Preview

Are athletes good role models?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
573 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Are athletes good role models?
Brain, Shawn
701
2-25-13

Society considers athletes to be the perfect role models for children. Athletes teach kids determination, how to stay encouraged, be physically active, and proper behavior. These life skills may be very important in a child’s lifetime. Looking up to these amazing people should diminish laziness, and other degrading qualities, and hopefully change the way society is viewed forever. Athletes make such marvelous role models, because they encourage kids to stay physically active. To illustrate, athletes go to schools, hospitals and foster homes and interact with kids. They support them and introduce them to new sports and ways to stay healthy and active. For example, Pittsburg Penguins goalie, Mark Andre Fluery, went to a public school and played gym hockey with children. That might have sparked an interest in some of the children and encouraged them to continue playing. The article Are Athletes Good Role Models For Kids, by Miguel Cavazos, states, “Training and improving athletic performance involve strengthening bones and muscles, enhancing range of motion and taking care of the body. Greater physical fitness helps children look, feel, and perform at their best.”
In addition to keeping kids physically active, athletes model how to properly behave and have determination at all times. For instance, Paralympics athletes are disabled, however are constantly determined. This teaches kids that no matter what happens, keep trying at all times and be optimistic about it. Kids also learn proper behavior/discipline. According to the article, Are Athletes Good Role Models For Kids, by Miguel Cavazos, “Children can learn good behavior from an athlete who has a track record of sportsmanlike conduct. Communicating calmly with officials and opponents, maintaining control during emotionally charged situations, reacting positively to aggressive actions by others and refraining from obscene language or gestures are examples of sportsmanlike

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In my opinion, a lot of children back off from the sports because of the harsh nature and the judging criteria for players, if a child is not physically fit, he would be dropped out of the team or may be asked to sit on the bench for the rest of the game and that would make him disappointed. A major reason for this behavior of coaches is their will to be the best and see their names on light always. Mostly the physical contact games such as football and baseball are very harsh and it makes the children, playing them, fear the game. More precisely fear the injuries and they start to back…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kids these days look up to famous movie stars, and professional athletes. Not just because they are famous and have money, which is a big part of it, but also because they do great things with that money. These famous people show compassion and kindness to humanity, depending on what they do it can do wonders. The reason they are important is that they go above and beyond with good acts of kindness. Brett Favre, Bill Gates, and Jim Carrey are all very good role model.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the articles, “The Secret Life of Tiger Woods” by Wright Thompson, and, “Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid pressure” by Michael Rosenwald, they both show different ways on how parents could have a major impact on their children’s sports. In my opinion, the sacrifices many parents cause their child to take to become an “elite athlete” are not worth it because many children could lose the bond between them and their parents, or they could abandon interest in the sport entirely.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chat Williams Case Study

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I agree with Chad and the information he put out in this podcast. Parents who understand the athletic attributes needed for sports can allow children to enjoy their athletic development as they follow the right steps to improve their sports abilities. (Hutton MA & Twist, 2007). We all want the best for our…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “children Need to Play, Not compete,” Jessica Statsky put emphasis on the hazardous effects on children when they play the type of sports designed for grownups. These sports are conducted under the rules and standards of professional practice which becomes too much of a burden for the young and growing children. Making them indulge in these type of extreme physical test makes them physically and emotionally in distress. Jessica furthers goes on saying that these sports sole focus is on winning and defeating the opponent team. This leaves the essence of the sports like learning to play as a team, maintaining your health and collaboration, behind. She also talks about the attitude of the coaches as well as the parents that they consider…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What really needs to be looked at is the fundamentals of physical education and how it can be a positive influence in children’s lives. It is not about how well the child can play the sport or how athletic one is over another. Let the children know that it is okay to not be the best at something and get the children moving. What is important is the physical activeness and keeping up a steady…

    • 3339 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reasons for this can vary, from parents wishing to live out their own athletic dreams through their children, to hoping their child can reach an elite level and gain college scholarships. However, this type of mentality must be abolished. Intense year round training doesn’t make a star player, and studies have shown that “less than 1% of young athletes 6 to 17 years of age achieve elite status” (Jayanthi, Neeru et al.). Yet, despite the slim chance, a child athlete will actually make it to professional leagues, this discourages few (“Intensive Training” 1). These kind of stakes only up the ante for young athletes, who are then held to a higher standard than their athletic idols ever were.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An issue that has created intense debate is whether competitive sports are good or bad for children. Some think competitive sports are great for children, but others think that sports are horrible. They all have great reasons to support their opinion. This is important because parents want to know if putting their child in sports is a good thing or a bad thing for their child’s success. It is clear that competitive sports are beneficial for children because sports have shown greater results in self-esteem in children who have competed in a competitive sport, competitive sports teach also children important life skills.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    english research paper

    • 1195 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sports also help prepare kids for life and how to deal with real life situations. Sports gives kids a place to experience the thrill of setting and achieving goals, as well as how to strive for personal bests and gain confidence in themselves. This new found confidence helps them succeed in school, personal relationships, and…

    • 1195 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Multisport Athletes

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In today’s society, many parents who are involved with their kids’ sporting activities, have an unhealthy addiction to their children being on top of their game; because of this addiction the kids are ultimately suffering. Parents are only letting their kids play one sport, believing, incorrectly, that specializing in one sport is best.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Regardless of proven benefits when children play sports, parents still seem to think otherwise. Many people believe having children play sports at a young age can lead to self-esteem issues, resentment, and burnout. According to Baldwin Ellis, writer for Livestrong.com, many parents fail to realize their child’s talent level, blinding them from the truth that is their child is not gifted in sports. Not fully realizing, the parents push harder and subject their child to embarrassment, resulting in self-esteem issues. The self-esteem issues can easily result in resentment from the child due to constant pressure, especially if the parent chooses to ignore the child’s wishes (Ellis para 2+). Finally, is the occurrence of burnout. Often times parents push their children too hard and try to be involved in every sport there is. The overload of activities can cause a burnout in their child meaning the child becomes stressed and no longer enjoys the activities. According to Alvin Rosenfeld, a child psychiatrist, overscheduling children is a nationwide problem and has become a way to parent (Elkins 64-70). Rather than pushing their children to participate in sports, parents should encourage. Encouraging allows the child to decide for themselves what sport they want to play, to try out different sports, or to decide sports are not for them. If sports are not for them, there are many other things they can be involved in such as music and the arts. However, with the proven benefits, children should be strongly encouraged, in a healthy way, to participate in…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, kids should play competitive sports because they learn essential life lessons. For example, autor Kristin Chessman quotes Jim Taylor, Ph.D and sports psychology author. "Kids learn essential life skills, such as hard work, patience, persistence, and how to respond positively to setbacks and failure," (Chessman). This way, kids who never give up on their dream will try harder to become successful. In addition, children learn how to work with different people with different personalities and strengths (Chessman). This is important because…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We always tell kids to follow their dreams, but is that always the best advice? Could we really be sending them down the wrong path by telling them that they could be an athlete? So this is my question to you: should kids strive to become an athlete or should they focus on other things? Who should kids idolize: a snobby, rich, selfish, athlete or a noble peace award winner? In my opinion sports should not be pursued by most kids because it could hurt them in the long run.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kids of all ages pay attention to professional athletes because they are an example to more people than they know. “For many male high school athletes, pro athletes are major influences (Schwab).” Children of all ages who are athletic, especially boys, look up to that one role model that they have on their favorite professional college team and would do anything to try to be like them. Most pro athletes do not even realize that they have a kid who shadows their every move somewhere in the world, but they do. “They [kids] are influenced by their [athletes] drug use (Schwab).” It is very critical to make the right decisions while in a professional sport. If the athlete collaborates with drugs one night and parties until early…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Quotations on Sports Day

    • 2941 Words
    • 12 Pages

    I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models.... It's not like it was when I was growing up. My mom and my grandmother told me how it was going to be. If I didn't like it, they said, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out." Parents have to take better control. ~Charles Barkley…

    • 2941 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays