Most people start playing sports at a young age. For me, I started cheering and playing golf around the age of seven. As sports have become more competitive more controversy has been brought to the surface regarding the level of competition for kids sports.
Most parents get very anxious or skeptical when it comes time for their child to start getting more serious about their sport. While kids are excited about the competitiveness and new friends that they will get to make on their new travel team, their partners are only focused on the negatives and not the positives.
When I was younger and got into more competitive golf tournaments, my parents were always supportive, but when we got to the tournament some kids and their parents were very professional. If you didn’t know that this was a kids tournament you would’ve thought they were playing for the PGA. At the time that made me very nervous, but as I competed more I grew more confident with my golf game and started competing at higher levels. What parents don’t see in these competitive settings is that playing against kids better than them pushes them to want to get better.
When parents start seeing that their kids need to compete at a higher level what they don’t see is the benefits that come with it. For example, when kids start to become teens and are put into hard situations “sporting activities encourage constructive, healthy decision making, such as avoiding drinking and smoking.” Having something kids are passionate about when tough decisions arise makes them think back to what’s really important. I know that some of my friends from competition leagues outside of school have been faced with tough decisions but chose based on what is important to them.
Another thing that parents don’t realize when signing their kids up for competitive sports is that their kids are not going to struggle with low self esteem because “Watching your hard work pay off and achieving your goals develops self-confidence.” When kids play competitive sports they learn one of the most beneficial skills in life. I remember when I got into competition cheer, and when we started winning, I not only got more self-confident in my skills but also at school. I remember that after I joined cheer it was easier branching out and meeting new people.
Competitive sports may seem scary but they come with many advantages. Some advantages include more self-confidence and the likelihood to make good decisions. I am so thankful my parents let me join more competitive leagues because if they had not I do not know how I would’ve become the person I am today. So parents–when your kids start getting into more competitive sports leagues, don’t be scared; instead think of all of the ways it can benefit them.
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