The Problem with Youth Sports.

By: Cade Carlton 

            We’ve all heard it before, the constant chatter of “my child is the next Lebron or Tom Brady or Mike Trout” and so on and so forth. Even at an early age, the pressure is on kids to succeed and perform at a high-level night in, night out in their respective sports. We’ve put so much stock in youth sports that it leads to burnout from great athletes before they reach the high school level.

            According to a study from 2017, there were over 36,000,000 kids that participated in youth sports, while the number of athletes participating in high school sports nationwide is just below 8,000,000. Yes, there are a number of kids that drop off because they aren’t talented enough to compete at the high school level. But, there are also a number of kids that drop off because they’re burnt out. The two major sports that see athletes drop due to fatigue are basketball and baseball, because they are played all throughout the summer months.

            Let’s examine the game of baseball first. In addition to playing in the spring, the hardcore baseball players pick it up in the summer as well. Not only do they play anywhere from 30-40 games in the spring, some are also playing 40 games in just June and early July with summer ball. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say you play 70 games from February 15th to July 15th. That’s 70 games in a roughly 150-day span, which averages out to be right at a game every two days. At ages 15-18, most youth baseball players are playing an MLB-like schedule once the summer months begin. 

            Now, we’ll shift to basketball. Unlike baseball, you do have some time off in between regular season ball and summer ball. When looking at a summer schedule, you may think it doesn’t look like much, as most teams typically only have 4-6 tournaments lined up to participate in. But, when you dig into the tournaments and look at the brackets, there isn’t just two-three games played, and then everybody heads home. In most every AAU tournament, you begin by playing a couple games in the preliminary round, a game in your bracket, and then move on to the semifinal and final rounds. Most weekends you’re talking about 5-7 games in a three day or fewer span, and that’s before we throw in travel time because very few of these AAU tournaments are played in Jonesboro. 

            The dynamic of youth sports has evolved from a good time for athletes, playing a sport they love, to a business if you are talented in said sport by age 15. Putting a spotlight on young kids and putting pressure on them to succeed at such an early age also results in injuries. According to a study conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control, more than 3.5 million kids under the age of 14 suffer an injury playing youth sports every year. Over half of those injuries are caused by overuse and fatigue. 

            My proposal is not to end youth sports and leagues like AAU and American Legion Baseball. I firmly believe youth sports are very important to the development of youth athletes. My proposal is to limit the number of games young athletes are playing early on. Children aged 13 and below should play no more than 30 games in a respective sport over the course of a calendar year. That includes their middle school games and their summer leagues. Until you walk through the doors of a Junior High School, playing over 30 games in respective sports seems a bit excessive.

            My last proposal to help better youth sports is to prevent kids under the age of 13 from lifting weights. That, more so than anything else, leads to injuries at a young age. Entering a “strength training” program before your muscles have fully developed is a very dangerous way to try and get ahead in your respective sport. According to a study that was conducted by Dr. Paul R. Stricker, the most common injuries from beginning a strength training program at a young age are: herniated disks in the back, muscle strains and tears, bone fractures, growth plate injuries, and cartilage damage. 

            Most of the injuries listed are hard for professional athletes to recover from much less someone who isn’t fully grown.

            Youth sports are essential to the development of athletes in all sports, but it seems to me that starting out going 100 miles per hour isn’t the best solution. Sometimes more isn’t the best option.