The Youth Sports Myth: Fact or Fiction
The Youth Sports Myth: Fact or Fiction
Common mythology in America holds that participating in youth sports builds better people. Participation in youth sports is seen as a character-building exercise; that sports build moral fiber. However, there are many reasons to believe this is not the case. There are numerous studies that show the opposite, that youth athletes are more prone to antisocial behavior than their non-athletic peers.
This paper will explore the myths surrounding youth sports along with the reality of youth sports in 21st century America and what can be done to bring reality closer to the mythology.
What Is The Myth?
The mythology of youth sports in America traces back to elite schools in England. The belief that youth sports build moral fiber then was adopted by the upper-crust New Englanders in the middle of the 19th century. The act of competing in team sports became equated with possessing and building character. (Miracle & Rees, 2003).
Near the end of the 19th century, organized sports were beginning to be introduced into American public schools as a way to integrate immigrants. Social reformers on the East Coast promoted groups like the YMCA and public school athletic leagues as a way of "Americanizing" the children of the immigrants. By the turn of the century, the British ideal that emphasized participation as the ultimate goal had become the American obsession with winning being the only real objective. (Miracle & Rees, 2003). Yet the myth youth sports builds character persisted, despite a lack of any evidence to support the claim.
Fast forward to the early 21st century and there is a landscape wherein news reports are littered with tales of misbehaving professional athletes engaged in everything from brawls to gun violence to barbaric activities such as dog fighting. Since young athletes emulate the behavior they observe, is it fair to conclude that these reports encourage such behavior by athletes in lower levels of
Common mythology in America holds that participating in youth sports builds better people. Participation in youth sports is seen as a character-building exercise; that sports build moral fiber. However, there are many reasons to believe this is not the case. There are numerous studies that show the opposite, that youth athletes are more prone to antisocial behavior than their non-athletic peers.
This paper will explore the myths surrounding youth sports along with the reality of youth sports in 21st century America and what can be done to bring reality closer to the mythology.
What Is The Myth?
The mythology of youth sports in America traces back to elite schools in England. The belief that youth sports build moral fiber then was adopted by the upper-crust New Englanders in the middle of the 19th century. The act of competing in team sports became equated with possessing and building character. (Miracle & Rees, 2003).
Near the end of the 19th century, organized sports were beginning to be introduced into American public schools as a way to integrate immigrants. Social reformers on the East Coast promoted groups like the YMCA and public school athletic leagues as a way of "Americanizing" the children of the immigrants. By the turn of the century, the British ideal that emphasized participation as the ultimate goal had become the American obsession with winning being the only real objective. (Miracle & Rees, 2003). Yet the myth youth sports builds character persisted, despite a lack of any evidence to support the claim.
Fast forward to the early 21st century and there is a landscape wherein news reports are littered with tales of misbehaving professional athletes engaged in everything from brawls to gun violence to barbaric activities such as dog fighting. Since young athletes emulate the behavior they observe, is it fair to conclude that these reports encourage such behavior by athletes in lower levels of
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