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Julia Liceaga Mr. Newman English 101: Rhetoric 14 November 2013 Trophy Kids The one thing which every little kid has in common is loving to play. It could just be with some of their close friends or even kids that they do not know; all kids want to be running around, laughing, and having fun. It all started out with innocent games like tag, Simon says, and hide-and-go-seek but now organized sports like soccer, baseball, and basketball have taken the main stage in childrens activities. These sports, too, started off innocent but now are becoming way more competitive at the youth levels. The positive life lessons and social developments provided by sports are becoming deterred by overwhelming pressures both psychologically and physically, but the negatives will lessen when athletes' parents learn that it is they who ruin the spirit of the games. When kids have been involved with sports for the majority of their lives, they tend to have a close relationship with their parents. We hear it all the time from professional athletes as they give speeches after winning any type of award: Id like to thank my parents for, Without my mom and dad I wouldnt be here today, and, I couldnt have done this without their support. What most do not take into consideration is that on behalf of the everyday sacrifices made by athletes parents,

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the children are given the opportunity to create a brighter future for their taking without even knowing. Steven D. Keener, the president and chief executive of Little League international, and Nicole M. LaVoi, associate director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, advocate that playing sports teaches all kids valuable lessons, build character, and helps them become better people in the long run. Keener explains how the lessons learned have pushed kids to become military heroes, professional athletes, and even president of the United States. Being able to work with others efficiently, being a leader, and learning how to come back from failure are just some of the many values which were inspired by the spirit of competitive sports (Keener). With the increasing amount of girls participating in sports, researchers are able to report that women actually achieve more success than most men. LaVoi points out that due to the positive self-esteems, self-perceptions, and psychosocial developments, girls are able to earn more and achieve in the marketplace as adults. These two critics celebrate the fact that kids are involved in competitive sports because it has been proven to help create the type of people who will be the leaders and pacesetters for their friends, family, and maybe even their generation. These kids will be able to pay back their parents sacrifices with more success than what they would have had if they did not play sports. Despite all of the positives, there are some opponents that reject the idea of youth competitive sports because of the very possible negative outcomes. Mothers and fathers everywhere sign their child up for sports hoping that they will make new

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friends and have fun, but for some parents, the small taste of success when their kid makes an amazing play can cause an over the top desire for their kid to be the best player on the team. That number of crazy parents is growing larger, which sheds light to the problem of adults demanding too much at too young of an age. The parents are forcing too much pressure onto the tiny shoulders of the kids, which ultimately results in the loss of interest and hatred towards sports in their general. Mark Hyman, assistant professor at George Washington University and author of three books about youth sports, explains that one of the reasons kids stop playing sports is because they are tired of being yelled at by coaches and even their own parents. Hyman researched why kids decide to play sports and came across many results that all gave the same answers: having fun and doing something they are good at. According to Hyman, once the fun no longer exists, the kids complain that they are weary of the pressure and some are forced to quit because theyve been playing competitively for so long that theyre hurt. David Geier, chairman of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Public Relations Committee, has completed further research to confirm the potential danger from competitive youth sports mentioned by Hyman. He first explains how parents and coaches are pushing kids to play a single sport at younger and younger ages, which hurts them because most of their bodies arent able to take that kind of physical demand. Added on to the physical stress, the kids may burnout emotionally and end up quitting all sports. The parents need to let their

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children have a childhood not dominated by the pressure of success or failure, but filled with fun, which can be found in a variety of activities. College scholarships have become the main focus for the parents who are unable to afford the outrageous tuition. Crazed parents can be determined as the sole reason why competitive sports are started at such a young age because of their visions filled with false conceptions of a glamorous future due to success in athletics. Earl Smith, author of Race, Sport and the American Dream, and co-author of AfricanAmerican Families: Myths and Realities, explains that the odds of high school athletes making a living through playing a professional sport are similar to winning the lottery; not a good investment, even though the winners win big. Parents believe in the theory that the longer the kids have played in a sport, the better they will become, thus the more likely they will be successful in getting athletic scholarships for college. However, not all parents push their kids to play sports because of this reason; the number college-crazy parents is low, however they are slowly on the rise. There is a common thread between kids who quit sports and kids who stick with sports: the parents.The parents are the ones who encourage their kids to play and sign them up. They are the ones who provide transportation to and from practice and they pay for all the fees. The only difference between the two sets of parents is the way in which they push the young athletes. When the adults realize they are the source of stress and negative pressure they should change their ways and strive to

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become more encouraging in the right ways, which will result in a better connection with their child and maybe even better results on the field or court.