Exploratory Essay Kids in Competitve Sports

Many parents who put their kids into sports at a young age often grew up playing ports. They see themselves In their children and want them to be as good If not better than they were. It's very hard for a child to enjoy the sport If they constantly have their parents over their shoulders to practice and win. Parents pushing kids to win or be the best isn't exactly what a kid wants to do. Growing up kids need to experience a fun sports game, so much intensity at an early age may cause the kid to want to quit the sport.Most kids can handle the pressure of parents pushing their kids to win. A lot of kids are naturally competitive but â€Å"they sometimes feel (perceive) that they ill not be able to perform adequately to the performance demands of competition (Humphrey 23). † A big concern with competitive sports is the emotional stress that can affect a child's physical well-being. Competitiveness makes one team successful and the other team a failure. Because losing can be a thr eat to one's self-esteem, the negative emotion and anxiety can be personally threatening.Once kids adapt to these negative feelings, the negative aspects can stay with them for life. If parents encourage their kids that real winners love to play for fun. Then it encourages the kids to try their hardest and not be so stressed out and be as upset if they were to lose the game. Self-efficacy is defined as the â€Å"can do† attitude. It isn't based on a person's skill, but it's based on how one judges their own skills. It gives kids the ability to try out many other skills, and even if they aren't as good at one as the other, It gives them the motives to take on new challenges.Kids Like to discover many things they are pretty good at. Whether or not kids are naturally talented with an athletic ability, physical education has become a part of the core curriculum in primary education. Students are required to take a physical education class for a grade. It's a great way for kids to adapt to friendly competitiveness against their classmates in scrimmages. Because it isn't a constructed team, kids are able to really play for fun, and not worry about pressure from other teammates, coaches, or parents. When children are playing with classmates for fun, they don't focus on the competitive aspect of the sport† (Griffin 68). They really get to learn what the love of the game is about. â€Å"By requiring physical education is the school systems it not only gives kids the opportunity to indulge in some friendly competition, but it also gives the kids a good exercise† (Schoenberg 42). Since child obesity has become a major issue in the past decade, a kid participating in a sport that is fun to play, helps them to enjoy working out, and contributes to the distinction of childhood obesity.Sport and physical skills learned during play, physical education and sport contribute to the holistic development of young people. Through participation in sport and physi cal education, young people learn about the importance of key values such as: honesty, teamwork, air play, respect for themselves and others, and adherence to rules (Humphrey 83). Kids playing sports in school classes can encourage them to try out for a competitive team. Once on a competitive team, the student can then acquire many useful skills that can actually contribute to their work ethics in school.Once a student is on a daily routine then they can start to develop time management skills. With these skills they can schedule time to do homework, and hang out with friends. Being involved in an extracurricular activity actually helps kids in school because then they an have defined time to work on homework, rather than Just procrastinate. Not only will it help them in time management, but being a part of a team helps develop social skills and friendships that are stronger than others. They aren't Just your friends, they are your teammates.Being on the Carolina Girls Dance Team an d in the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, I have made many friendships with many girls. But since the dance team has to compete together, my bond with them is way stronger than it is with my sorority sisters. Since I grew up in a competitive atmosphere dancing, I can completely relate to he reasons why parents may be skeptical to enroll their kids in competitive sports teams. Vive learned that it is definitely beneficial in most cases for kids to be involved in competitive sports as long as coaches and parents help their kids stay positive.