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Pushing too hard too young - Health - Children's health - Going for the Pros. Intense training schedules.

Pushing too hard too young - Health - Children's health - Going for the Pros

Pressure to win and be the best. Painful injuries. Given all these factors, it’s not surprising that some athletes simply burn out on their sport. But what is shocking to many in the field are the young ages at which this is increasingly happening -- sometimes as early as 9 or 10. Listening to a Son’s Concern About a Concussion. “Dad, I’m scared.

Listening to a Son’s Concern About a Concussion

I only have one brain, and I don’t want to hurt it playing football.” My son Will, his 10-year-old eyes filling with tears, was trying to decide whether to play quarterback in his peewee game against Roosevelt Elementary. Ten days earlier, he’d taken a helmet-to-helmet hit during practice and possibly, although we really don’t know, sustained a concussion. Now I wanted to help him make the right choice — if only I knew what that was. For several years, I have been following the furor over football and head injuries. I wasn’t there, but he told me afterward that he went to the sideline to lie down. He fell asleep? Was this a concussion? Will spoke clearly, and his memory seemed intact. I don’t know why, at this crucial moment, I didn’t remember all I’d read. At first, he said only that his stomach hurt. What Are the Benefits of Competitive Sports for Youth? Any parent knows that young children are filled with energy, eager to run, jump and play.

What Are the Benefits of Competitive Sports for Youth?

Transferring that natural energy to competitive sports can help keep kids active and healthy as the grow, and other distractions increase that may lead to a more sedentary lifestyle. Competitive sports such as soccer, track, basketball and swimming can also help kids learn important life lessons about teamwork and fair play. Learning How to Compete Seiya Kawamoto/Photodisc/Getty Images Participating in sports teaches children and teenagers how to compete in the real world.

Understanding the Value of Exercise Jupiterimages/Stockbyte/Getty Images Millions of American children and teenagers are overweight. Improving Self-Esteem Improved self-esteem is another benefit of competitive youth sports. Decreasing Risky Behavior. Sports Promote Healthy Weight in Teenagers. Photo Teenagers can significantly lower their likelihood of being overweight or obese by walking or biking to school and playing on at least one high school sports team, but preferably two or more, a new study suggests.

Sports Promote Healthy Weight in Teenagers

Though the spread of childhood obesity in the last decade has spurred health authorities to ramp up their efforts to promote youth activity, the new findings are among the first to demonstrate that walking or riding a bike to school actually has an impact on weight gain among high school students. The study also found that while school-based exercise can reduce or stem weight gain, it is sports participation in particular that makes a difference. Physical education classes, the researchers found, did not reduce or prevent weight gain, likely because they do not offer students the same level of regular, challenging exercise as competitive sports. In their study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, Dr.

Dr. Hidden demographics of youth sports - ESPN The Magazine. Jul 11, 2013Bruce Kelley and Carl Carchia COMPETITIVE YOUTH SPORTS may be as American as apple pie, but we know a lot less about youth sports than we do about apple pie.

Hidden demographics of youth sports - ESPN The Magazine

The problem is that while the FDA takes responsibility for knowing everything about our food (as the EPA does with the environment and a group called ARDA does with religious life), no one agency or organization monitors youth sports either as a central part of American childhood or as an industry. (And it is an industry. The Columbus Dispatch reviewed tax returns in 2009 and found that nonprofit sports groups alone, from the AAU to the thousands of cash-strapped parent-run community leagues, have $5 billion a year pass through their coffers.) So we are left with a Wild West of local and regional organizations in dozens of sports and no better odds of getting pinpoint data than of counting all the tumbleweeds blowing across the land. 1. How many American kids play competitively on teams or clubs?

2. But which kids? 3. 4. Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at the High School Level. Teenagers today experience a myriad of benefits from competing in sports in public schools, from developing camaraderie and team building to honing physical and personal skills.

Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at the High School Level

Athletes discover the challenges of both winning and defeat as well. With the many benefits, however, teens competing in high school sporting events must simultaneously balance athleticism with the potential dangers, such as an overly intense focus on the goal of winning. Dealing With Stress In Sports (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth. Sports are a great way to have fun while staying fit.

Dealing With Stress In Sports (for Teens) - Nemours KidsHealth

Sports also teach important life lessons like: working as a team learning how to be a good sport overcoming challenges controlling emotions taking pride in accomplishments But it's not always easy to keep it together when it feels like winning is everything. Having a healthy attitude about sports and learning to deal with the stress that comes with competing can help you perform your best. Check Stress Levels Competing always leads to some stress.