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Youth Football Sociology

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A new question arises due to new research over the health-cost of football that asks whether the findings will effect the popularity of the sport in young athletes. As of now, and for the past decade, football popularity in children has been on a steady rise, but with new research parents could be influenced into choosing a different sport for their child. However, football is one of the most funded youth programs in the United States and for lower income families, this sport would be the only option to keep their kids active. This imbalance of participation across different socio-economic backgrounds then leads to a less racially diverse sport and, later on, a sport with a majority of minorities. Although football remains one of the most popular …show more content…

Over the years, the population has become more informed and aware of the deterioration football can have on a players mental well-being. However, youth participation in football continues to rise because many people shrug off the data from experiments and case studies. It is estimated that in 2007 “3.2 million children ages 6 to 14 years participated in organized youth football in the United States”, making it the most popular youth sport in the U.S. (Podberesky 1264). Football has established itself in the American culture as it has become a greater source of revenue, camaraderie and entertainment in the United States. However, in recent years NFL players have …show more content…

Because football is the most popular youth sport it receives the most funding and allows it to be the most economical way to keep a child active. Research shows that “young black males believe they do possess superior athletic ability in sports like football” that leads them to believe sports are a “vehicle for black social mobility, when the reality is quite different” (Beaver 338). The reality is that around only “1 in 6,600 black males will make a decent living from professional sports”, but society has lead them to believe that they are superior athletically and inferior intellectually. These children have far more role models to emulate in sports than other fields and the countless stories they hear of players that beat the odds and turned rags to riches leads them to believe they can do the same. For the children of lower income families, these factors lead them to believe in a future of playing professional football and the sport begins to embody their “ticket” out of poverty. Many of these children in America are mislead by “false assumptions, media hype, and unequal opportunities” that lead them to believe they can overcome the odds and make it to the NFL (Beaver 338). This is most president in children of lower income families as they hear the stories of NFL players that made it out of the streets and went from rags

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The NFL decided to take to schools in order to reach kids during the biggest chunk of their day. They worked alongside Youth Minds Inspired- YMI- to create “educational” activities for elementary-aged students that incorporated football. Some included web browsing safety, while others offered graphing exercises according to height and weights of players. These seemed useful and educational.

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Football is a very popular sport not only in American high schools and colleges, but also in the entire country of the United States. Is playing high school football worth the risk and harm inflicted to high school football players? This is the main question raised by the author, Raymond Schroth, in the article “Abolish High School Football.” In this article, Schroth talked about the disadvantages and harms of playing high school football to the players. Schroth argued that high school football should be abolished because it had contributed more harmful effects than benefits to football players.

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In “Do Sports Build Character or Damage it?” Mark Edmundson explains the pros and cons of children who grow up playing football. Firstly, he believes the perseverance it takes to show up for hard practices is useful later in life. Especially when they get frustrated with something and don’t notice the little bits of progress they are making.

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In this article, the author explains why sports are very dangerous but also very beneficial. He starts off with his own personal stories and gets into describing how American football is seen as remarkably dangerous, and he includes evidence such as the violence the sport brings. He especially talks about the risks of brain damage that comes with the sport, including when “group of past players...sued the NFL for not properly informing players about the risks of brain damage during their careers”.

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928 Words | 4 Pages

Due to the popularity of main stream athletics, the positive culture provided by them has been declining in the last decade. The increasing number of crimes committed by professional athletes, scandals committed by universities, and the falsified grades or standardized test scores of national ranked recruits have tarnished the image of traditional American sports such as baseball, basketball, and football. The inclusion of non-traditional sports in neighborhoods or schools with members of low socioeconomic status will counter the negative culture being created by reinforcing discipline, education, and citizenship as well as provide more opportunities for extra-curricular

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2014 Words | 9 Pages

According to the NCAA, only 3.3 percent of high school athletes will play at the Division 1 level and after college, only .05 percent of athletes make it to the professional level. Parents feel that they have invested so much in their child that they expect a rewarding return. The pressure to encourage their child to be successful can be the reason why parents can be aggressive toward their

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766 Words | 4 Pages

The article by Fred Bowen “2018 Sees Flag Football Scoring Big with Kids”, argues that flag football is growing to be more popular for kids, and that it is possibly better for them when in comparison to tackle football. First and foremost, Bowen starts his article by writing about the reasons the sport has gained popularity, claiming that it’s the fastest-growing team sport in the past three years, and how injuries from playing tackle football have more effects on kids than adults. In addition he supports this by saying that these injuries can cause both memory and behavioral issues. Bowen explains how flag football is less expensive than tackle. I agree with the argument that flag football is safer for kids and less expensive for parents than

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2106 Words | 9 Pages

In the last decade, college sports’ popularity has been increased and every year better players are added to programs. There are several factors that are influencing the popularity of college sports such as increased in sport in society, the increased of players’ talent, the exploitation of a premium player image and the advertisement of the sport. The NCAA, Colleges, media, and companies make big revenue from selling players’ images and talent. In addition, colleges receive a bigger income as its college population increases and athletes represent a big percentage of that population. Although colleges provide athletic scholarships and benefits, athletes are vulnerable to suffer career-ending injuries and even risk their lives.

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Summary In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” Jessica Statsky tries to demonstrate the negative effect of organized sports on the physical and psychological health of growing child. She claims that the games are not festive but they end up in the wrong development of a child’s brain. The coaches and parents have high hopes for their children that result in the pressure building. This changes the purpose of sports from teaching tolerance, teamwork and sportsmanship to merely winning by all means.

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2544 Words | 11 Pages

J. Coakley (2011) discusses whether an athlete's success is can be altered by the social and cultural factors that surround them such as race, gender, and social class. It is an issue, Coakley says and still continues to be regardless of the fact that racism and sexism in sports are being spoken about more than ever. This issue of social and cultural factors playing a role in the success of an athlete is present in all levels of sports whether that is at grassroots levels or the highest level of professional sports. In a recent study done by Lapchick and Pappas (2014), it was found that children from minority backgrounds' chances of success in sports are affected by their backgrounds, and children from minority backgrounds have a lower chance of success. Furthermore, a study by J.S. Brenner (2003) found that children in high-income bracket families were a lot more likely to take part in and succeed in sports than those in a lower-income bracket.

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622 Words | 3 Pages

A lot of sports recruits come from the inner city, country or a humble environment. Going to college is a completely new and different experience. A large portion of players are trying to adjust in the classroom and feel inferior in more ways than we care to realize. Many of the students at major universities in the United States typically come from families that have incomes that are above the national average. These players are asked to come to the college’s where they are not socially equal but they are expected to feel good about the situation and themselves.

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520 Words | 3 Pages

If a player spends all of his salary while playing in the NFL there is a good chance they will go broke after football. Many athletes’ parents express to them that they need to save their money, but that doesn’t always work out. In today’s society, many are judged by what they own, not by what they want, and that can make it difficult for these people to listen to their peers telling them to do all of this

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1270 Words | 6 Pages

American football has many different aspects that helped change America today. Football has earned millions of fans to the game every year. The sport has changed and helped various people strive through life. At the same time, football has caused many downsides that have changed people’s lives forever. Through the beginning to now, football has been filled with many impacts and injuries that have changed the game.

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1933 Words | 8 Pages

Did you know that depending on the sport, students who play sports in college most likely have less than a 2% chance of becoming professional athletes? At middle schools, high schools and colleges across the country, everyone is arguing over whether or not students with failing grades should be allowed to play sports. In my opinion, a good education is so very important for our country’s youth, especially the athletes. Not a lot of kids are good enough to play in the top college sports programs in the country. But even those who are, still have an astonishingly low chance at making the professional leagues.

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971 Words | 4 Pages

“In the U.S., about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year” claims Stanford Children’s Health. It’s definitely true that competitive sports can cause all sorts of injuries from big to small. The media teaches people simply that sports leads to horrific injuries and can cause stress, but what the mainstream media hardly discusses are the great benefits of competitive sports. While there may be some negatives to competitive sports, that’s just life, and to add on to that; there are plenty of benefits which are sure to override to media’s facts. Kids should play competitive sports because competitive sports teach children powerful life lessons, contributes to their social and mental stability, and because of the physical gain competitive sports provides.

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