THIS ESSAY bu
position course. When
sports, in or out of school, for ex
Youth Soccer, or some other organization.
deeply involved in sports. As you read, consider the
• In your experience and observation, was winning unduly emphasized
Or was more
value placed on having a good time, learning to get along with others, developing ath
. The questions in the margin: Your instructor may ask you to post your answers to a
letic skills, or something else altogether?
class blog or discussion board or to bring them to class.
Basic Features 1
A Focused,
Well-Presented Issue
North America," reports sports journalist Steve Silverman, attracting
"Organized sports for young people have become an institution i
than 44 million youngsters according to a recent survey by the National
Council of Youth Sports ("History"). Though many adults regard Little
League Baseball and Peewee Football as a basic part of childhood, the
games are not always joyous ones. When overzealous parents and coaches
impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities
A Well-Supported
Position
An Effective Response
to Opposing Views
A Clear, Logical
Organization
that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children.
2
How does Statsky
present the issue in
a way that prepares
readers for her
argument?
I am concerned about all organized sports activities for children between
the ages of six and twelve. The damage I see results from noncontact as well
as contact sports, from sports organized locally as well as those organized
How does she qualify
her position in par. 2?
nationally. Highly organized competitive sports such as Peewee Football and
Little League Baseball are too often played to adult standards, which
are developmentally inappropriate for children and can be both physically
and psychologically harmful. Furthermore, because they eliminate many
What reasons does
she forecast here, and
in which paragraphs
does she discuss
children from organized sports before they are ready to compete, they are
each reason? Do
her reasons appeal
primarily to readers
intellect (logos), to
their sense of fairness
and what's credible
ethos), or to their
eelings (pathos)?
actually counterproductive for developing either future players or fans.
Finally, because they emphasize competition and winning, they unfortunately
provide occasions for some parents and coaches to place their own fantasies
and needs ahead of children's welfare.
3
One readily understandable danger of overly competitive sports is that
they entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing
bodies
N
CALLY
ages
ege com-
itive
rican
were
... are infrequent," the risk
"There is a growing epidemic of preventable youth sports injuries," according
to the STOP Sports Injuries campaign ("Youth Sports" 2). "Among athletes
55 to 14, 28 percent of football players, 25 percent of baseball players, 22
percent of soccer players, 15 percent of basketball players, and 12 percent of
softball players were injured while playing their respective sports." Although
playing baseball, it insists that "severe injuries.
Little League Baseball and Softball acknowledges that children do risk injury
"far less than the risk of riding a skateboard, a bicycle, or even the school
bus" ("Little League Parent Responsibilities"). Nevertheless, Leonard Koppett
in Sports Illusion, Sports Reality claims that a twelve-year-old trying to throw
a curve ball, for example, may put abnormal strain on developing arm and
shoulder muscles, sometimes resulting in lifelong injuries (294). Contact
sports like football can be even more hazardous. Thomas Tutko, a psychology
professor at San Jose State University and coauthor of the book Winning Is
Everything and Other American Myths, writes:
g ath-
How does Statsky try
to establish the cred-
ibility of her sources
in pars. 3-5 (ethos)?
ра
in
more
nal
uses block quotations
e
own sentences?
aches
es
veen
e
ell
nd
I am strongly opposed to young kids playing tackle football. It is not
Why do you think she
the right stage of development for them to be taught to crash into
instead of integrating
other kids. Kids under the age of fourteen are not by nature physical. these quotes into her
Their main concern is self-preservation. They don't want to meet
head on and slam into each other. But tackle football absolutely
requires that they try to hit each other as hard as they can. And it is
too traumatic for young kids. (qtd. in Tosches A1)
As Tutko indicates, even when children are not injured, fear of being hurt
detracts from their enjoyment of the sport. The Little League ranks fear of
injury as the seventh of seven reasons children quit (“Little League Parent
Responsibilities"). One mother of an eight-year-old Peewee Football player
explained, "The kids get so scared. They get hit once and they don't want
anything to do with football anymore. They'll sit on the bench and pretend
their leg hurts..." (qtd. in Tosches A1). Some children are driven to even more
desperate measures. For example, in one Peewee Football game, a reporter
watched the following scene as a player took himself out of the game:
"Coach, my tummy hurts. I can't play," he said. The coach told the
player to get back onto the field. “There's nothing wrong with your
stomach,” he said. When the coach turned his head the seven-
y
year-old stuck a finger down his throat and made himself vomit.
154 CHAPTER 5 Arguing a Position
out again. Like ac
him, "Yes there is, coach. See?" (Tosches A33)
physical skills ma
teams lose many
experience might
sponsored, out-of
When the coach turned back, the boy pointed to the ground and told
Besides physical hazards and anxieties, competitive sports pose
psychological dangers for children. Martin Rablovsky, a former sports editor
for The New York Times, says that in all his years of watching young children
play organized sports, he has noticed very few of them smiling. “I've seen
children enjoying a spontaneous pre-practice scrimmage become somber and
serious when the coach's whistle blows," Rablovsky says. "The spirit of play
suddenly disappears, and sport becomes joblike" (qtd. in Coakley 94). The
team than to dev
Indeed, it is
and the drive to
living out their
for children (Smi
primary goal of a professional athlete
winning
is not appropriate for
contain plenty o
example, tells th
children. Their goals should be having fun, learning, and being with friends.
Although winning does add to the fun, too many adults lose sight of what
matters and make winning the most important goal. Several studies have
shown that when children are asked whether they would rather be warming
the bench on a winning team or playing regularly on a losing team, about 90
Peewee Football
parent from one
now thinking of
percent choose the latter (Smith et al. 11).
provided by a LC
6
oes Statsky
efute this
on?
Winning and losing may be an inevitable part of adult life, but they
intimidated the
on the pitcher's
commented, the
substitute for p
9
Although
seriousness of
should not be part of childhood. Too much competition too early in life
can affect a child's development. Children are easily influenced, and
when they sense that their competence and worth are based on their
ability to live up to their parents' and coaches' high expectations - and
on their ability to win - they can become discouraged and depressed.
Little League advises parents to “keep winning in perspective," noting
that the most common reasons children give for quitting, aside from
change in interest, are lack of playing time, failure and fear of failure,
disapproval by significant others, and psychological stress (“Little
League Parent Responsibilities"). According to Dr. Glyn C. Roberts, a
professor of kinesiology at the Institute of Child Behavior and
University in
for Little Leag
with "educatic
hollering," in
Leagues in Ne
morning work
injuries, deal
do
7
players' fears
sky's
r. 7
Development at the University of Illinois, 80 to 90 percent of children
who play competitive sports at a young age drop out by sixteen (Kutner).
This statistic illustrates another reason I oppose competitive sports for
children: because they are so highly selective, very few children get to
participate. Far too soon, a few children are singled out for their athletic
promise, while many others, who may be on the verge of developing the
is to be credi
10
Some pa
preparing to
schools and c
necessary strength and ability, are screened out and discouraged from trying
admission is
155
old
TO WRITING
THINKING CRITICALLY
tor
dren
en
and
lay
out again. Like adults, children fear failure, and so even those with good
teams lose many promising players who with some encouragement and
physical skills may stay away because they lack self-confidence. Consequently,
experience might have become stars. The problem is that many parent-
sponsored, out-of-school programs give more importance to having a winning
team than to developing children's physical skills and self-esteem.
Indeed, it is no secret that too often scorekeeping, league standings,
and the drive to win bring out the worst in adults who are more absorbed in
living out their own fantasies than in enhancing the quality of the experience
for children (Smith et al. 9). Recent newspaper articles on children's sports
contain plenty of horror stories. Los Angeles Times reporter Rich Tosches, for
example, tells the story of a brawl among seventy-five parents following a
Peewee Football game (A33). As a result of the brawl, which began when a
parent from one team confronted a player from the other team, the teams are
Or
In criticizing some
parents' behavior in
pars. 8-9, Statsky
risks alienating her
readers. How effec-
tive is this part of her
argument?
ds.
90
ву
now thinking of hiring security guards for future games. Another example is
provided by a Los Angeles Times editorial about a Little League manager who
intimidated the opposing team by setting fire to one of their team's jerseys
on the pitcher's mound before the game began. As the editorial writer
commented, the manager showed his young team that "intimidation could
substitute for playing well" ("The Bad News Pyromaniacs?").
Although not all parents or coaches behave so inappropriately, the
9
seriousness of the problem is illustrated by the fact that Adelphi
University in Garden City, New York, offers a sports psychology workshop
for Little League coaches, designed to balance their "animal instincts'
with “educational theory" in hopes of reducing the “screaming and
hollering," in the words of Harold Weisman, manager of sixteen Little
Leagues in New York City (Schmitt). In a three-and-one-half-hour Sunday
morning workshop, coaches learn how to make practices more fun, treat
injuries, deal with irate parents, and be “more sensitive to their young
players' fears, emotional frailties, and need for recognition.” Little League
10
is to be credited with recognizing the need for such workshops.
Some parents would no doubt argue that children cannot start too soon
preparing to live in a competitive free-market economy. After all, secondary
schools and colleges require students to compete for grades, and college
admission is extremely competitive. And it is perfectly obvious how
156 CHAPTER 5 Arguing a Position
Kutner, Lawrer
www.nyti
How effective is
Statsky's use of con-
cession and refuta-
tion here?
"Little League
Safety PL
.littlelea
11
Schmitt, Eric.
Times, 1
Silverman, S
is also important for success in life. Before children are
important competitive skills are in finding a job. Yet the ability to coopers
for competition, maybe we should emphasize cooperation and individual
performance in team sports rather than winning.
psychologically reati
Many people are ready for such an emphasis. In 1988, one New York
Little League official who had attended the Adelphi workshop tried to ban
scoring from six- to eight-year-olds' games —but parents wouldn't support
Sports for Kids, emphasizes fitness, self-esteem, and sportsmanship. In this
him (Schmitt). An innovative children's sports program in New York City, City
eight-minute periods. The basket is seven feet from the floor, rather than ten
program's basketball games, every member on a team plays at least two of six
feet, and a player can score a point just by hitting the rim (Bloch). I believe
this kind of local program should replace overly competitive programs like
Peewee Football and Little League Baseball. As one coach explains,
significant improvements can result from a few simple rule changes, such as
including every player in the batting order and giving every player, regardless
of age or ability, the opportunity to play at least four innings a game (Frank).
Media,
-youth-
Smith, Nath
1983.
Tosches, Ric
Blow t
latime
"Youth Spc
Outred
WWW.
How effectively does 12
Statsky conclude her
argument?
.pdf.
Some children want to play competitive sports; they are not being
forced to play. These children are eager to learn skills, to enjoy the
camaraderie of the team, and earn self-respect by trying hard to benefit
their team. I acknowledge that some children may benefit from playing
competitive sports. While some children do benefit from these
For an
programs,
e E-readi
however, many more would benefit from programs that avoid the excesses
and dangers of many competitive sports programs and instead emphasize
fitness, cooperation, sportsmanship, and individual performance.
Works Cited
Are Statsky's sources
adequate to support
her position, in
number and kind?
Amitai
"The Bad News Pyromaniacs? Fiery Anaheim Little League Manager Is, Rightly,
Fired." Los Angeles Times, 16 June 1990, p. B6, articles.latimes
.com/1990-06-16/local/me-31_1_team-manager. Editorial.
Has she documented
them clearly and
accurately?
Bloch, Gordon B. "Thrill of Victory Is Secondary to Fun." The New York Times,
2 Apr. 1990, p. (12.
Jessica McConnell Burt/The George
Washington University
Coakley, Jay J. Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies. Mosby, 1982.
Frank, L. "Contributions from Parents and Coaches." CYB Message Board, AOL,
8 July 1997, www.aol.com/. Accessed 14 May 2011.
Koppett, Leonard. Sports Illusion, Sports Reality. Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
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