American Sport in the 21st Century- Breakdown of Youth Sport

During class on September 22 and 27 we had a class discussion on youth sport.  We talked about the benefits of youth sport, pervasiveness of youth sport in the United States, and social changes related to the growth of organized youth sport.  Listed below is a breakdown of each area.

Benefits of Youth Sport:

- Develops and maintains fitness
- Preparation for adulthood
- Opportunity to learn values
- Teaches interactive skills
- Provide opportunities for leadership

Pervasiveness of Youth Sport in the United States:

- 47 million children participate in organized youth sports
- Organized youth sports emerged in the 20th century
- Organized youth sports grew rapidly in many industrialized countries after World War II
- Programs in the United States emphasized competition as preparation for future occupational success
- Girls' interests generally were ignored

Social Changes Related to the Growth of Organized Youth Sport:

- Increase in families with both parents working outside the home
- New definitions of what it means to be a good parent
- Growing belief that informal activities provide occasions for kids to get into trouble
- Growing belief that the world is a dangerous place for children
- Increased visibility of high-performance and professional sports in society

During youth sporting events there is always the one yelling parent.  Obnoxious to the point that you just want to walk up to her and tell her to shut up.  Well, we never do because she is just into the game and she is her kids number one fan.  That is about is worse as it gets, or I thought.

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In my opinion, parents get way too involved in their kids lives.  Yes, it is important that they are, but let them breathe.  It is important that they learn for themselves, and sport is a great way to teach them life lessons.  With the way youth sports are turning into today, it is all about competition.  Parents are putting in so much money hoping their kid will go professional or at least earn an athletic scholarship.  This puts a lot of pressure on their kid to succeed.  To understand we first have to figure out why they go out for sports in the first place.  I know for me, and a bunch of other kids, it was to compete.  It did get in the way of making friends sometimes when I was younger, but I liked to win.  Another reason kids go out for sports is because their friends signed up, or it was to make friends.  So when parents get in the way, or step too far, it takes the fun out of the whole sport.  If they do stick with it by the time they are old enough they either lost passion for the sport, or they suffered so many injuries from playing year round.  With all that together, no wonder we are seeing a drop in kids participating in sports.