Children Need To Play Not Compete By Jessica Statsky

In “children Need to Play, Not compete.” Jessica Statsky brings out the emerging trend of the harmful competitive sports among the young children under the age of fourteen. The drawbacks of introducing such sport at a young age result in mental and physical problems along with losing of potential player dues to the selection method. She talks about the psychological pressure the children face to meet the standard set by their parents and coaches. Jessica goes on further, explaining and supporting her point of view regarding these competitive sports with different sources.

Summary “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” by Jessica Statsky is a thoughtful insight on the competitive sports for children. She is of the view that the competitive sports can ruin the enjoyment that games are supposed to provide. These methods of playing the games like adults can prove to be lethal for physical and psychological health. The author quotes from an authentic source that “Kids under the age of fourteen are not by nature physical.” (Tutko)

In today’s society, it seems as if everything is a competition. From competing for a spot at the best school to attend to competing against fellow colleagues for the best position in the job field; it’s always a fight for the top spot. In Jessica Statsky’s essay, “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” she explains the harsh effects that can occur in children if they are put into competitive sports too early in life. It is understandable that the world needs to be competitive in order to grow and expand, however, if competition is pushed too much at a young age, children may start to doubt themselves, believe that they are not any better than anyone else, and sometimes even end up hating the activity that they are pursuing. That is why parents

For many years, people have been debating about whether sports teams for kids should have selective tryouts. Although some parents claim that their child has felt so defeated by an unsuccessful tryout that they don’t want to continue with the sport, this is not always what happens. I believe that exclusive tryouts should be held for children because they are extremely good for their mental health in three ways: tryouts teach kids humility, in that they aren’t always going to be selected, they help kids learn to work harder, and they boost kids’ confidence. The first reason why tryouts should be held is because they teach kids how to be humble, and that they are not always going to do everything as well as they want.

There has long been the debate for whether kids should be allowed to participate in competitive sports. Most people against say that sports make kids get severely injured, which is true, but only if the kid is unprotected and not in a safe environment, which is not the case with sports these days. In fact, sports promote more of a healthy lifestyle. Sports also promote life skills and help kids later in life Sports should be for all ages and kids. The first reason kids should have competitive sports is that sports promote life skills at young ages.

According to Jessica Statsky’s essay titled Children Need to Play, Not Compete, most children under the age of 12 do not need competition in sports. Claiming that organized sports are not “satisfying nor beneficial” for young children, Statsky expresses her concerns over a few issues. Supporting her thesis, Statsky discusses the negative physical and psychological effects of competitive sports. She further asserts that most children do not enjoy competition by citing a study about how most children would prefer to be on a losing team that allowed everyone to play rather than a winning team that may bench them due to performance. Also, she states ‘scorekeeping, league standings, and the drive to win bring(s) out the worst in adults’.

In the article, “The Secret Life of Tiger Woods” by Wright Thompson, the author explains the life of champion golfer Tiger Woods after his father’s death. The article “Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid pressure,” by Michael S. Rosenwald illustrates how fewer kids are doing youth sports due to the constant pressure of feeling not good enough. Both of these articles explain how growing up with sports have affected the lives of many, however, I believe that the quest to become an “elite athlete” is not worth the many sacrifices it requires people to make. Many people give up so much in their life to become athletes, but ultimately it results in regrettable long-lasting problems which would never have happened if the sacrifices

Imagine you love playing sports but now the school is about to band all sports in you school, what would or could you do to stop this from happening? I have read some different types of articles based on is sports are good or bad. For example, I read the article name “Have Youth Sports Become Too Intense?” and in this article the issues of sports are good and it is bad are debated.

For many, sport is more than just an activity or a form of competition. Instead, it is an engagement that allows individuals to escape the pressures of reality, while developing mental, physical, and social skills in a fun atmosphere. However, as sport appeal continues to shift towards becoming increasingly based on success, this perspective begins to change. Emphasis on winning alters the pressure-free and enjoyable environment that athletes are passionate about.

Can Everyday Sports be an Everyday Life Lesson? Kids have been playing sports for years, decades, in fact, for 3,000 years. When we hear the word “sports,” we picture running, throwing, jumping, kicking, dodging. Back throughout history and still today, people have always wondered - what is the point of sports?

On the flip side of the female athlete triad is the rising obesity one can observe in football players. “Researchers at Iowa State University found nearly half of the offensive and defensive linemen playing on Iowa high school teams qualify as overweight, and one in 10 meet medical standards for severe obesity”(Watkins 46). It is even more likely for high schools in states with more competitive football programs to have more extreme obesity problems. It is absurd to have an athlete be severely obese. Sports are supposed to encourage healthier weights, but this is proof of the opposite.

I definitely believe most youth sports are too intense. The coaches always want their team to win, so they are hard on the players. Sure, winning is great but the fun is taken out of the sport when winning is the only thing on the coach's mind. When you have a coach who is there just to help you have fun, and you get along with your teammates you play a lot better. I have had personal experiences with both overbearing coaches and coaches who were there to just help us have fun.

For many year people have used outdated protective gear for sports, for as long as anyone can remember and as far back as any book has gone, there has been protective equipment. Many years ago in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh of Egypt would wear protective gear so nobody could assassinate him. Now, in almost every sport professional and youth athletes are wearing protective equipment. There are classes in colleges and universities the teach sports safety and what protective gear should be worn, and when it should be worn. Many youth sports leagues can not afford the top gear, so kids are using worn out gear which increases the chance of injuries which could even be lifelong.

In the articles, “The secret life of Tiger Woods,” by Wright Thompson, and, “Are parents ruining youth sports? Few kids play amid pressure,” by Michael S. Rosenwald, both analyze the lives of varied athletes that have sacrificed things to get to where they are now as an elite-athlete.   Although in my opinion, I think the quest to becoming an “elite athlete” is ultimately not worth the sacrifices it requires.