...Youth Sports 1 Youth Sports Youth Sports 2 Youth Sports What does it take to be successful in youth sports? Is it an amazing young athlete with God-given abilities? Sometimes that may be the case but many times success can be gained from a normal child when parents take the right steps to properly motivate them. The roles of parents are an integral part in the development of a child in youth sports. With many families having two working parents it may be hard for these parents to properly get involved in their child’s life. The wrong kind of involvement could lead to children being “babied” or leading them to believe winning is what is most important. This brings on unnecessary pressure creating a negative experience for the child. How parents get involved and how they teach sports to their children both have a significant effect on the child’s experience in youth sports. Many parents have become conditioned into thinking one of their only roles in their child’s life in sports, is to be a taxi cab driver or chauffer, and to make sure they’re registered and signed up for the leagues, camps, or clinics. Parents often forget that they can and should be more involved with their children. In the article “The Good Father: Parental Expectation and Youth Sports” the author discusses the father’s role in youth sports. In society, fathers are looked upon as the head...
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...Youth sports in many countries help develop some of the greatest athletes in the world. Joining a youth sport program, whether male or female, will define a young person for life. But do youth sports only affect the child? Having a child in a youth sport program shapes and defines the entire family surrounding that individual. Once a child is in youth sports, the program will begin to take shape in the entire family’s life. It all begins with putting a child into a sport. This is usually derived from a sport where the parent(s) has an interest “With regard to sport, parents typically make the initial decision to enroll their children (Howard & Madrigal, 1990) and have a significant impact on many of the positive outcomes of their child's sport participation (Horn & Harris, 1996). For example, a child's initial perceived sport competence, a key factor for enduring involvement and enjoyment in sport for young children, is derived from two sources: successful task completion and parent perception of sport ability (Horn & Harris, 1996).” (kanters, m. (2002, december). parents and youth sports. parks and recreation, 37.12(), 20-28.) Many thanks do go out to the parents and families that work with the youth of particular youth program. Some in part to the dedication the families put into the kids going to the games and practices. Some in part to the extra time put into raising money, working events, and all the other matters that go into the programs. One of the things...
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...“An estimated 25 million American youth participate in some form of organized sport, such as basketball, soccer, or baseball. Sports are one of the best sources of regular physical activity and exercise for many young Americans” (Athletes and sports, 2014). All children should get the chance to feel the crack of the bat as they hit their ball into the middle of the outfield. They should all get the experience of hearing their parents cheering them on from the stands and showing their support for them. They should all get the chance to feel the encouragement and love from their coach and teammates as they score their first touchdown. Every child should have the chance to participate in a team sport. Not only are sports great entertainment and exercise for children, but it also is a fun way for them to learn basic and important life skills. Youth sports help guide children to develop good character and morals. Through their participation with a team sport, children are being taught how to work well with others, develop self-motivation and perseverance, increase their level of strategically thinking, and embrace courage. To begin, while participating in a team sport children are developing an important characteristic, learning how to work well with others. For many children, this is a hard lesson to learn. “Kids practice camaraderie, sportsmanship and loyalty to their fellow players and coaches. They must learn to work together to win a game, rely on each other to make a successful...
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...Benefits of Youth Sports“Sports do not build character. They reveal it,” said John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach. Playing sports not only provides physical activity, but also other positive benefits. This is especially true for children. A well-structured and organized youth program will provide benefits and positive experiences for young athletes. While children are having fun participating in sports they are also building character, learning to work as a team, and playing fairly. Most people think the only benefits of sports are physical. Sports are more than just developing hand-eye coordination and burning calories, youth sports provide many developmental benefits, physical benefits, and psychological benefits. In addition to improved physical health, sports play a positive role in the development of youth. Studies show that the five “Cs”—competence, confidence, connections, character, and caring—develop positively through the participation in sports at a young age (Luxbacher 2). Each one of the five “Cs” are important components of youth development. The skills that are learned through playing sports, such as the discipline of training, learning teamwork and following the leadership of coaches provide athletes with lifelong skills. Important lifelong skills also include goal setting, time management, the value of planning ahead, honesty, respect, and an appreciation for diversity (Wood 3). At a young age, sports help teach youth how to handle adversity by showing...
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...Name Professor Course name December 10, 2014 Benefits to Youth Participation in Sports The majority of people begin to worry about their health in their middle ages. It’s at that time in our lives when people close to us are more likely to come down with a particular disease or a condition such as high blood pressure. Some of these are genetic but some are thought to be the result of a poor lifestyle. Therefore, developing good eating habits and a regular exercise routine as a young adult, can help carry those good habits into adulthood. One of the easiest ways to develop good habits at a young age is to participate in youth sports. Participation in youth sports results in a healthier adult lifestyle as it gets you used to eating healthy and exercising, forms good daily habits and despite some negative risks, has positive psychological and social benefits that you take into adulthood. Throughout youth sports its encouraged to eat right, hydrate and exercise. Some youth even see a personal trainer to assist with strength and flexibility. Some coaches even require that their team participate in specialized training. Therefore, doing these things either on a daily basis or at least a few times per week will result in forming good habits. “A habit is a practice that you engage in on a regular basis” (Clarke; livestrong.com). Developing healthy habits lays the foundation for routine and also has a big impact on emotional fitness. It allows for good mental health and a restful...
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...Sidelines in Youth Sports Violence on the Sidelines in Youth Sports Everyone 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. Involving your child in sports is important part of growing up. There are several benefits to children playing sports. The child will learn how to make friends outside of school, church, and family. It will help develop self-esteem and physical skills. They discover what it means to be a member of a team and how to win and lose with self-respect. Children also need to be active every day; exercise promotes growth and improves physical and emotional health. The Office of the Surgeon General states that active children are at less risk to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease as well as many cancers (Office of the Surgeon General, January 11, 2007). Growing up, my brothers participated in many sports activities...
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...people believe that youth sports are too dangerous for children to play but most kids that play sports benefit in a healthy way. Youth sports help kids make good life decisions and can also help with social skills, helping them later in later future events. Britt Hallingberg, a scientist at Cardiff University, claimed, “Many youth people benefit from participating in fun, structured activities out of school.” This claim shows that sports can be healthy for you and your social life in and out of school. John Wooden, UCLA Basketball Coach also said, “Playing youth sports creates higher grades, high self-esteem, stronger...
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...Sports, Youth and Character: A Critical Survey Robert K. Fullinwider* Institute for Philosophy & Public Policy University of Maryland * rkf@umd.edu CIRCLE WORKING PAPER 44 FEBRUARY 2006 CIRCLE Working Paper 44: February 2006 Sports, Youth and Character: A Critical Survey TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION....................................... 3 a. methodological limitations..................... 4 b. conceptual and theoretical infelicities...... 5 II. THE LESSONS OF SPORT......................... 5 III. BASICS................................................ 6 a. too much too early?.............................. 8 b. competition’s role understood ............... 11 c. competition, participation, and fun......... 12 d. not enough?........................................ 14 IV. WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE?.................... 15 V. THE MICROWORLD OF PARTICIPATION...... 17 VI. APPENDIX A......................................... 19 a. Shields and Bredemeier...................... 19 a.1. moral maturity: what are psychologists looking for?............ 22 a.2. game thinking............................. 24 a.3. moral confusion........................... 25 b. Stoll, Lumpkin, Beller, and Hahm.............. 27 It has been recognized for centuries that sport can contribute to education values that make for the development of character and right social relations . . . . [Within this contribution] there are many intertwined and interwoven threads of influences...
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...is easy to lose sight of what sports really are. The intensity of sports can make or break a person. Some say that sports help build children so, that they can thrive in life. Since, it teaches so many life skills that you probably could not get from anything else. Youth sports teach young athletes the value of discipline and hard work. Other people think that youth sports have become too intense for the children and teenagers playing the sports. It is important because it is a growing problem all over. To begin with, youth sports are investments: time, money, and energy required. They can teach the value of discipline and commitment. To be a competitive athlete, one has to be willing to put in the long hours of disciplined training, if he or she wants to perform well when game time approaches. Then they will learn that if one commits to this kind of rigorous training it will show on the field. Commitment and discipline will show when they play also; in their everyday life. Raquel Dickerson, a 13-year-old girl, trains whenever she can and; when the new seasons begin she notices how she is ahead. “Because I’ve been practicing and they haven’t,” she said. “I’ve always practiced.” Dickerson has...
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...children that have been mentally and physically damaged over the years because youth sports has escalated greatly. Many parents, coaches, and experts in the field are now protesting against youth sports. Youth sports have led to many things such as an increase in injuries, parental violence, changes in social status and much more. Clearly, when a person plays a youth sport it can be mentally and physically damaging to children and even their childhood. One of the first major issues that damages children playing sports children playing youth sports is the issue of social status. The issue of social status can depend on whether the child is good at sports or not and then that affects how popular the child is. For example, even...
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...competition makes the world go round. It is good for inspiring children to do their best because it promotes positive values, and it boosts their self-esteem, but is it always positive? Dr. Jordan Metzl, medical director of the Sports Medicine Institute for Young Athletes at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City says, “Kids sports have become much more competitive.” One story I found particularly astonishing was about a man who punched his son after his middle-school basketball game. Reports said, “The man slammed his son against the wall, punched him repeatedly, and then was handcuffed after cussing out a police officer” (Belden). Stories like this one are becoming more and more common all because of extreme pressure from parents and coaches to be the best. The saddest part about parents who constantly pressure their children to win and put them through intensive training schedules is that they are causing them to hate the sport; therefore, it is not surprising that athletes are...
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...According to Eddie Matz an ESPN Senior Writer, over 40 million children are participating in youth sports, they have developed into a overly competitive field and continue to rise in cost and potential injury risks. Some argue that competitive youth sports have instilled valuable life lessons into their child, while others think the whole youth sports world’s negatives outweigh the positives. Starting intensive practices and training at a young age keep children at the top of the line for their sport of choice....
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...Children who participate in sports are much more likely to succeed in life than those who don’t. In the article, "Have Youth Sports Become Too Intense?," the issue of how intensity of sports can affect a child is debated. Participating in intense physical activity comes with it's obstacles. Though, as seen in the text, "Bored, frustrated, or lonely kids join our league and become dedicated, confident, self-disciplined athletes ready for the world beyond school," these sport commitments sound like a great idea.The benefits of competitive youth sports are worth the drawbacks because it gives children physical activity and teaches them important life skills like teamwork and decision making. Competition is healthy and effects a student into great decision making in the future. Such as getting good grades. They are also less likely to get involved in gangs, drugs, and alcohol abuse. This intensity can come with failure and let downs, but being able to, "...ignore naysayers is key to success." The text states, "Picking themselves up after a bad play and ignoring the teasing make kids better players and stronger people." These are life skills that no child should be unaware of for the future. Just by doing these sports, it trains children’s physical and mental health that is important for future success....
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...Youth sports can develop a lot of great qualities that can make children excellent individuals in the long run. Youth sports allow many children to form into great leaders by teaching them great leadership qualities. They also help children learn sportsmanship, problem solving skills and even something as a simple as time management. Being involved in sports teams comes with, many times, being part of a diverse group of people. Due to that, there will be members of the team that will play the role of the leader and others just as the members of the team. Forming part of a team also comes with having disagreements, which is okay. This is just another way for children to learn how to settle disagreements. Everyone sometime in their life faces situations where these skills are very important to have. The best time to instill these qualities is when children are young and this is why youth sports come to an advantage at an early age. Leadership comes in many different forms and is something definitely taught throughout youth sports. When I was younger, for example, I was very quiet and shy. I believed that I was a leader but was too afraid to express that vocally. My dad later explained to me that not all leaders are vocal and some simply just lead by example. Throughout youth sports, I always lead by example and was often considered a leader of my sports teams even though I was not vocal. Today, I remain the same and continue to lead by example, showing others that they can reach...
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...Playing youth sports and physical activities is beneficial for children because it helps them develop better coordination, better cooperation skills, better life choices and overall better health. Participating in sport and physical activities plays a significant role in promoting health and wellness among children and adolescents. Not only does such activity help improve the physical fitness and health of children, but also it is a major key in fighting childhood obesity—a critical health priority for our nation. The health benefits of playing sports and physical activity are well documented. The health benefits that can result from regular participation in sports and physical activity include reducing the risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, and improving metabolic health in youth. Obesity in children and youth has doubled over the past 25 years and will affect 1/3 of all third graders. Compared to those who are inactive, physically active youth have higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and stronger muscles. Active children also typically have lower body fat levels and have stronger bones. Youth who are regularly active also have a better chance of having a healthy adulthood. Girls who play sports and are physically active will help improve their health and well-being in both short term and the long term of their life. Some of the benefits they will see immediately are a better fitness level , a...
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