Youth Athletics Essay

Statsky also uses the all too common phenomenon of the overzealous parent or coach to support her thesis. She cites examples of parental brawls and coaches who rely on intimidation rather than good coaching to push their teams to victory (Statsky 629-30). Statsky seems to be saying that parents and coaches can behave in an obnoxious and even violent manner when they are part of organized sports for children, and that this behavior is yet another indication that organized sports are not suitable for children (629-30). This is a post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy. Though undoubtedly distressing for the children involved in these games, adult misbehavior is not an indication

Kids off over this country participate in sports and usually have parents volunteered as their coaches. In the article called "Have Youth Sports Become Too Intense?" the authors Mark Hyman and Nathan Pitcock says, “74 percent of the kids surveyed said they had witnessed out-of-control adults at their games” (Hyman and Ptcock). Out of

The athlete’s parental interference is causing athletic directors and coaches to be bogged down by complaints via email and phone calls (Athletic business, 2015). The parental

Sadly, dealing with unreasonable, loud, obnoxious parents can be the most challenging part of coaching. Many coaches just want to make a difference in young lives instead of having to deal with the extra baggage of a high-strung parent. “If a parent does not like what you are doing as a coach, then there is no reason that parent can’t become a coach. One of the most difficult problems in coaching youth sports is dealing with an irate parent, but this problem can be diminished by holding parent meetings before and during the season.” (Put ‘Em In Coach, 33)

Choosing a vocation can be a daunting task. With the world ever-evolving, one may come across a new attractive career every year. In order to ensure optimal job satisfaction, it is vital to educate oneself about every alluring prospect prior to committing. Simple factors like the time commitment and salary can mean the difference between a content existence and a miserable one.

An increase in the number of reported instances of parents engaging in abusive, violent, and controlling behavior toward coaches,

Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).

In high school many kids often choose not to participate in extra curricular activities saying that there pointless or that only a certain type of person would do something like play football, or join the chess club. While this type of thinking may get some people through school and through life, can it really be looked at as being a healthy lifestyle? Today sports have proven to be a healthy outlet for students, in dealing with stress in the classroom at home and among their peers.

Unfortunately, involvement in youth sports has not had the effect most parents are expecting. Instead author Carey informs the reader with disturbing statistics. He asserts 84% of parents surveyed in an issue of SportingKid magazine have witnessed ‘violent parental behavior’ toward children, coaches or official at kids’ sporting events, 80% said they had been victims of such behavior. Violence makes headlines too, as Docheff and Conn speak about a father of a 10 year old ice hockey player ‘confronts’ a coach, engages in ‘some verbal sparring’ until asked to leave. Then ‘the stressed father returns to the rink, challenges the coach again, and begins beating him while young athletes yell helplessly for the crazed parent to stop. It's too late. Two days later, a spokesperson for the hospital announces that the coach has died (par 1).’

A common reason the parents take this route is similar to the idea that they can live through their kids. In other words the parents can fall into this character that resembles the way Erica Van Buren describes in, “Are you Pushing your Child too Hard”, that was published in the press, and mentioned, “Do you want the student to become a star football player because you were a star football player? Are we trying to live vicariously through our students?” (Buren). The issue with what is mentioned, is the loss of identity between the two contenders and the dominance the parent shows while in this trance like state. Another way to consider this situation is, sense of force against the child. These parents sometimes do not understand the contrast between a generous push and a shove, and usually the chosen response goes on to be the shove approach. Another way to word this is close to the article’s explanation, “a push is an assertive approach -- flexing the parental muscle, so to speak. The nudge gently encourages the child to do something while still being supportive. But a drag, forcing a child to do something, removes all autonomy” (Buren). The difference in these approaches are usually neglected and the parents seem to see the ‘drag’ being the most effective approach when it is actually the most damaging. The next problem with these parents are

This paper examines the prevalence of aggression in youth sports the impact of parental role models on youth athletic participation, which can often lead to early burnouts in sports; and whether sports draw out the children’s aggressive nature. In America alone there are 30-35 million children of the ages 5-18 participating in organized youth sports in America. (Fiore, 2003) Sports may give youth positive experiences, but may also cause stress, which may result in unneeded amounts of stress. Young athletes may feel pressure from their parents to succeed in their sport; they participate in sports just for the enjoyment of learning something new and this may cause them to develop an aggressive nature.

One thing almost every young child looks forward to is the activity of play. Kids love nothing more than to go outside, run around with friends, and get dirty. If children are already active at a young age, why not encourage them to continue by enrolling them in an organized youth sport program? Young people will gain many positive experiences by participating in organized physical activities, but none as important and influential as the social skills, physical skills, and mental skills developed and nurtured during their time in youth sport. As a result, the young participants can continue to build upon and cultivate these skills which will ultimately be transferred into their development as successful adults. Along with the social and

While high school student-athletes invest a lot of time and energy into their sport, the collegiate lifestyle brings a new level of difficulty that many incoming freshmen can find intimidating and overwhelming at first. In addition to being under more pressure to perform on a larger, more competitive stage in front of a more expansive audience, they must also deal with the every day challenges that normal college freshmen face: homesickness, transitioning into a more demanding academic workload, and creating a new social network. College athletes have to have their routines extremely time focused, and make time management essential to their daily lives.

     When do parents realize they have gone to far? Some don’t. This is a major problem. Many incidents happen where parents, or coaches get way too involved in what is supposed to be a fun filled environment for the children. An incident that happened in south jersey is a prime example of this. In Deptford, New Jersey during a pee wee football game, a parent started an argument with another parent from the other town. This in turn erupted into a riot. Now the league has signs posted with the consequences of your actions. New rules and legislation are being enacted in many states to combat a rising tide of misbehavior at youth sporting events. This misbehavior is known as 'sideline rage' and is especially prevalent among adult spectators, parents of participants, and coaches. (Wong 1,42) Many of the consequences resulting in prosecution, and fines of some sort. Roger Blake, head of education and training for the interscholastic federation, got the idea of yellow-carding

Raising children in today’s society is not for the faint of heart. Raising children has never been easy, but it is especially difficult in youth sports today. Coaches and parents are putting a lot of pressure on our young sons and daughters. The pressure to succeed in sports at