Roethlein 1

Daniel Roethlein

Ms. Burke

English 11

4/16/18

Research Paper

Many Americans believe that it is good for their children’s health to participate in

organized sports. It is true that the exercise you receive from sports is beneficial.

Additionally, sports help to develop social skills that are necessary for adulthood. This is all

critical for young children for their development. Sports have benefits for people of all ages.

However, youth sports in America can have negative effects on the health of the children that

participate in it. This is because of the risk of injuries, long term trauma, poor coaching

affecting mental health, and the parental pressure young athletes face.

The risk of injuries in sports is prevalent in all levels of sports. Injuries are inevitable

and there is no way to stop them entirely. The main cause of injury to athletes is impact or

contact with surfaces or other people (Impact). Furthermore, contact with other players can,

“cause an athlete to be off balance, which may cause them to twist or change direction

quickly; this often causes damage to connective tissue,” (Impact). Most sports related injuries

are from players colliding, which leads to them losing their balance and moving in an

irregular way. The more common injuries in sports are cuts, bruises, muscle pain, and

dislocated joints (Impact). These happen often and not very significant. However, some of
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the more serious injuries include, “spinal injuries, ligament and tendon damage, fractures,

and head injuries,” (Impact). Kids are not coordinated enough to prevent injuries, which can

be dangerous when you allow them to play contact sports such as football with no proper

knowledge of the game. Additionally, you never fully recover from certain injuries, such as

ligament and tendon damage (Impact). If a child experiences an injury like this at a young

age, they risk the possibility of reinjuring and can seriously affect their ability to play.

Unfortunately, some injuries can lead to more serious repercussions, such as CTE.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, is a neurodegenerative

disease that is found in people who have experienced numerous head injuries (Stern 1). CTE

leads to a slow decline of memory and cognition (Stern 1). There are also many other

symptoms of CTE, such as, “depression, suicidal behavior, poor impulse control,

aggressiveness, Parkinsonism, and, eventually, dementia,” (Stern 2). These symptoms are a

result of the repetitive brain trauma athletes experience in contact sports. In a documented

study at Boston University, Researchers stated, “Given the millions of youth, high school,

collegiate, and professional athletes participating in contact sports that involve repetitive

brain trauma, as well as military personnel exposed to repeated brain trauma from blast and

other injuries in the military, CTE represents an important public health issue,” (Stern 1).

CTE is a serious condition that can effect a lot of athletes if it is not addressed. Repetitive

brain trauma, such as concussions, has been linked to developing CTE. In 2009, over

250,000 concussions were reported from athletes of age 19 and younger (Kallam).

Unfortunately, there is a disturbing number of concussions that go unreported due to players

fearing they will not be able to participate in athletic activities. Concussions are the main
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cause of CTE that needs to be prevented. If there is nothing done to ensure the safety of

young athletes, then they will inevitably be diagnosed with CTE. In addition, concussions are

caused mainly by improper technique that is taught from bad coaching.

Coaches are critical to a child’s experience with sports (Edger). Typically, youth

coaches are the parents of a player on the team (Edger). While they may have experience

with the sport, most of these coaches are underqualified and have no knowledge on how to

teach these young athletes. One of the most common examples of this is bully coaching.

When a coach uses bullying, “kids believe that they are the problem, and now have a fear of

messing up instead of enjoying the game,” (Edger). Bully coaching leads to the player losing

their confidence. This not only has an effect on the field, but it also leads to a loss in

confidence off the field as well. Furthermore, some coaches teach poor techniques that could

lead to injury. For example, prior to the discovery of CTE, football coaches taught players to

tackle head first (Van Hoey). Bad coaching can have an effect on an athlete’s experience, but

a parent’s influence on their child is also a major factor.

Youth sports are changing drastically in America. Parents see the benefit in having

college scholarships and potential professional careers. This is creating a more competitive

atmosphere in youth sports that wasn’t existent prior to the 2000s (Quinn). More and more

parents are pressuring their kids to specialize in one sport and excel at it (Quinn). By only

playing one sport, parents are actually hurting the development of their child. In order to be

recognized by colleges, some parents instruct their kids to, “ ignore defense in favor of

scoring, as putting up big numbers is an easy way of getting recognized,” (Quinn). Sadly,

these parents believe that if the athlete saves their energy for offense, they will produce more
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and earn a scholarship. With so much pressure on youth players to excel, they lose interest in

the sport. Not only do you need to have elite skill, but you also need to have a passion for the

sport that drives you to be better (Quinn). Youth sports should not be so competitive. Young

athletes need to learn to love the sport, not treat like a job. Therefore, parental pressure on

young athletes is actually counterproductive towards their overall growth as a player.

In conclusion, youth sports in America can have negative effects on the health of

children because of injuries, risk of long term illness, poor coaching affecting players, and

pressure that parents put on their kids to play well. To summarize, young players are not

coordinated enough to prevent injuries from happening, which could lead to long term

trauma that could seriously affect their lives. Also, the repercussion of bully coaching can

have a consequence on the mental health of players. The burden that parents put on their

children doesn’t help the child’s mental health, either. As of right now, this is how youth

sports are in America. This is unfortunate because sports and other athletic activities are

crucial for staying physically healthy. These problems can and should be corrected

immediately.
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Works Cited

Edger, Mike. “How Bully Coaching Affects Athletes.” Sports Psychology Today, 4 Sept.

2012,

www.sportpsychologytoday.com/youth-sports-psychology/how-bully-coaches-affect-

athletes-mental-game/.

“Impact and Contact - Causes of Sports Injuries.” Sports Medicine Information,

www.nsmi.org.uk/articles/causes-sports-injuries/impact-contact.html.

Kallam, Clay. “High School Rules: New Football Regulations Focus on Concussions –

MaxPreps.” MaxPreps.com, 6 July 2011,

www.maxpreps.com/news/f1awA6JrEeCkhgAcxJSkrA/high-school-rules--new-

football-

regulations-focus-on-concussions.htm.

PharmD, Nicole Van Hoey,. "Concussions in sports." The 2000s in America, edited by Craig

Belanger, Salem, 2013. Salem Online.

Quinn, Bobbie. Youth Sports: How Parental Pressures Affect Young Athletes . 2 Feb. 2017,

www.gladiatorguards.com/_blog/our-blog/post/youth-sports-how-parental-pressures-

affect-young-athletes/.

Stern, Robert A. “Long-Term Consequences of Repetitive Brain Trauma: Chronic Traumatic

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Works Cited

Encephalopathy .” www.bu.edu/cte/files/2011/11/Stern-et-al-2011-PMR-Long-term-

Consequences-of-Repetitive-Brain-Trauma1.pdf.