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Dan Johnson

Professor Goeller

English 1101

24 November 2020

Argument Essay: Let Them Play

Once Nelson Mandela said “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to

inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a

language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair” (Mandela).

This easily understood youth sports language plays a huge roll in the lives of millions of

American children. According to the “Youth Sports” topic over view featured on Gale Opposing

Viewpoints Online Collection “Over 22 million US children ages six to twelve participated in

school- and community-based sports programs in 2017” (“Youth Sports”). Even though that is an

impressive number, there are still parents not allowing their kids to participate in youth sports.

Youth sports have been proven to produce positive trends in children’s overall health and social

lives. They build a world in which race, along with wealth, are forced to sit the bench while

children build life skills, socially strong lives, good health, and strong academic successes.

Sports are no different from life in the aspect of which essential skills are needed to

produce success in either of them. Tory Lindley, president of the National Athletic Trainers’

Association, stated that “People who played competitive sports… have more confidence, self-

respect and leadership skills. They're better at setting goals and managing their time” (“Do the

Benefits”). Additionally, the similar claim is made that “sports make invaluable contributions to

character development and future success of children by teaching them teamwork, discipline,

self-control and triumph over adversity” (Maroon & Julian). Each quote above upholds the
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assertion that valuable life skills are developed through the participation in youth sports and that

these life skills help former athletes in the real world down the road. For example, a study on

female executives finds that eighty-two percent of them played a sport and that sixty percent

agree with the assertion that their sport participation helped them build a competitive advantage

in business (“Do the Benefits”). This is evidence of a real-world example that shows the positive

come out of playing a competitive youth sport.

Youth sports are how a lot of people build lifelong friendships as well as some of the

fondest childhood memories. In the social harmony of sport, the color of a person’s skin and the

size of their house has no importance. Only the virtues of effort, will power, and resilience

measure athletes on the field of competition. Rich kids build friendships with poor kids, black

mixes with white, and the world for a moment seems socially harmonious. This is where sport

differs from life and has “been shown to serve as a mechanism for the transmission of values,

knowledge, and norms in creating social harmony” (MALINA). Sports exhibit an integrational

aspect that unites the world in a shared language of sport that competition provides. What’s more

is the way youth sports strengthens the relationships parents have with their children and

“provide some of the most precious and long-lasting memories parents make with their children”

(Marron & Joseph). The evidence promotes the assertion that youth sports allow parents to bond

with their children, a relationship that has an extremally large impact on the current and future

social life of a child. In an article featured on “The Pillars Christian Learning Center” Micheal

Tasner writes that “Children who have a healthy relationship with their parents are more

likely to develop positive relationships with other people around them. They can establish secure

bonds and friendships with peers. They are better at regulating their emotions when faced with
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stress and difficult situations” (Tasner). With sport helping to strengthen this bond, it adds

another plus to the growing list.

Inadequate physical health is a growing problem in the United States of America for

children. The CDC writes that “Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States

putting children and adolescents at risk for poor health. Obesity prevalence among children and

adolescents is still too high” (CDC). With childhood obesity’s large impact on American

children, what better way to combat it than with the participation in youth sports. Tory Lindley,

president of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, stated that “Health benefits are clearly

a major advantage, with lower rates of obesity, heart disease, stroke and cancer among adults

who participated in… sports” (“Do the Benefits”). Additionally, the similar claim is made that

“Organized sports are a bulwark against the very real health risks associated with childhood

obesity such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiac disease” (Maroon & Julian). The quotes above

support the claim that participation in contact sports is a great way to help combat the growing

number of childhood obesity cases in America. Sport impacts physical health in many other

positive ways, “Physical health can be maintained and improved through sport participation by

enhancing the cardiovascular system; improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels;

increasing muscular strength; improving muscular endurance, flexibility, and bone density; and

weight management” (MALINA). Further showing the numerous health benefits sports entail

other than the combat against children obesity.

Increased academic performance serves as one more positive trend resulting from the

participation in youth sports. As a result of routinely preformed physical activity in youth sports,

“According to the CDC, children… tend to achieve higher grades, miss fewer days of school,

demonstrate better concentration and memory, and exhibit fewer behavioral problems in the
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classroom than their inactive peers” (“Youth Sports”). Correspondingly, the claim from an

Encyclopedia of Education is that “Other data indicate positive associations between sports

participation and educational (higher grades, lower drop-out rates) and social (leadership roles,

self-assurance) behaviors” (MALINA). As if the information presented was not already enough

to support the claim, “Studies show… High school students who participate in sports are far less

likely to drop out, have consistently higher grades and are 15 percent more likely to attend

college” (“Do the Benefits”). In view of the evidence presented participation in youth sports has

positive academic impacts that have been frequently stated by a slew of credible sources.

Some people are still against participation in youth sports despite all of the positive trends

it creates. Such people say that “Youth who spend most of their time practicing and playing a

sport are at risk of developing overtraining syndrome” (“Youth Sports”). According to

Children's Hospital Colorado overtraining syndrome or burnout in youth athletes causes muscle

or joint pain, mood swings, increased heart rate, lack in drive, sleep abnormalities, and a few

other things (“Burnout In Kids”). Only the very article used and cited by Children's Hospital

Colorado to write their article stated that “burnout, or overtraining syndrome, has been well

described in the literature for adult athletes, but little is found regarding its applicability in

youth” (Brenner). Meaning the statements made on burnout by Children's Hospital Colorado are

directly contradicted by the article used to cite their claim. Then again “A study published in

2018 by the White House's Council of Economic Advisers concluded that children who

participate in youth sports have a greater probability of completing college and are more likely to

find career success” (“Youth Sports”). A study that shows these youth burnouts is either

nonexistent or short term due to the longer-term success that participants of youth sports have
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achieved. Displaying positive long-term effects rather than negative physiological and/or health

related impacts.

Sports help create a world with social harmony where the youth build life skills, socially

strong lives, good health, and strong academic successes. Without sport people become divided

and are no longer able to unify in an equally shared love of sport and all it’s done, doing, and

will do. From the life lessons it instills into the minds of the young, preparing them for their life

journey that lays ahead, to the lifelong friendships built on sport’s field of competition, along

with the blessing of good health that sport helps sustain over time. Finally, is the off-field

success it has brought so many of its past participants. So, encourage participation in sports

among the youth. Let them play!

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Works Cited

Brenner, Joel S. “Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Child and Adolescent

Athletes.” American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 June

2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/6/1242. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.

“Burnout In Kids Sports.” Children's Hospital Colorado,

www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/sports-articles/for-

parents/overtraining-and-burnout-in-young-athletes/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.

CDC. “Childhood Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 24 June 2019,

www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

"Do the benefits of youth sports outweigh the risks?" Philadelphia Inquirer [Philadelphia, PA],

15 Aug. 2018. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A550286810/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=4ba53b41. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

MALINA, ROBERT M., et al. "Sports, School." Encyclopedia of Education, edited by James W.

Guthrie, 2nd ed., vol. 6, Macmillan Reference USA, 2002, pp. 2305-2315. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3403200576/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=b050ec8c. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

Mandela, Nelson. “Sport has the Power to Change the World.” Speakola, World Literature II,

Indian River State College Libraries, 2018, https://irsc.libguides.com/worldlit2/Mandela.

Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

Maroon, Joseph, and Julian Bailes. "The Health Benefits of Youth Contact Sports Outweigh the

Risks." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context:

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Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EEAYEC052799645/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=a7cd9e46. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020. Originally published

as "Weighing the childhood risks of contact sports," Washington Times, 29 Jan. 2015.

Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

Tasner, Micheal. “Why a Parent-Child Relationship Is Important.” The Pillars Christian

Learning Center, 29 July 2019, www.thepillarsclc.com/why-a-parent-child-relationship-

is-important/. Accesses 24 Nov. 2020.

"Youth Sports." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/RELZFS780278640/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=054feb25. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.