Influence of Sports Upon America’s Youth Essay - 2255 Words

Influence of Sports Upon America’s Youth Over the last two decades the growth of youth sports has reflected the popularity of professional sports in our society. Sporting events and news are available to the public twenty-four hours a day on television and radio: sports are an enormous industry. The outstanding popularity of the sports industry has profoundly affected youth sports organizations. An estimated twenty-five million children age six through eighteen participate in at least one school or community based athletic program. These numbers increase exponentially as the age of boys and girls entering sports keeps falling. In order to supervise, teach and manage these athletes about 2.5 million coaches spend an average of eighty†¦show more content†¦Many feel that self-esteem and self-image can be greatly improved through sports. Psychologists around the country stress a need for an active life style to develop healthy self-images. Eric Margenau, a psychologist and author, feels that early and frequent exposure to sports is the key to personal growth. Sports introduce children to healthy competition. A child’s failure in competition helps them learn to win gracefully and lose with honor. It teaches youngsters that through perseverance and determination they can win next time. These lessons that children learn will stay with them throughout their lifetime. Some skeptics criticize the very premise of competition is hazardous to a child’s psychological and emotional well-being. The critics of sports emphasize the detrimental affects of competition and the negative influence of untrained coaches and pushy parents. There are a huge number of children playing sports, but due to burnout, stress, psychological trauma, and lowered self-esteem as many as seventy-three percent quit sports by the age of thirteen. Rick Wolff, a former professional baseball player and coach, claims there are several factors contributing to this phenomenon such as: parents and coaches putting excessive pressure on children, specialization in one sport, over competitiveness, anxiety and loss of interest. This lack of interest may stem from the fact that they are cut from a team, injured, orShow MoreRelated What Is A Hero? Essay1173 Words   |  5 PagesStanbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;tes, where health problems are increasing at an alarming rate. The diets of many men, women and children are unhealthy, and lead to high blood pressure strokes, diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, and mental health problems. The poor state of America’s health is a serious concern for Arnold, and he is constantly striving for ways to improve it. Arnold is an advocate of health and fitness as displayed by his own lifestyle. 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