Cohen, Rebecca. “The Benefits of Contact Sports: Why Your Kids Should Participate.

Exercise, Health and Wellness, Kindergaten-5th Grade, Middle School, Physical

Therapy, Sports. https://www.nspt4kids.com/sports-2/benefits-contact-sports-kids-participate/

This article written by Rebecca Cohen states the many benefits that outweigh the detriments in

youth contact sports. It also states the ways that children stay safe while participating in youth

contact sports. Some of the benefits in youth contact sports listed include respect, teamwork,

discipline, organization, protection, and confidence as well as the fact that children benefit from

regular exercise and activity decreasing the risk of childhood obesity. Some of the way youth

contact sports are becoming safe include but are not limited to are ensuring safe and proper

equipment, being aware of symptoms of concussions (headaches, dizziness, imbalance, and

nausea), being aware of concussion treatment guidelines (seeing a doctor as soon as possible and

rest, both mental and physical), being vocal about safe and fair play. With all these things in

mind a child experience with contact sports can be safe, fun, and beneficial.

The author of this article is a physical therapist at North Shore Pediatric Therapy which makes

the information in this article exceptionally reliable. She makes it truly clear that the benefits of

youth contact sports outweigh the detriments. She also states that even though injuries are truly a

thing within the sport, there is safety measures and precautions that make the sport as safe as

possible for children to participate. This article is immensely helpful by giving specific examples

of benefits and safety measures involved in youth contact sports.

This article is a perfect fit for my research since my focus is stating the benefits of contact sports

against the detriments. It helps give various example on the benefits in youth contact sports as

well as the safety measure the sports now offer. I agree with everything stated in the article, it is

crucial that parents see that taking contact sports away from kids hurts them more than the risk of

injuries. I can use this article as a main source of my research paper.

kidshealth.org, 2017 “Sports safety for kids and teens”

https://www.bluecrossmn.com/wellbeing/preventive-care/sports-safety-kids-and-teens

The article focuses on why kids are more at-risk playing contact sports. Of course, there are the

benefits of staying active but when it comes to contact it can cause a lot of harm on the muscles,

bones, tendons, etc. Especially since kids are still growing over time, their muscles are not

completely developed.

BlueCross BlueShield enforces the fact that if a child injures their bones, muscles, and tendons

that it can cause complete damage or trauma to the child. It mentions the top contact sports that

result in a lot of injury which are, football, hockey, and soccer. They are strong believers that if

the kids get taught the correct information to stay safe it will prevent them from getting severely

injured.

Even though this article focuses on the risks of kids playing contact sports, it does explain some

ways it can be beneficial to the youth community. While seeing the likelihood of getting some
type of injury in a sport there are many ways to keep each child safe. I will use this source to

discuss all the risks and safety tips to help each parent and child

Merrill, Josh. “Do Youth Sports Own Our Kids?” Eternity Sports Blog, June 1, 2018.

https://www.eternitysports.com/blog/2017/9/4/do-youth-sports-own-our- kids?

gclid=CjwKCAiAv4n9BRA9EiwA30WND9xh1MbgzvHm23ACtKTp8wlk4h55lU2uYv1xTFyE

DKR9_v9IIY7JLxoC88YQAvD_BwE

This article is written by Josh Merrill and states, that youth sports are becoming a child’s identity

instead of what they do. Kids today are watching professional athletes and instead of just

wanting to learn how to play like them, they want to become them. In conclusion they lose their

own identity trying to be someone else. It stresses the fact that it is easy to turn a child’s gift or

the desire of a parent into something that consumes children and makes them lose themselves

and not enjoy the sport anymore.

The author of this article speaks from personal experience; he is very biased against treating

youth sports like a form of identity instead of a way to have a bit of structure and fun. He does

not use any other examples besides his own point of view and personal experience. This article

would be helpful in offering an direct example from personal experience on how the goal of

youth sports should be as opposed to how it is.

This article helps my research based on it being an author speaking from personal experience. It

gives the point of view of a past youth sports athlete. He speaks from personal experience on the

identity crisis that some athletes suffer in youth contact sports. He stresses that it is important
that the sport be about what a child can do not who they are. This article can be used as an

opinion and personal testimony.

Nguyen, Anna. “Do the benefits of youth sports outweigh the risks?” Childhood Injuries.

September 8, 2018. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health/the-

benefits-youth-sports-outweigh-the-risks/NJBjLyj5antRYR2iDiNEZJ/%3foutputType=amp

This article discusses the topic of the benefits of youth sports outweighing the risks. The

National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) received responses from parents who believe in

the benefits and also parents who were more concerned about their child participating in a sport.

But they wanted more information and tips on how to prevent serious injury, so they continued

on with asking the president of NATA.

The President of NATA explains that not just the parents are focused on protecting their child

from injury, but the athletic trainers involved care just as much. She is passionate about

informing the parents on ways to avoid collision during physical activities. Once she educates

the parents on safe ways for their children to play the sports the more at ease they feel.

This specific article goes along with my topic because it exactly states what I am claiming. I

support the benefits that come from playing youth contact sports than worrying about the risks

that come with it. I will use this article mainly to list all the different ways parents can be

informed on how their children can be safe while playing sports

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

“The Benefits of Playing Sports Aren’t Just Physical!” edited by AOSSM, May 30,2012.

https://health.gov/news-archive/blog/2012/05/the-benefits-of-playing-sports-arent-just-

physical/index.html.

This article is written by a group of orthopedic surgeons. Who believe that from experience that

the benefits from contact sports far outweigh the potential for injury. They wrote the article in

hopes of spreading positivity regarding youth contact sports. It goes into depth about the types of

benefits physical, social, academic and career. Physically contact sports are beneficial because of

the exercise aspect, it decreases the chance of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Socially

contact sports are beneficial since students who play sports are less likely to get involved in

things like drugs and girls are less likely to get pregnant. Academically contact sports are

beneficial for students since they strive to get higher grades to be able to get into good school

and colleges. Career benefits of contact sports include leadership skills and development of

teamwork, hard work and determination that help prepare students for the workforce.

The authors of this article are very biased as to the fact that they think contact sport are more

beneficial to the youth than detrimental. They use many examples of benefits along with their

explanations. This article is helpful in assisting with having parents understand that youth contact

sports are greatly beneficial to the youth. It is exceptionally reliable because it is written by

medical professionals. It could be useful in citing proof of the fact that benefits outweigh the

injuries in youth contact sports.

This article fits into my research for the amount of insight on the benefits of contact sports by

medical professionals. It gives various examples of each type of benefit that sports offer the

youth which makes it very helpful towards my hypothesis and thesis. I can use this article as a

reliable source of information on my topic of discussion.

Sanders, Mark. “Competitive Youth Sports Injuries Today Can Lead to Permanent Damage

Tomorrow, If Proper Precautions Aren’t Taken”. https://sandersclinic.net/youth-sports-

injuries/

This article explains the severity of sports injuries especially when they go untreated. It goes on

to detail different prevention methods to use to decrease the risk of serious injury. Some of the

suggestions made are to play a variety of sports that require the use of different muscles, have

children receive a health exam before enrolling in any sports program, wearing all protective

equipment the sport calls for in an appropriate manner, and simply paying attention to the child

and not pushing them past their limits. Of course, these steps are not a complete fail-safe as

injuries may still occur. But in the instance that one does, immediate treatment should take place

to avoid long-term effects.

Dr. Mark Sanders, the author of this article, is an orthopedic surgeon with a lot of experience in

treating sports injuries. Because of his experience in this subject, he is highly credible in his

advice on how to prevent these serious injuries from ever occurring. His suggestions come from

the knowledge he has acquired in his field, therefore making this source very credible.
This source supports my claim because while Dr. Sanders admits sports injuries can lead to

permanent damage, instead of suggesting to avoid contact sports all-together, he provides

information on how to prevent these injuries from ever taking place. The risks of contact sports

are present but can be avoided whereas the benefits from the sports cannot be obtained by any

other means. That is why the source can be used in addition with the others to aid in defending

my claim.

Schlozman, Steven. “Contact Sports: Yes or No?” Hot Topics, Podcasts, Teenagers. Child +

Adolescent Development. October 2, 2018. https://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-

concerns/teenagers/should-my-child-play-contact-sports/

This article was written by Dr. Steven Schlozman, and he writes it from personal experience as a

kid who suffered a concussion when he was 12 play football in junior high. He explains how

when he played, getting hit in the head and have signs of a concussion were not recognized as

they are now. He let us us know that contact sports have come a long way when it comes to

safety and treatment of concussions. He stresses the importance of leaving a child out of the

game until they recover.

The author is informative when it comes to concussions and how awareness has changed over

the years. No opposing thought from his point just advice on the precautions that should be taken

after a concussion and to prevent them while play contact sports. This article is helpful in

demonstrating how much the safety of contact sports has evolved.

This article fits into my research as a source of insight to precautions taken in youth contact

sports. It gives a personal testimony from a now doctor and his experience with getting a

concussion in junior high school. I can use this article in my research paper as personal

experience from a reliable source.

University of Michigan Health Care. “Benefits of Sports for Adolescents”.

https://www.muhealth.org/conditions-treatments/pediatrics/adolescent-medicine/benefits-

of-sports

In this article the author is not clearly stated. It lists many reasons why it is so beneficial for

children and adolescents to play sports. It mentions how sports can teach young kids the

importance of teamwork, how it can boost self-confidence, reduce over stressing, and overall,

how all these sports can provide health benefits. This article thoroughly explains more under

each of those topics. It discusses just enough reasons to really make parents think about putting

their child in a sport.

Health care workers at the University of Missouri encourage the kids to participate in some type

of sport or a different type of physical activity. They believe physical activity is great for inner

and outer body health. Whether it be mentally or physically. They are strong believers that after

taking on a sport it will impact their role in life positively.

This specific source relates to my topic of benefits of youth contact sports outweighing the risks

of injury because it informs all the positive good it can do to an adolescent’s life. This goes along

with the other sources I have chosen by finding even more reasons to defend my claim.
Williams, Vernon. “Improving Safety and Reducing Risk in Youth Contact Sports”.

Concussions, sports, injuries, children’s health, February 28, 2018.

https://health.usnews.com/health-care/for-better/articles/2018-02-28/improving-safety-and-

reducing-risk-in-youth-contact-sports

This article written by Dr. Vernon Williams believes that concussion is a word that has been

splashed all over media and become the reason many parents fear their children playing contact

sports. He states that much is the fear that even physicians have become afraid of endorsing

contact sports due to the heavy speculation of neurological risks. He as well as medical

professionals in my past annotations stresses that though concussions are a risk in contact sports,

it can be the same amount of risk in other sports as well. Other similarities to my previous

annotations are the fact that contact sports are more beneficial than risky. Youth in contact sports

benefit from exercise, academic progress, and success. He lets readers know that the safety

provisions in effect now in contact sports are way better than years ago and that they have

significantly diminished injury risks.

The author of this post is very aware of media outlet roles in the infliction of fear with injuries in

youth contact sports. He uses many examples of what parents are afraid of as well as what

physicians fear from the media’s discussions on the risks of concussions in contact sports. I feel

this article is just as helpful in getting my hypothesis for my research paper supported. This

article is reliable because it is written by a health care professional’s point of view.

This article is a great source of information on the fears inflicted by the media about injuries in

contact sports. It gives the pros and con of contact sports but makes sure you know that benefits

far outweigh the detriments. It helps my argument for my research paper in supporting it with

facts about the benefits and fears about youth contact sports. I would use this source as factual

information for my research paper.