Sports :: essays research papers

25 million American children can not be wrong. Even though at least 20 million of these kids will suffer injury by the age of 15, only 10% of the injuries are serious enough to require more than one visit to the doctor. I have been playing baseball as well as other organized sports for almost 15 years; and in my opinion, sports develop friendship and self-esteem. I believe that coaches should take a "how-to" class on what a coach should and should not do. Injuries occur for three main reasons. First, because parents push their children past their natural ability level, thus it causes injury to the over worked body parts. Second, an accident occurs such as a turned ankle or a ball taking a bad bounce and hitting a player. The third, and most common reason, a coach teaches a player the wrong way to perform specific task. For example, when I was 12 years old, my baseball coach taught me the wrong way to throw a curve ball. After repeatedly throwing the wrong way, I tore a ligament in my right elbow. If my coach at that time, would have taken some kind of class, he would have known the proper way to teach the technique. Nevertheless, I feel that sports should greatly benefit a child's self-esteem. Competition also builds self-esteem because children grow both emotionally and physically and sports help to develop a positive view of both themselves and their athletic skills. As long as children feel that they are beneficial to the team, they are developing self-esteem because they see their personal role in the team as important to the whole cause. If a child is not athletically gifted, he can always take up a more non-competitive sport such as jogging or weight-training. This will also build self-esteem because the child can see his improvement and relate to others at the same time (Michelli and Jenkins). As well as building self-esteem, sports can help develop life-long friendships. Children form all different ethnic and religious backgrounds come together to play a game. This makes a good place for children to mingle with others of the same age. This can in turn give each child a sense of belonging and camaraderie between different races. Athletics also allow children to learn about their abilities as compared to other children of the same age. Children learn about talent that otherwise may have gone unnoticed. If I had not been involved in sports from an early age, I may have never discovered the talent that I have in baseball.