Should Teens Take Part in Competitive Sports?

Matthew Breitman           711            1/16/15

            Sports are a path that can lead to improving your health, or diminishing it. It has been a very controversial subject of whether competitive sports are something that teenagers should be taking part in. Yes, the yearly statistics of emergency room visits are devastating, but sports can prepare you for the ups and downs of life. They greatly improve your health and help you socially and mentally. Anyone can argue that competitive sports have many dangers that are associated with them - from concussions in football, to getting permanent brain damage in lacrosse - sports can be dangerous if played without caution. But that doesn't mean teens should stop playing them. Competitive sports help teenage kids because they enhance their health, fitness, and can also teach them many meaningful life lessons.

            Your health is a very important aspect of your life, and by playing sports you could improve it easily. In the article “Young teens who play sports feel healthier and happier about life”, from Science Daily, there are multiple pieces of evidence about sports affecting your health. In one, the author wrote, “Playing on a sports team was linked to higher life satisfaction in both boys and girls. In addition, boys were five times more likely, and girls 30 times more likely, to describe their health as fair/poor when they were not playing on a sports team.” As you can see, playing on a sports team most definitely improves your health. It’s amazing how girls are 30 times more likely to express their health as poor when they are not playing competitive sports. Whether you feel your health improving, or you see it, you are experiencing it. These statistics are quite incredible because when you are not playing sports, everyone, not just these kids, can say they feel less healthy, myself included. Sports are an excellent option to gain health and fitness. They increase it physically, and mentally. Teenagers feel healthier when they play sports, and that’s an incredible feeling. So they should be encouraged to keep playing. In the article entitled “Kobe Bryant says healthy competition key in youth sports,” from ESPN, “Walker told of how sports helped transform him from an overweight kid with a speech impediment into one of the greatest athletes of his generation.” Sports can change your life, just like it changed Herschel Walker (Olympian, and a former NFL star). You can be an overweight kid, but by playing competitive sports, you may transform into an entirely new person. You could become one of the fittest people in the world because of sports. So why shouldn't teens play sports? It improves their health and fitness, which are some of the most important things in your life, so whether you want to sustain your health, or improve it, sports are an excellent way to do so.

            Playing competitive sports teaches you life lessons, and helps you socially, and mentally. In the article “Competitive Sports: Helping Kids Play it Cool”, from Kids Health, it is stated that, “Playing sports can impact many wonderful life lessons – valuing teamwork, overcoming challenges, controlling emotions, taking pride in accomplishments”. These life lessons are not easy to learn, and when they are learned, they are to be valued. They are important and essential to everyone. And by playing sports, all teens can learn them.  Another piece of text from the same source states, “Sports are about enhancing self-esteem, building social skills, and developing a sense of community. Sports are an excellent option for teenagers to improve on their self-esteem. The more they participate, the fitter they get, and their achievements make them feel good about themselves.  As the article says, you build social skills, you might meet new people and become friends. You also learn and develop a sense of community which means that you might learn how to support your friends and family more. You also learn how to deal with loss, criticism, and how to work with others. Another article titled “Young teens who play sports feel healthier and happier about life”, from Science Daily states “Taking part in sports is good all round for young teens: physically, socially, and mentally, according to a new study by Dr. Keith Zulig and Rebecca White from West Virginia University in the US.” Sports improve your health, and they help you socially. You might start getting more friends, or becoming a better person.  They also help you emotionally and you might start thinking of yourself differently. Your self-esteem and your confidence might go up. You see, when teenagers play sports, they learn life lessons which possess great value, and it also helps them mentally and socially.

            While sports teach teenagers life lessons, and improve their health, sports can also pose some of the biggest dangers to kids. In the online video, “How Children and Teens can Avoid Sports Injuries”, from the Wall Street Journal, the reporter says, “‘3000 kids from 13, 14, 15 years old get sports injuries to bring into the emergency room each day.’” This statistic is so frightening that it just makes your back shiver. 3000 kids per day is unacceptable. This statistic shows why some people want to ban sports for teens. Not only do sports cause little injuries, they can cause permanent brain damage, and even death. Another statistic that will frighten a lot of people was from an article, “For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point”, from the NY Times. The author states, “‘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.’” 3.5 million, do you understand how much that is? It’s difficult to imagine what sports can do to a teenager. On the news, you sometimes hear of the deaths of high school students, because of sports. Sports may be a fun activity but they have a lot of dangers associated with them. And the deaths are not only concussions that happen accidentally, it’s because parents push their kids too hard. Many people keep pushing their kids, until it happens, and then they have no kid. It’s terrible how teenagers die just because of their parents or coaches mistakes. Now sports may be scarily dangerous, but if you take precautions, you will be just fine. In the online video called, “Teens playing through pain, not taking sports injuries seriously, says study” on Today.com, there is a line that really stands out. The reporter says, “‘But the takeaway here is to watch those warning signs. Parents, coaches, teens, you have to watch the warning signs, and you have to put safety first.’” Now this proves that it is possible for those statistics of sports related injuries to go down. No, they’re not going to go down to 0, but there can definitely be less than 3.5 million injuries, yearly. So as the reporter said, you have to watch the warning signs. Ok, you miss your soccer game or your swim meet because your leg hurts. But it’s better than permanently damaging your leg. You have to take precautions, and be careful. It’s better to sit on the bleacher once, than lose your entire life. Kids should not ignore their injuries, because that’s when big things start to happen. Teenagers should not feel ashamed or scared of telling their coaches that they can’t play. Sports may be dangerous, you can’t deny that, but if you take precautions, and sit out when you feel you should sit out, you’re going to be just fine.

            In conclusion, teenagers should most definitely be playing sports because it enhances their health and fitness, and teaches them wonderful life lessons. There will most likely be danger associated with sports, but sports are all about fun, and fitness. Now you may easily avoid injuries, by watching the warning signs, and enjoying the actual sport. Sports can change your life, literally. They are a fork in the road. One of those roads may lead you to happiness, healthiness, and a better life. The other road leads you to life-long injuries, or maybe death. So I hope you take that first road, and be healthy and happy. Because that’s what competitive sports do, and are for. For you to learn life lessons, help you emotionally, socially, and to enhance your health and fitness. So as I said, take the first road, and know, what sports are really about.