Sports Aren't Just Competition
Sports take up the majority of most high school students’ time. Hours are spent in early morning conditionings, afternoon practices and late night games. As summer creeps up, sports will take an even bigger role in the lives of teenagers.
Sports are a great way to get involved and meet new people. Teens spend a lot of time and effort to get that spot on the team they wanted.
Athletes put loads of hard work into their sports to be the best and come out on top. After all the stress and pressure, the sports’ fun slowly drains away from it. Aren’t sports supposed to be fun?
Sports should be something that are invested into so athletes have fun and stay active, not something that is pushed onto someone or made a number one priority over things like school, work and family.
There are people that take sports seriously which is more than understandable. Some teens have the privilege of receiving scholarships for their athletic achievements. These athletes with the love of the game put more time and effort into the sport than kids that do it for enjoyment or camaraderie. If this is this student’s choice, then it is completely fine.
However, parents play a big role in a student’s involvement in a sport. Some parents push their kids to the extreme for practices, year round private lessons and overall involvement with the sport. There are parents that live through their teen athlete, making pressures higher than they already are when they step onto the field or court.
Youth sports are a past time. Athletes should not feel like losing a game is the worst thing that could possibly happen. They should not be worried about what will happen if they miss practice one day for things like a doctor’s appointment, academic support or a personal issue. Sports teams should be a positive learning environment where a young athlete can learn leadership, togetherness, strength and commitment.
Sports seem to be too centered around winning. Winning should be one goal, but it seems to have been taken to a new extreme. It shouldn’t overshadow other outcomes, like character building, developing persistence and overcoming obstacles. Coaches and even parents get overly upset about a team’s loss or a performance showed by a player. A game or match should not be based on the outcome, but on the effort shown on the field or court.
In today’s society, sports should be used as an outlet for relaxation and excitement. Winning is great and being great at what you love is something everyone wants to feel, but becoming overly involved with something that was made for enjoyment is not worth it. Let sports be for lessons learned, not for number one priorities.
