I can clearly remember the amount of stress put on my body and mind as a child playing competitive soccer. Coming home from elementary school and racing to get to practice, I would have to run extra laps if I was late. Everyday at practice it was a constant competition between my “friends” and me. This has had a negative impact on my life, losing friends and having re-occurring injuries. Children have harsh experiences that affect them in the present and the past. Adolescents should reassess the commitment of playing sports because of the dangers physically, mentally, and socially.

First, children involved in youth sports are exposed to physical risk. According to Carson Barrett, a professional writer and publisher of multiple websites, “Repeated head trauma causes chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disorder that can cause memory loss, confusion, poor judgment, aggression, depression and dementia.” Children are still developing and if there is any physical harm to their bodies, it can have a major impact on their further growth. For example, Mark Hyman, publisher of Until It Hurts, says, “Every year more than 3.5 million children under 15 require medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half of which are the result of simple overuse.” Children are overplaying sports because of multiple practices per week with additional games on the weekend. Unfortunately, overplay can be hard to detect depending on pain tolerance. Children are not likely to say they are overplaying, especially if they love the sport, but in many cases the outcome of a overplay is a major injury. Two physicians,  Maffulli and Helms stated, “young athletes are more prone to certain injuries, especially stress fractures; tendinitis; a degenerative condition called osteochondritis; and damage to the growth plates of bones that can stun them for life.” Physical interference on undeveloped bodies is a major risk for adolescents. A common argument is that children participating in sports would cause a decrease in childhood obesity. However, statistics show that “the percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012 (CDC). The National Center for Sports Safety reports that “3.5 million children aged 14 years and younger receive medical care for sports-related injuries each year.” As children develop there will be a decrease in flexibility, coordination, and balance therefore making it more difficult to play the sport.

There is also a social impact from playing sports at a young age.   As it becomes more difficult to advance in organized sports the amount of social pressure takes its toll on young athletes. According to American Sports Data “In 2000, the number of American youth who played on at least one organized sport team was found to be 54% of kids between ages 6 and 17.” The competition is getting stronger because of the significant rise in children participating. There is a fine line between healthy competition and unhealthy competition. If the player can not handle the social surroundings then the sport being played will be dreadful. For example, Donna L Merkel, author of many sports related articles, states that “Parents, in addition to coaches, can create high levels of stress and anxiety for the young athlete.” Coaches and parents have a huge impact on players depending on favoritism, poor teaching skills, and amounts of pressure. If the coaching and parental level is having a negative impact on the child then the social behavior will become negative toward the sport. Some argue that by joining a sports team kids will have a social group outside of school and it will allow students to broaden their social circle.  Sarah J Donaldson and Kevin R Ronan, two authors for questia discuss key points about youth sports participation in the article The Effects of Sports Participation on Young Adolescents' Emotional Well-Being, they state that “One way a young adolescent can gain acceptance and status among peers is to be good at activities valued by other youth. Sport provides an opportunity outside the classroom to do this, since athletic ability is often considered by their peers to be a strong social asset.” Some may argue that playing sports as an adolescent is beneficial towards a child mentally and children involved in sports are more likely to achieve higher grades academically. This argument is understandable That is an understandable concept because kids may have a hard time finding friends as a student but as an athlete it is easier to fit in.  However depending on the competitiveness of the team many teams do not emphasize relationships, only winning. To further understand, everyone tries out but only a select few make the team. There are obstacles that need to be faced socially when premature teens interact with physical activity.
Lastly, when developing teens play sports there is a emotional risk. According to Donna L. Merkel, a publisher of articles for the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, states that “only 98% of young athletes reach the highest level of sports, trying to identify young athletes who are genuinely talented is very difficult and unrealistic, given the degree to which children change in their physical, psychological, emotional, and cognitive domains from childhood to young adulthood.” Therefore, the amount of time put into training for the sport will only result in few children gaining scholarships for high school or college, or even to proceed to professional leagues. This effect will put a burden on adolescents which can cause a major act of long or short term depression. To add, Jane E Brody a author and publisher for the New York Time says that “too often the goal is skewed toward adult (parent/coach) goals either implicitly or explicitly. As more young athletes are becoming professionals at a younger age, there is more pressure to grab a piece of the ‘professional pie,’ to obtain a college scholarship or to make the Olympic team.” Children have a constant reminder that the only reason for playing the sport is for the outcome. This idea ends up adding additional stress on the player. Frequently,  the problem for the player will be the amount of stress they can handle and not whether or not they have the skill to play in the future.

Adolescents and their parents should consider the risks of playing sports. As a child’s body is undeveloped and is more prone to injuries it may become more difficult to recover and prevent recurring injuries. There is also the social imbalances children may face and whether that has a positive or negative on their relationships. As the amount of children competing in sports might result in higher competition it is necessary to understand the emotional effects of playing or not playing.  And it is important to consider the amount of stress placed on a young athlete to succeed presently and in the future.  Children may face social and emotional imbalances from their surroundings. Playing competitive sports at a young age is something that should be discussed and analyzed in so that the child athlete can understand the possible outcomes mentally, physically and emotionally.

Work Cited
Barrett, Carson. "How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?" Healthy Living. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Brody, Jane E. "For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 May 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Merkel, Donna L. "Youth Sport: Positive and Negative Impact on Young Athletes." Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine. Dove Medical Press, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.