Playing youth t-ball or joining your first soccer team when you were 9 years old used to be fun, entry level experiences for children to experience the fun of learning how to play a particular sport. You used to join a rec league for a season and then if you wished, could try a different sport the next season. Youth sports have changed quite a bit in the past 20-30 years and now kids are starting to play organized team sports as young as 3 or 4 years old and choosing a sport to specialize in and play year round by the end of elementary school with special private coaching and using the best pitching machines and batting cages during the winter, for example. The level of intensity for kids athletics is the same as it was for high school and even some college athletes 25 years ago and this is leading to a host of new issues.
One of the biggest changes is the age at which kids are encouraged to play sports. Not long ago, the youngest age usually, was around seven or eight years old to try soccer and ten or eleven years old to start basketball. Now it is 3 years old for soccer and five years old for basketball. Most of the kids at these little ages do not have neither the physical coordination nor the attention span to be able to get through an hour long sports practice. Due to this, kids give up on a sport earlier because it was too hard for them.
Children are also being told that they should specialize and focus on one sport around the age of 10 years old to be able to get an athletic scholarship to college. This has increased stress related injuries in a lot younger ages as a result of overdoing it on their growing bodies. The overuse on the kids physically and mentally has caused a whole generation of youth to completely burn out by the time they reach middle school or high school which is so sad.
This increased intensity of athletics at a younger age is also seen by the coaches and the parents as well. There have been so many parents that got caught up in their children’s games or competitions that they cause issues with their inappropriate behaviors and must be told to leave. Because of this, most schools and youth leagues now require parents to sign a contract saying they will act appropriately. Coaching has also become more demanding for children. In the past a parent would volunteer to help coach a team and that would be it. Today parents are hiring private coaches and personal trainers to have their kid to be the best athlete ever. The amount of money parents now spend on their children’s athletic endeavors is huge.
Perhaps, people will realize that children need to be children and do not need the physical or mental stress that is being put on them in their sports by their coaches and parents.