Athletics is a big part of growing up. Kids get to play in
all sorts of sports from kick ball and dodge ball to tag,
hopscotch, four corners and jump rope to more traditional
and competitive sports like football, soccer, hockey and
baseball. No matter the sport, there always remains a
constant: fun.
However, in today's society there is a problem. More and
more emphasis is being put on athletics then there was ten
or twenty years ago. This is due, in part, by big money
contracts as well as the decline in jobs and income.
Families in poverty-stricken areas of the country rely on
their children's athletic prowess to bring them up from the
ghetto. This way of thinking makes children spend more time
worrying about their performance than education - athletics
being more of a "quick fix" solution.
Coaches sometimes push student-athletes because winning
games means they get to keep their jobs and feed their
families. Sports bring more money into the school than any
other curriculum. A good coach will try to maintain a
proper balance between pressure and the challenge of the
sport. People need challenge in order to push themselves to
improve upon the tools they already possess. Parents and
Coaches can push their kids too far though by setting
unrealistic expectations. After all, if it was easy -
everyone would be playing in the NFL or the NBA.
Unfortunately, winning is not within the grasp of every
player. The only thing that the player has any real control
over is how hard they play. Parents and coaches neglect
this aspect of sports and fail to reward hard work.
Another stress factor is trying to juggle a busy athletic
season with school. If you are a parent who likes that your
child is active in a sport that is great unless their
school work suffers. This can cause a tremendous amount of
stress and both school and sports will both suffer in the
end.
Being able to manage the stress of school and sports is not
very easy to do. The best thing that one can do is to
realize again that sports are not as important as
schooling. You can go to college, get a degree and a great
job. The likelihood of someone making it in professional
sports is very slim and should not be an emphasis over
education.
The participation in various sports by young people growing
up can have very positive long term effect. Self-esteem
and discipline can all benefit greatly. However, sports
have to be taken for exactly what they are "an
extra-curricular activity". If the child excels at sports,
then support the important aspects of it such as fair play
and hard work. Too many kids are lost in today's world
because they placed or had placed on them a higher value
towards sports than education.
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Scott Becker is an expert in the fields of health and
nutrition and has been writing on numerous topics for the
past 10 years. Along with writing, he now owns
scottbeckerlive.com, a sports nutrition company serving the
weekend athlete. For more information go to
http://healthfitnessvitamins.com
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