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Youth Sports Vs High School Sports

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A fairly large percentage of today’s youth participate in at least one sport. Some of these kids will learn that their interest in athletics is low, and either quit or give very little effort. However, many of these young ballers dream of one day donning the uniform of their local high school and making their community proud. This transition is not an easy one, and is not completed without dedication and hard work. Even though the sports themselves are the same, youth athletics differs from high school athletics in rule enforcement, opponent skill level, and commitment required. One point of comparison between the youth and high school levels of sports is rule enforcement. Both youth and high school sports have specific rules of their games, referees, and consequences for bending these rules. But, in youth sports, the rules outlined by the governing body of the sport are often lax. For example, in youth soccer, there are no formal restrictions for the technique of throwing a ball in, while in high school soccer, the ball must be thrown with two hands from behind the head with the ball traveling in a straight path over the head. Youth sports’ referees are unpaid, untrained, or both. Some leagues even allow coaches or parents to officiate. This is in sharp contrast to the trained, paid professional referees of high school sports. Even rules that are supposed to be enforced are not always enforced in youth sports. For example, most youth basketball referees will allow a player

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