In the articles, “The secret life of Tiger Woods,” by Wright Thompson and “Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid to pressure,” by Michael S. Rosenwald, both articles they show that trying to make young children become so called, “elite athletes,” can have an effect on the child in later adulthood. In my opinion, I do not think that the quest to become an “elite athlete” is worth the sacrifices it requires. In the article, “The secret life of Tiger Woods,” Tiger Woods never had any friends until high school. He spent a lot of his childhood with his father, Earl Woods, on the golf course. Earl, to some extent, guided Tiger Woods into the direction of playing golf at a very young age. This information is shown when Thompson exhibits, “First trophy, Tiger says’
‘How old were you?’
‘Four” (Thompson 27).
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Thompson points this out when he said, “He grew up without siblings or many friends. Tiger and Earl did everything together, hitting balls into a net out in the garage, or spending hours at the golf course, and when they’d finish, Earl would order a rum and Diet Coke, and Tiger would get a Coke With cherries, and they’d sit and nurse their drinks like two old men. The golf pro at the Navy course, Joe Grohman, worried that Tiger didn’t have friends his own age until high school. His friends were Earl and Earl’s old military buddies. That’s who he played golf with, retired old soldiers and sailors and marines, with the occasional active-duty guy stationed near Los Angeles” (Thompson 8). Since Tiger Woods did not have any friends until high school, he was very antisocial later in