Young Children in Competitive Sports Essay Example

Trainers and parents around the world watch Tiger Woods as a two-year-old smacks a golf ball. This was one of the first of his many hits that created the Tiger Woods that won just under 500,000 dollars as a 21-year-old. Trainers and parents saw Tiger Woods playing golf at a young age and then saw him go pro. Many correlated the training to his success. Even though many people say competitive sports are bad for kids, there is a lot of evidence that says otherwise. Competitive sports are good for young children because they teach life skills, provide health benefits, and offer unique opportunities.

To begin, sports teach life skills to children. A formal competitive athlete states, “Amy Roegler played soccer in high school and college and says team sports aren't just about winning, but also about developing a solid work ethic, and learning why that's important” (“NPR Benefits of Sports by Patti Neighmond”). In short, Playing highly competitive sports teaches kids many life skills like teamwork. People will have to use teamwork for the rest of their life, and sports can help them improve that skill. To continue, wrestlers that participated in a training camp state, “In just a brief sports experience at camp, that teen and many of the others developed a "can do" life strategy that seemed to translate to other aspects of their lives, Driska says” (“NPR Benefits of Sports by Patti Neighmond”). To put it plainly, participating in sports can help develop a positive attitude towards life, which will help in the long run.

Sports are also good for kids because they provide health benefits. Speaking of those with kids who play competitive sports, Patti Neighmond writes“the physical exercise their kids are getting is good for their health. But that's not their only motivation for encouraging the children to participate in organized athletics” (“NPR: Benefits of Sports”). To put it in another way, it is way healthier for a kid to be playing a sport competitively than to waste away playing video games all day. Furthermore, a University of Florida research group states, “To be exact, 96 percent of them said they enjoy their sports. They're all loving life. And why wouldn't they? After all, they're experiencing sports almost like the pros do”(“NPR Benefits of Sports by Patti Neighmond”). That is to say, Kids that play highly competitive sports tend to enjoy life instead of doing something else like watching TV. The athletes enjoy everything they do because of their sports.

On the other hand, some people might argue that competitive sports are bad for young children because they are so time-consuming. While it may be true that sports are very time-consuming, it is important to consider that the time spent is not “robbing” kids of their childhood, but rather offers unique opportunities. Eddie Katz from ESPN states, “where there are sports, there are dollars in the form of college scholarships pro contracts” ("The Kids are Alright"). In short, athletes can get paid millions of dollars to live their dream life playing the sport that they professionally. A tiny amount of people say they play their sport for a living. Eddie Katz from ESPN also states, “In 1997, 21-year-old Tiger Woods collected a $486,000 paycheck when he won the Masters” ("The Kids are Alright"). To make it very short, athletes can make lots of money playing the sport they love. Not a lot of people have the opportunity to make that much money in sports. Even though sports are time-consuming, they offer insane opportunities.

In conclusion, competitive sports are good for children because they can provide wholesome benefits, create new experiences, and build skills that will last a lifetime.