“About 60 million children and teens from age 6 to 18 participate in organized sports each year,” says the article “Participation in a Single Sport: Is It Good or Bad for Kids?” At a young age, children show their competitiveness through sports. Children and their families contribute much of their time and money to sports. The pressure of being a successful athlete includes non-stop games, practice, and conditioning. These kids no longer have time for themselves. The problem is that youth sports are becoming too intense for children and teens. Our culture of youth sports today puts an excessive amount of pressure on young athletes. This intensity from coaches and parents can lead to injury, mental health issues, and burnout in young athletes. …show more content…
Children’s bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are still growing, making them more likely to become injured. Parents push their children to be the best, so they sign them up to play on travel teams and other leagues at a young age. In an article, Dr. Peter Fabricant says, “We see kids as young as 10 years old on four soccer teams.” “The problem is that playing the same sport intensively all year round puts athletes at high risk of overuse injuries.” As children get older, they might continue the sport just to please their parents. When these athletes start playing high school sports, it becomes even more intense on their bodies physically. Stretching and resting are very important when it comes to preventing injury, especially for older athletes who are training like professionals. Many times my coaches have overlooked stretching and would rush us so we could start practicing. Most high school coaches are so focused on winning and being the best that they forget how important it is to properly warm up and stretch. Parents also forget how important it is for athletes to allow their bodies to rest. Injury can be excruciating and disheartening to young athletes. For some athletes, the psychological response to injury can trigger serious mental health …show more content…
On top of that, younger generations are pressured to meet unrealistic standards. They feel like they have to be “perfect” and to do that, they participate in as many activities as they can. Spending all these hours training and competing can lead to physical and mental exhaustion. According to the article “Sports and Their Effects on Mental Health”, it states that “Adolescents can be severely affected by the pressures that their coaches, parents, and even their own brain places on them, which can then, in turn affect their mental health to a more extreme level.” Some people may argue that physical activity is good for mental health because it helps relieve stress. However, it isn’t the activity that is hurting their mental health; it is the intensity of the activity and the pressure for the player to become the best. If this stress continues for a while, the athlete may start dreading going to games and practices that they once were excited to go to. Their feelings for the sport might change because they are so physically and mentally exhausted, this stage is called