Intensity of Youth and Teen Sports Essay

Drew Bonjean
Mr. Pothen
English 11
12 March 2015 Have Teen and Children's Sports Become Too Intense?
Over 21 million kids and teens between the ages of 6 to 17 play team sports on a regular occasion, with another 5 million participating on a semi regular basis. The intensity of high school and youth sports is becoming more and more of a concern through the eyes of many.
Others believe that high school and youth sports do more than just teach them the game. Sports are a major part of many high school and youth kids’ lives.
Many argue that sports programs for children and teens are too intense; however, it teaches kids more than just the game, such as lifelong lessons and memories.
High school and youth sports have many negatives that could alter the futures of many young athletes. First, The catastrophic injury center performed a recent study that showed “a death rate of 0.19 per 100,000 participants in 2013 for the 4.2 million who play football at all levelsand 0.73 per 100,000 in high school¨ (Brady 2). That stat alone shows the dangers of high school and youth sports. In today’s day and age, high school and youth athletes are put under a tremendous amount of pressure to perform at a high level in the sports they compete in. Along with the amount of pressure injuries, are very relevant in many young athletes’ careers. A recent study by the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2007 stated,
“High school football players suffer three times as many catastrophic injuries as college playersmeaning deaths, permanent disability injuries, neck fractures and serious head injuries, among other conditions” (Brady 1).
Serious injuries could ruin an athletes playing career in the course of one play, with the intensity

of the game today injuries are becoming more and more common. To make matters worse another negative is, most high school players brains are not yet fully developed, and the National
Athletic Trainers’ Association recently stated, “Just 37% of public high schools nationally have fulltime athletic trainers” (Brady 2). These athletic trainers are taught to notice concussions and remove athletes from returning to games when they possibly could be concussed, with under
50% of high schools without full time trainers how do you expect to prevent serious injuries from getting worse. These negative are what lead many people to believe that high school and youth sports are too intense.
Many argue that high school and youth sports are too intense but experts also say that there are many positive in youth sports. Likewise, youth and teen athletes who spend numerous hours working at their sport learn more than just the game; they also learn the value of discipline and commitment. Many athletes and parents believe sports don’t teach you much that you will be able to put into your life later on, but high school and youth sports teach you lessons that you will be thankful you learned later in life. A recent New York Times article stated, “There is simply no way other than tireless repetition to teach the skills necessary to succeed in competitive athletics. When an athlete performs well as a result of this kind of

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