High-pressure youth sports is bad for America
High-pressure youth sports in America create societal issues and stress due to expensive leagues favoring wealthier families. Advocates propose investing in public sports to promote inclusivity and community-based options.
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High-pressure youth sports in America have become a norm, leading to societal issues and unnecessary stress for families. The trend towards expensive pay-to-play leagues starting at a young age has created a dysfunctional system where participation is linked to financial means. This shift has resulted in a divide in sports participation along class lines, with traditional community-based teams losing ground. The pressure to join competitive teams early on leads to over-training, over-specialization, and a higher likelihood of injuries. The emphasis on elite leagues undermines the inclusive and community-building aspects of sports, impacting children's health and weakening social connections. Advocates suggest investing in public sports options to counter this trend, but ultimately, individuals need to opt for community-based sports over costly travel teams to break the cycle. By promoting a return to normalcy in youth sports and reducing the emphasis on high-stakes competition, families can alleviate the financial burden and stress associated with the current youth sports culture.
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1 commentsIn other parts of the world there are sports clubs to accommodate those kids (and, eventually and more importantly, post-school adults) eager or talented enough to push their limits, and they can do it after school or on weekends.
The article above fails to mention the connection why a lot of parents subject their kids to year-round training. They're looking for the golden ticket to get their kid a college scholarship or, even less likely, fame and fortune in the NCAA and beyond. That system needs to be dismantled.
(Protip, to you young parents reading this: your kid will resent the pressure and 99.9% of the time they will outright quit the sport once they're out of your house. Think about how much time and money you've spent to date. Don't you wish you had those weekends back?)
My high school district alone employs multiple "vice principals" that are coaches for the big football team. They get the administrative title so they don't have to teach classes. They all make six figures plus a retirement pension, on top of a football stadium that costs a fortune to maintain for 12 games a year. And we're not even in Texas. =)
We also have an obnoxiously early start time, which has been proven time and time again to hurt student performance. Some kids are up at 6:00am to catch the bus. Why can't we move the start time later? After school sports.
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