Youth athletics

Youth athletics, also known as youth sports, is composed of nonprofessional organized sports played by children and adolescents. Youth athletics encompasses a variety of sports, such as baseball, football, soccer, martial arts, gymnastics, and hockey. It includes competitive sports played recreationally outside of school for various leagues and school sports typically played at the high school level. In the United States, millions of children and adolescents are involved in youth athletics. Sports are revered in the United States, and competitive sports generate billions of dollars each year; this makes playing them very attractive to young people.

Playing sports has numerous benefits for children. Physically, sports participation can help kids remain active and fit and ward off health issues, such as obesity. Playing sports also helps children develop friendships, social skills, discipline, and teamwork and leadership abilities. In addition, youth athletes are less likely to engage in illegal drug activity.

History

Youth athletics did not become organized in the United States until after school became mandatory during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (Massachusetts was the first state to require all children to attend school in 1852; Mississippi was the last in 1917.) Competitive sports leagues were formed in an effort to organize the free time children spent out of school. Initially, communities were faced with what to do with poor immigrant boys who spent the time after school gathered in the streets. Communities built playgrounds, but adults did not like the idea of allowing children to play unsupervised. The focus then shifted to organized sports as a way for children to occupy their free time.

Sports embodied the American ideals of hard work, cooperation, and respect. Leaders believed that playing athletics built character and prepared children to become physical laborers in the industrial nation that was emerging at the time. Several organizations that provided children with sports play emerged in the early twentieth century. One of these, New York City's Public School Athletic League (PSAL) for Boys, formed in 1903. It established teams of boys that competed against each other in various events, including track and field, basketball, and baseball. The league's organizers had hoped to keep the children interested in team play by putting a focus on competition. They thought this competition would inspire the boys to continue participating and defending their teams' honor. More than two thousand boys were involved in the league a decade after its formation.

By the 1910s and into the 1920s, numerous other cities followed New York City's lead and established their own sports leagues. The cities' leaders worked with other organizations, clubs, and schools to establish sports teams. However, the Great Depression financially hurt many of these competitive sports leagues, and they could not raise the funds to continue to operate. This mostly affected poor communities, and many children in these areas lost their team sports opportunities. As a result, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) stepped in to fill the need for competitive sports, but this organization charged a fee and only those who could afford to pay could join.

Several pay-to-play organizations formed, such as the Junior Football Conference (later Pop Warner football), that offered children a chance to compete in national and international football tournaments. Little League Baseball formed in 1939, giving children an opportunity to play baseball against local, national, and international leagues. By 1959, more than five thousand Little League teams had formed.

The success of fee-based recreational sports leagues such as Pop Warner and Little League made it difficult for free sports programs to continue operating. Schools began to question competitive sports leagues' policies because they felt the leagues only allowed the best athletes to play and did not include everyone. They questioned the effects competition had on younger children. By the 1960s, many schools at the elementary level stopped supporting their own competitive leagues. This allowed the rapid formation of pay-to-play private recreational sports leagues for children under the high school level. At this time, other sports such as basketball, hockey, soccer, and even Double Dutch jump rope had been introduced to youth athletes. In addition, children of all genders and social classes were encouraged to participate.

During the twentieth century, many parents became involved in youth athletics. Parents who wanted competitive opportunities for their children rushed to sign them up to these sports leagues. They not only wanted their children to be the best players but also felt that their children needed to participate in sports to attend college later in life. As college attendance surged in the 1960s, this increased parents' anxiety that their children would be passed over for other children. They focused on athletics to ensure their children would be admitted to college. This frenzy over college admissions continued, and it increased sports competition. More students were able to afford college, and many vied for spots at top colleges and universities. In an effort to make their kids desirable to these higher learning institutions, parents continued to push their children into competitive sports at earlier ages, feeling that excelling in sports play would make their children more apt to be accepted to college.

Topic Today

As tuition at colleges and universities continues to rise into the twenty-first century, more and more athletes and their parents look to attaining athletic scholarships through college sports play. To ensure their children are the best players they can be, parents spend huge sums of money on personal trainers, training camps, and traveling sports leagues. However, this is not always possible, especially for athletes from low-income families.

This influx of money in youth athletics has created unequal playing fields for those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Many people continue to point out that economics plays a big part in youth athletics. Children whose families have the means are able to start playing and receiving special training at early ages. This puts children whose parents do not have the funds to spend on furthering their athletic development at a disadvantage, and sometimes it forces children from low-income families to opt out of competitive sports play. To combat this, some leagues provide scholarships to low-income individuals who want to play. Most times, these scholarships do not cover expensive club fees, travel expenses, and other costs associated with playing in these leagues.

Many colleges are recruiting players at younger ages, further driving parents to encourage their children to play sports from a young age. For example, National Basketball Association (NBA) player LeBron James began to receive notice for his basketball skills before he even entered high school. This can put undue stress on younger athletes and their parents. This has led some parents to become more invested than the child in a particular sport. They begin pressuring their children to play their best and often set unrealistic goals for their children. Parents and coaches may even encourage children to focus on one sport instead of trying out multiple sports. Variety can reduce sports burnout and encourage children to try new things.

Sometimes parents unknowingly make sports unappealing to their children. Some parents are too competitive; they attend every practice and game and interfere with their children's play. They scream at their children when they are playing. They argue and complain to coaches, referees, and other parents. Children who are pushed too hard by their parents may begin to resent the parents or even hate playing sports and see it as a chore. This can lead to burnout and stress and cause an athlete to walk away from sports altogether. Some children raised by overzealous parents who have stressed excellence in sports above all else may begin to believe they are the stars on the team. When players feel like they do not get enough playing time or are put in positions they are not used to playing, they may threaten to quit the team. Alternatively, they may have their parents complain to coaches. Children should be taught that they are part of a team, and that individual success is not the most important part of playing sports.

Child athletes without strong parental figures in their lives may become close to their coaches, some of whom may unethically exploit the children for their own benefit and personal gains. Coaches such as these may take a child under their care and help the child focus on a particular sport. They may build up the child, use the child for personal promotion, and then discard the player in favor of another athlete.

A big factor causing young athletes to abandon sports is the occurrence of injuries due to overuse. Kids who are overworked in athletics do not have time to properly rest, especially when injured, and this can further aggravate injuries and lead to permanent damage. The high incurrence of concussions has become cause for concern in youth athletics. The brains of young people are more susceptible to concussions, and concussions can have long-term negative effects on a person's cognitive and motor abilities. Head injuries are common in both football and soccer, and Pop Warner football cited the rise in concussions as one of the reasons for declining enrollment. All fifty states have passed laws for young athletes regarding concussions and returning to play.

While some negative issues surround youth athletics, playing sports does have numerous positive benefits for many children. Physicians recommend at least one hour of physical activity for children each day, and participating in sports has health benefits. Playing sports decreases the risk of conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Studies have shown that youth athletes are less likely to smoke, use drugs, or consume alcohol than their peers who do not play sports.

Physical activity positively affects a person's mental health and mood because it triggers the brain to release endorphins, or chemicals that promote happy feelings. Sports play can minimize feelings of depression and anxiety, and can help improve a person's self-esteem and confidence. Playing team sports builds character and teaches sportsmanship. It gives children a sense of belonging and fosters positive attitudes they can use in other areas of their lives. Playing sports allows children to develop strong bonds with coaches and other players.

Children who play sports expand their social skills, develop friendships with their teammates, and foster leadership abilities. They learn discipline and the importance of winning and losing gracefully. They follow rules, practice taking turns, and manage conflict. For example, players must know the rules and regulations of the sport they are playing; learn how to sit on the bench while other players take turns playing; and resolve any fights that may arise with other players on and off the field. Playing sports also helps athletes be creative and test their problem-solving abilities. For example, a soccer player has to quickly determine how to get around obstacles such as other players to score.

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