This document discusses the debate around how young is too young for children to start playing competitive sports. It notes potential negative physical effects like injuries and concussions from starting sports at a young age. However, it also outlines positive effects on physical fitness and mental health from sports participation when done appropriately. In conclusion, there are good arguments on both sides, and parents must decide what is best for their individual children.

1. Austin Chester
AP Lit
11-11-2011
7th Period
Children in Sports
How young is too young? The effect of sports on children of all ages has always been
controversial. In the society we live in today, the focus for these effects is most argued for that of
the younger age group. The main concerns are about the mental and physical effects that these
competitive sports have on children long term. So the main question to this argument is whether
the positive benefits from these sports outweigh the negatives.
The health effects of starting sports at a young age are by far the biggest factor in the
argument on how young is too young. The negative effects are used on the side of wanting kids
to wait to they get older to start competitive sports. The first negative effect related to young
athletes is in regards to the fact that long term injuries are becoming more and more prominent in
today's medical world. This point is proven by the CDC that says “more than 3.5 million kids
under age 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year” (Onderko). This number
expresses the danger that sports have on younger children. Another shocking statistic is seen by
the results of a test done by the American Orthopedic Society which states that “...in the past ten
years...there's been a fivefold increase in the number of serious shoulder and elbow injuries
among youth baseball and softball players” (Onderko). The added pressure on parents to put
there children into competitive sports and to push them to excel among their peers is one of the
biggest reason that there are so many injuries. The repetitive motions of softball and baseball

2. have always been known to cause injuries, being both minor and major. This is clearly shown in
professional baseball were season and career ending injuries happen every day. A professional
athlete who has worked his body out to take such strenuous activity and whose body has fully
matured over the years can still get injured. With this in mind who is to say that children of
young ages who have not gone through puberty and fully grown into their bodies and are
completing the same repetitive motions are not much more likely to injure themselves as a result
of or become more susceptible to major injuries down the road because of starting to young. This
question along with the facts provided by the CDC and the American Orthopedic Society have
called Pete McCall who is a well-known exercise physiologist to say that “kids are starting sports
too young”(Onderko).
Another big health concern that is starting to show its ugly head in the athletic
community progressively more are concussions. A concussion is an” injury to the brain or spinal
cord due to jarring from a blow, fall, or the like” (Concussion). Injury's like these are most
common in football and ice hockey according to WebMD (Boyles). This is a very reasonable
statement considering in football every play, players are purposely trying to smash themselves as
hard as they can into one another, and in hockey players are constantly dodging big hits into the
plexiglass. The decision by parents to let their child play any of these dangerous sports has
always been driven by a father's pride to see his son dominate on the field, but rebutted by a
mother's intuition to keep her child safe from any harm. A mother's argument could be backed by
the fact that nearly “half a million ER visits for concussions occurred among 8- to-19-year-olds
between 2001 and 2005” (Boyles), and that of these visits “40% of sports-related concussions
involved children between the ages of 8 and 13” (Boyles). If 500,000 concussions isn't alarming
enough, the fact that these numbers have “doubled in the last decade” (Boyles) from what they

3. use to be will definitely show how critical these injuries are. This rise in the number of injuries
on young athletes is due to the extreme stress placed on children by their parents to play, and the
pressure placed on the parents by the world to have their child ahead of the game and to be the
best of the best.
While there are many negative health effects caused by sports there are also many
positive health effects that putting children in sports result in. The first major positive factor of
youth sports is physical fitness. Childhood obesity is at an all-time high in this time in America.
Studies show that in America between” 16 and 33 percent of children”(AACAP) are technically
obese. This fact backed by a study that was done that shows children have an “80 percent chance
of becoming an obese adult if they are obese between the ages of 10 and 13” (AACAP), makes
any chance at dodging this reality a literal life saver. One of the most effective ways for children
to stay healthy is to exercise regularly. Starting sports at a young age minimizes the risk of
childhood obesity by offering a fun way to exercise and to keep their young bodies active and
healthy.
Another major concern for parents is that exercising at too young of an age can stunt their
child's growth and cause them to have a disadvantage long term. Only when exercising is abused
or pushed to extreme measures can it affect a child's growth. Mayo Clinic say's that strength
training for children is perfectly healthy as long as does not exceed “his own body weight”(Mayo
Clinic Staff). A good example of healthy conditioning for children would be pushups, pull ups,
crunches or running. All of these examples are in the limits of a child's body weight and these
exercises are commonly seen in school gym classes. Positive effects that strength training has on
a young athlete's body are stronger bones, healthy blood pressure, faster metabolism, and these
help to make a child's body look and feel better which can boost a child's self-esteem drastically

4. (Mayo Clinic Staff). Another benefit from strength training and exercising is that the muscle
growth from these activities acts as a safety net. This muscle conditioning is one of the most
important ways to stay injury free. The stronger the muscles are around a bone the more
supported the joints are and the less likely these children are to become seriously injured. All of
these factors help children to stay on a healthy growth curve and start a trend to a healthy life.
Negative mental effects on young children in sports are very minimal. The largest
negative side effects of sports are surprisingly caused by parents. This is most blatantly shown
when a parent tries to make their athlete the best of the best. They put their child into as many
sports as possible, haul them to practices multiple days of the week and refuse to believe that
their child is not having the time of his life slaving away at a sport. The only problem with this is
that you cannot force someone to like something if they don't enjoy doing it. It is hard for an
athlete to pour their heart and soul into something that they believe is a waste of their time and
that they do not enjoy. Placing children in sports is only healthy if both the child and the parent
enjoy doing it together. If children are pushed into sports they do not enjoy it can “turn them off
of sports forever” (Onderko). This added pressure can be detrimental to a child's self-esteem and
make them avoid any kind of competition the rest of their lives.
On the other hand, sports are very positive to a young child's mental health if they do
enjoy what they are setting their mind to do. Sports have the ability to help children by
effectively releasing pent up stress. Stress is a common side effect everyone has to the problems
in everyday life. Especially in children, any form of stress can have enormous effects on the
brain. This stress can lead to early onset depression, dampen social skills, or lead to other serious
health problems. Sports have been proven to be a natural sort of depression medicine, and if not
completely wipe out, cure almost all symptoms of depression. Putting children who are very

5. prone to stress in sports is a very common and effective answer to relieving this extra stress they
have in their lives. The action of letting everything go on the field and giving the sport you are
playing everything you have, helps to “relieve the tension that is built up in your
muscles”(Metzel). Sports also help to give a mental release by taking athletes out of real life and
putting them into their own virtual realm where nothing else matters except for goals that are set
forth in the field of play. This stress release helps kids to live life easier and focus on the more
important things like relationships and school. The idea that the stress relief from sports helps an
athlete in the classroom is a proven fact. Dr. Jordan D. Metzel states that “many athletes get
better grades in-season” (Metzel). This fact has been backed up by countless numbers of
respectable doctors over the years. Proof can also be seen by the grades that are produced by
well-known athletes on college sports teams.
Sports can also be very good to help take some of the energy out of high strung children
or children with disorders, such as ADD or ADHD. When children with these problems have so
much energy built up inside them from the time they wake in the morning, to the time they
bounce into bed , it only stands to reason that they need a positive outlet for all of this energy to
help calm them down naturally, and to keep them out of trouble. Sports are an extremely
effective outlet, by means of giving these children a purpose and place to release all of their
energy out at once. It also helps these children who can have problems with social skills due to
their problem learn these social skills by interacting in a safe environment with other children
who enjoy the same activities they do. There again, adding self-esteem to these children, who
from only having a friend or two to having a whole team of companions that they trust and rely
on to accomplish a final goal.
All of these points are very applicable to my life as an athlete. I started sports when I was

6. in the fifth grade. Over the years, I have competed in a variety of sports including basketball,
track and field and football. I have experienced almost all of the positive effects from sports,
giving me firsthand knowledge that all of the information in the above paragraphs are credible
facts. As a younger child, I was overweight and slightly unhealthy. If I had continued on that
road I could have very easily been a part of the 16 % of American children who are considered
obese. This was avoided by the needed exercise gained by participation of team sports. Another
personal benefit gained from sports was my ability to give everything I had on both the field and
in the classroom. With the help of sports I was able to relieve extra stress from my life and keep
a clear head about myself which helped tremendously in school. Still to this day my grades are
higher when any of my sports are in season. Also, the friends I have gained over the years
because of these sports is in my opinion is one of the greatest gifts that will ever be given to me.
When you go to war with someone, it makes a bond between you stronger than blood. I was also
sort of a hoodlum as a child and the extra energy I burned off as a result of late night football
practice was just enough to help me and my parents survive my childhood.
In conclusion, it is left up to the reader to decide how young is too young. This is a
primary question in the parenting world about when their child should start sports. This is backed
up by arguments from both sides from concussions, to tools that their children will gain in which
they will use for the rest of their lives.
Works Cited
AACAP. “Obesity In Children And Teens.” AACAP. N.p., 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.aacap.org/?cs/?root/?facts_for_families/?obesity_in_children_and_teens>.
Boyles, Salynn. “Sports-Related Concussions on the Rise in Kids.” WebMD. N.p., 3 Aug. 2010.
Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.webmd.com/?parenting/?news/?20100830/? sports-
related-concussions-on-the-rise-in-kids>.

7. “concussion.” Def. 1. Dictionary. N.p., 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/?browse/?concussion>. Pathology. injury to the brain or spinal
cord due to jarring from a blow, fall, or the like.
Hyman, Mark. “Sports Training Has Begun for Babies and Toddlers.” New York Times. N.p., 1
Dec. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.nytimes.com/?2010/?12/?01/?sports/?01babies.html>.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Strength training: OK for kids?” Mayo Clininc. N.p., 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 17
Oct. 2011. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/?health/?strength-training/?HQ01010>.
Onderko, Patty. “Toddler Sports.” Parenting. Bonnier Corp, 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.parenting.com/?article/?toddler-sports>.
Rabiner, Dr. David. “Sports Participation, Anxiety and ADHD.” Internet 4 Classrooms. Drexel
University, 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.internet4classrooms.com/?exceptional_children/?
ADHD_attention_deficit_disorder_sports_participation_anxiety.htm>.
Vann, Madeline. “After-School Activities for Children With ADHD.” Everyday Health. N.p.,
2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.everydayhealth.com/?health-report/?adhd-
children/? afterschool-activities-for-children-with-adhd.aspx>.
"Playing Sports Benefits Children" by Jordan D. Metzl and Carol Shookhoff. Child Athletes.
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