Pushing the Youth too Hard?

Link to the article:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/apologies-freud/201005/kids-and-sports-how-much-is-too-much

On September 22^nd we talked about how the youth is being pushed to hard in sport and how they become like “laborers.”    This is also discussed in pages 129-133 in Coakley’s text.  This article explains how kids are being pushed to hard and too quickly into sport are suffering from burnout.  She explains how kids should have fun and play multiple sports rather than just one sport until after their adolescence years.  Parents and coaches are pushing their kid’s way too hard with the dream of being a collegiate star or a professional athlete.  In the article she talks about a girl named Julie who swims.  She swam four to seven days a week every week since the age of 5.  Repeating the swimming motion everyday for six years is very hard on a young fragile body.  Her muscles and tendons barely allowed her to move and was a serious risk of injury.  Why would we put an 11 year old at risk of a serious injury?

There are many stories like Julie’s, which is very disappointing to hear.  Sports should be fun and healthy for kids to do.  There is no reason to make it a job for a kid at a young age.  Greg Bulter, who was a basketball player for the New York Knicks, recalls, “I started playing basketball when I was young.  But not as kids who are playing sports now.  We didn’t play ball until fifth or sixth grade.  And we certainly didn’t play year round like they do today.  Kids’ sports have gotten out of control.”  Parents and coaches need to step up and take control.  They need to limit their kid’s activity and just make sure they are having fun, rather than being at risk of a serious injury.

In Coakley’s text, he talks about elite private sport programs don’t have child labor laws and can work them as much as possible.  What these programs are doing is technically child abuse by having them work 40 hours a week.  The coaches will defend themselves by saying the kids want to be pushed and become great athletes but kids are too young to legally give “informed consent” (131-132).  Youth sports have been getting out of control and it’s time we start getting it back into control.

Youth Sports are Becoming Privatized and are Stressing Performance Rather than Fun