Participating In Childhood Sports

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ENG 1060: College Composition II
September 17, 2014
Participating in Childhood Sports is a Significant Predicator of Young Adults Physical Activity
Many Parents in America today choose to start their child in a competitive sport at a young age. Of the estimated 51 million children ages 6 to 17 in the United States 24 million of them play a sport of some kind. Over half of the 24 million children play a sport on a regular basis. I’d be the last person to discourage children from playing sports. Indeed, I wish many more would move away from their computers, put down their iPods and cellphones and devote more time and energy to physical activities.
Research shows that there are many benefits to having a child play a sport at a young
age. The physical activity helps to maintain healthy bones, muscle, and joints; helps control weight; helps to prevent and control high blood pressure as an adult (GAO, 2012). Adolescents who play sports are eight times as likely to be active at age 24 as to adolescents who do not play sports (Sports Participation as Predictors of Participation in Sports and Physical Fitness Activities in Young Adults, Perkins, 2004).
There is substantial evidence that those who are active with sports tend to have a better academic success (GAO 2012).
High school athletes are more likely than non-athletes to attend college and get a degree; and be team leaders or even team captains (US Department of Education)
A number of studies provide support that physical activity, sports in particular can have positive effects of personal development among young people. However, evidence shows that having a quality coaching staff is a key factor in maximizing positive effects (GAO 2012). One study found that when coaches receive training in skills and communicating effectively with kids, 95 percent of the children choose to play that sport again. With untrained coaches, the rate was only 26 percent (Smoll and Smith 1992).
Most of our largest sports are seeing major drop-offs in participation. Among children ages 6-12, only 40 percent played sports in any form on a regular basis, down from 44.5 percent in 2008, according to an analysis by SFIA for projected play. Millions of kids and teens are fleeing sports. In just one year, from 2011 to 2012, participation in team sports in any form -- casual, regular, or frequent – fell from 54 percent to 50 percent among 6-17 year olds (SFIA Team Sports Report,
2013).
Starting at age 9 -- when children often develop a self-concept of whether or not they are an athlete – physical activity rates begin to drop sharply.
By age 15, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity declines 75 percent. At that point, they average only 49 minutes per weekday and 35 minutes per weekend (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008). Only one in three children is physically active every day (Fitness.gov). Among high school students, that figure is 28.7 percent. The prevalence of having been active on a daily basis was higher among male (38.3 percent) than female (18.5 percent) students (CDC, 2012).
Childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled in recent years. The percentage of children ages 6-11 who are obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2010; among children ages 12 to 19, that figure grew from 5 percent to 18 percent (Center for Disease Control). One study found that among 17 developed nations, the US had the highest rates of childhood obesity among those ages 5-19 (National Academy of Science,
2013)
More than a quarter of all Americans between the ages of 17 to 24 are too fat to serve in the military. Many are turned away by recruiters and others never try to join. Of those who attempt to join, roughly 15,000 fail their entrance physicals every year because they are too overweight. Obesity rates among children and young adults have increased so dramatically that they threaten the future strength of our military (Too Fat to Fight, 2010).
Today’s children are likely to be the first generation to live shorter, less healthy lives that their parents due to obesity and other related diseases
But for many children and adolescents, the problem is the opposite of being inactive. Encouraged by parents and coaches, many with visions of glory and scholarships, too many young athletes are being pushed — or are pushing themselves — to the point of breaking down, physically and sometimes emotionally.
The statistics show every year more than 3.5 million children under 15 require medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half of which are the result of simple overuse. Injuries are only part of the problem. As adults become more and more involved with each passing season youth sports seem to stray further and further from its core mission of providing healthy, safe and character-building recreation for children. The goal of youth participation in sports should be to promote lifelong physical activity and skills of healthy competition.
Unfortunately too often the goal is skewed toward adult (parent/coach) goals either implicitly or explicitly. As more young athletes are becoming professionals at a younger age, there is more pressure to grab a piece of the ‘professional pie,’ to obtain a college scholarship or to make the Olympic team. But most young athletes and their parents fail to realize that depending on the sport, only a tiny few — 2 to 5 out of 1,000 high school athletes — ever achieve professional status. Clearly we’ve gone too far when the emphasis on athletic participation and performance becomes all-consuming and causes injuries that can sometimes compromise a child’s future. We have lost all concept of why children need to be active in the first place, for their health and wellbeing.