Should Kids Play Competitive Sports?

Mohammed Islam 711 Ela Argument Essay: Should Kids Play Competitive Sports?

In America, a tremendous thing here is American Football, which is a highly competitive contact sport. As much as we love football, you have to admit, it is a hazardous sport. But not just football,but in general, all competitive sports are dangerous. These sports can affect you both physically and mentally. Kids might push themselves too hard which can hurt themselves. Also kids can go over-competitive, which they take the sport too serious . Kids should not play competitive sports because theres a chance that the kids can get seriously hurt, or just fall into a lot of pressure that gets into their head.

For one thing, playing competitive sports can leave a risk of getting seriously hurt, dealing with long term injuries, or even worse, death. In a New York Times article, “For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point” by Jane E. Brody, it states that, “Every year more than 3.5 million children under 15 require medical treatment for sport injuries, nearly half of which are the result of simple overuse.” Some key things were stated in that sentence. One thing is that 3.5 million children require medical attention, thats a lot of kids getting hurt. Also, it says nearly half being from simple overuse, meaning that kids are trying too hard because of the atmosphere of competitiveness around them. Kids want to win, resulting them to try so hard that they might overdo themselves, or knock some other player out from being too aggressive. Another  thing is that a few people said that they won't let their kids play football, as said before, a highly competitive sport. In an ESPN video ex NFL players Terry Bradshaw and  Tj Houshmandzadeh, said they won’t let their kids play the sport. Also, president Barack Obama  said that if he had a son, he maybe won’t let him play football. Two NFl players, two players who played in the big league said they won’t let their kids play football. Why, because the sport is so physical, that you can be on the floor unconscious in any minute. Barack Obama, the president of the US, said that if he had a son he wouldn’t let him play the sport. To conclude, the competitive sports are so scary that even NFL players won’t let their kids play.

Another reason why kids shouldn’t play competitive sports is that  kids can fall into a lot of pressure. In the Kids Health article, “Competitive Sports: Help Kids Play it Cool,” it states that, “The pressure to succeed can be overwhelming and that can lead to a lot of frustration and tears... pressure is external: kids try to satisfy the demands of a parent, coach or other authority figures and end up feeling like winning is the only way to gain the approval of the adults they respect.” Children can fall deeply in the sports, so does their parents. The parents want to see their kids win, resulting the parents to set high expectations for kids. Kids might try too hard to reach that expectation, or they feel like the can reach the expectation resulting them to think that they would disappoint the parent. The kid wants to make the parent proud of him and her, so they think too much about succeeding. Another thing is that kids want to win, so they might have try to play through injuries. In a Today.com video, a hockey player got blown in the head, but all she was thinking about was getting back into the game. Also in the Today.Com video, it stated that 92% of kids say that they hide their injuries. The competitiveness of the sports can get into the head of kids, resulting them to only care about playing the sport and winning. Also, back to the part where parents pressure kids, kids might play through injuries to try to impress their parents. Also, some parents might pressure the coach to let their kid play even if he or she are injured. To conclude, parents might pressure the kid, resulting them to fall into a lot of stress.

But on the contrary, playing sports is a way for kids to feel better about themselves and boost confidence, so it can be beneficial for the kid. In the article “Cave Competition, it’s good for you:Column” by Joseph de Sena, it states that, “running 300 consecutive miles as one painful example --and a kid from Queens, I know firsthand the pain and glory of winning and losing. Competition is cruel and America needs a whole lot more of it.” The author knows firsthand how it’s like playing a competitive sport, as he said he ran 300 consecutive miles. He knows how it’s like to win or lose. When he says America needs a whole lot more of competition he does have a good point. When you win in a competition you feel great about yourself. When you lose, you might feel a little down, but still feel like you had a lot of fun, so it’s like a win-win situation. However we shouldn’t think this because you still can fall into stress from playing the sport. Even though you might’ve had a great game if you lost, there can be that chance where you feel like you disappointed others when you lost. Even though you might feel like you had a wonderful experience playing that game, you can still make yourself feel bad.  

In conclusion, kids shouldn’t play competitive sports because it can hurt them physically or mentally. The child can be in risk of injury and can fall into a lot of stress that leads them into being highly upset. As much as kids love playing these sports, it can be bad for them, and they need to wait until their bodies are fully-developed to start playing these competitive sports so they won’t get hurt. Also, they need to be in a better atmosphere with no pressure from adults, which can be caused from playing competitive sports. Unless these problems can change, kids should not be allowed to play competitive sports.

Bibliography:

1. Brody, Jane E. "For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 May 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

2. ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 2 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.

3. "Competitive Sports: Helping Kids Play It Cool." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Michelle New. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.

4. Sena, Joseph De. "Crave Competition, It's Good for You: Column." USA Today. Gannett, 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.