more and more often. Eventually taking over the offseason which could lead to joining more than one team or a traveling team, which means that kids might not have time to do other things they like doing. It is normal for a child to get nervous before a big game but if a child fakes illnesses, or strains or sprains a muscle it could mean that parents, coaches, or themselves are pushing too hard or that your child is training too hard.
Kids that are six or seven might not get the idea of sports, and when they are eight or nine they might get frustrated because they tried their hardest to win, but they lost. If parents or coaches push a kid too hard and make winning the most important thing it puts a lot of pressure on the child and then it isn’t fun to them anymore. Most kids that quit say it is because it isn’t fun anymore. Most kids would rather play on a losing team then sit on the bench of a winning …show more content…
The first step is allowing children to play multiple sports, at a non-intense level. Doing this will help prevent overuse injuries as well as a child burning out from a sport at a young age. Sport psychologist Dr. Rainer Martens, suggests that “competitive stress may be likened to a virus. A heavy dose all at once can make a child ill. A small dose carefully regulated permits the child to learn how to channel anxiety so that it aids rather than inhibits performance. Carefully selected competitions together with realistic objectives and expectations will enable the child to learn that sport is fun and can be enjoyed whatever the