Anushka Bhatt
July 21th, 2024
Are Competitive Sports Good for Youth?
Some think that Competitive sports are good for youth, while others believe in the complete opposite… and I’m one of the “others”. That’s why I think competitive sports aren’t good for youth, because they’re a huge waste of time and money Several people agree with me, while others think that it’s not a waste of money, and competitive sports keep children fit and help them have a healthy mindset. This is a very hotly debated topic by many parents, teens, and teachers, but today you’ll know where your stance is in this dispute. Now, let’s slowly unravel the various reasons why everyone should be on the “Anticompetitive sports” side of this dispute.
One reason that Competitive Sports aren’t good for youth is that they’re EXTREMELY expensive for parents. Whether it’s mandatory safety equipment, hair ties, traveling, uniforms, lessons, and a lot more, it’s a never-ending list for parents, and it’s not cheap. One example is, that it’s estimated that 671$ is put into sports by parents for their kids and more than 2 in 10 spend 1k or more on sports, (“High Cost of Youth Sports”) according to HuffPost. Not to mention, that 2 in 10 is 21% spend one thousand or MORE. That may not seem like much but imagine a popular playing competitive sport, like soccer, four billion people play soccer as it is, and that’s just one sport. (That’s about 840 MILLION soccer players’ parents who spend more than one thousand on soccer.) In addition to that, a mother,wants to put her son in lots of competitive sports , but she can't put him in just any program she finds and is interested in. Because of her financial situation, she picks only those that are free or subsidized or through the military, as her’s sons father is in the armed forces. And because she doesn't have a car, she relies on convenience, selecting programs that are easily accessible by public transportation from her house. (Cohen) This means that lots of parents are struggling and competitive sports add to their stress of taxes, food, and more adult or parent responsibilities. And if that’s not enough already for this mother Barnett, she also is in a tough financial situation with her husband in the military. Competitive sports should be the last thing she should be worried about. The last and final piece of evidence why competitive sports are expensive is by ESPN, it shows in one of their charts that track and field (Running) is their least expensive sport and, it’s estimated that it’s ONLY a whopping two hundred dollars (Cohen)! Which doesn't make sense at all, there is nothing needed in a track other than sneakers, it's just running! It’s outrageous, especially just for kids who like to run as a sport!
The second reason and the most important reason why Competitive Sports aren’t good for sports is that it may be a hidden scam, that most people don’t see. For example, most kids don’t pursue or even plan to pursue playing a competitive sport in the future, because not everyone can make it. So, it’s indirectly a waste of time AND money for children and their parents. Many kids who play competitive sports at my school don’t even plan to play competitive sports when they’re older, it’s always something completely different. Today competitive sports are a 15.3 billion dollar period industry, which doubled n the past 10 years in the U.S.A (Barone). It’s is almost impossible to make it big in the industry. Theirs a very low probability that anyone at an average school making it big or earn the bare minimum for all their living expenses, so even if someone does pursue playing competitive sports in the future as a career it probably won’t have if they’re not extremely gifted and talented. My last and final piece of evidence is that “Gloria's sons, Christopher and Axel, play in such competitive soccer leagues that registration fees can cost around $1,800 annually.' (Cohen)' This is important because if you remember in the first paragraph, I said that 21% o parents spend one thousand or more on sports, well this mom is paying eight hundred dollars more! Travel teams are also a higher league of a sport, that travels(more money) also are very expensive so being in a high league of a sport may be a scam. as well. That’s why competitive sports may be a hidden scam for youth.
However, some people also argue that competetive sports aren’t a waste of money, they keep kids fit and give them a healthy mindset now and in the future. Yes, competitive sports do keep children healthy and fit, but on the other hand, there are many inexpensive ways to stay fit, a high risk of physical injury which can be more expensive for the parents, and lastly can ruin their mindset or personality for the future. Some people say that there is no inexpensive way to stay fit and healthy, but they’re wrong. Some ways to maintain healthiness that don’t require you to participate in competitive sports include stretching, yoga, eating healthy, walking, dancing, bouldering, and more (“Crap at P.E? Here are 6 Alternatives to Competitive Sports”). Another counterargument individuals say is that “Competitive sports keep your child healthy, and you can never put a price on that.” However, there is a very high chance of risk when playing competitive sports as well, “About 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year, which cause some loss of time of participation, are experienced by the participants,” (Stanford Children's Health) says Standford’s Children’s Health. This means that injuries can be so brutal when playing sports, that they may not let a child play sports for a long period. Such brutal injuries can also make the kid’s physical health worse because they aren’t exercising or playing non-competitive sports, and neither are they playing a competitive sport. Lastly, most parents say that competitive sports give their children healthy mindsets, which no money can fix. But, one article also states, “The intensity of competitive games can lead players to disregard rules, increasing opportunities for torn ligaments, muscle aches , and other injuries. This not only makes them physically unhealthy but mentally as well.”(“What Is the Importance of Sports in Our Lives?”) This means that not only are competitive sports unhealthy physically but they can be unhealthy for your mind or mindset. It causes them to rebel against the rules or games, which can take a toll on their future because life has its own set of rules as well. It also shows how easily someone can be manipulated into revolting against a system, because of their emotions.
To summarize, competitive sports are a waste of money because they're unreasonably overpriced for parents, and they're a scam because they won’t help kids in the future in any way at all. Hopefully, you now see why competitive sports aren’t good for youth(kids) because they’re a scam, and because they’re extremely expensive for parents This debate matters because, kids can get seriously hurt, and get negatively affected by negative sports, so it’s important to make sure kids do non - competitive or find other ways to exercise. Now, after all of this, would you force your future child to play competitive sports? I know I certainly wouldn't because after all… life isn’t a game of football.
Works Cited
Barone, Emily. “6 Popular Kids’ Sports, Ranked by How Much It Costs to Play.” Time, Winter 5AD, time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/.. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.
Cohen, Kelly. “Kids Aren’t Playing Enough Sports. The Culprit? Cost.” ESPN.com, 11 Aug. 2019, www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/27356477/kids-playing-enough-sports-culprit-cost.. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.
“Crap at P.E? Here’s 6 Alternatives to Competitive Sports.” Ditch the Label, 27 Mar. 2018, us.ditchthelabel.org/alternatives-to-competitive-sports/.. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.
“High Cost of Youth Sports.” HuffPost, 21 June 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/visualnewscom/high-cost-of-youthsports_b_3469012.html. Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.
Stanford Children's Health. “Default - Stanford Children’s Health.” Stanfordchildrens.org, 2009, www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=sports-injury-statistics-90-P02787.
“What Is the Importance of Sports in Our Lives?” Sportsnet, www.sportsrec.com/8127260/what-is-the-importance-of-sports-in-our-lives..
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