Abuse in Intercollegiate Sports

On March 7th, 2013, we discussed the topic of abuse in intercollegiate sports. One of the major problems in intercollegiate sports is where illegal recruiting violations have occured. College athletes are ammatures and are not allowed to receive any money for participation. Some division 1 schools have been caught violating this rule by giving money to athletes encouraging them to come to their school to play a sport, this is an unfair advantage. Another form of abuse that has been noticed is the alternating of grades and transcripts so the athlete can be eligible for a sport. Another thing is that easy majors are being made so that classes are easy enough for the athletes to pass all their classes in order to have a high GPA.

Reggie Bush is one of the top athletes
 to be caught in illegal recruiting violations and was stripped of
his heisman trophy.

Also mentioned in class, exploitation of athletes is another form of abuse in intercollegiate sports. The school uses the athletes image to promote selling tickets and merchandise in order to make money. The last issue discussed was pressure to win. The athletes get a lot of pressure from coaches, teammates, classmates, etc, to play at a high level day in and day out. Found again in Coakley's text on page 504, the lives of many intercollegiate athletes are controlled by coaches who's careers depend on making sure that athletes are completely dedicated to their sports. If they have an athletic scholarship, they are at the mercy of coaches who determine whether their scholarships will be renewed each year (Wolverton, 2008). Because of this, athletes are put in a tough position to focus mainly on their sport because they dont have control of their scholarship, and if they speak out or have a problem with the coaching or faculty staff it is possible that they could end up losing their scholarship if they are not 100% fully devoted to their sport.


http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1025477824078?LI=true#
 

Major Problems in Youth Sports

In class on February 26th, 2013, we discussed the major problems in youth sports today. Before I talk about the issues we came up with in class, I would like to explain my opinion on what I believe to be the biggest issue in youth sports. I believe that parent involvement is a huge issue in youth sports today. Not only do I believe this, but I also found a strong believer in this as well in an article online. Parents put way too much pressure on their kids to be the best at such an early age. It is not about being the best, its about being able to play and have fun, especially at such a young age.







One major problem discussed in class is overemphasis on winning. Winning should not be taught as one of the top goals in youth sports, they should be focused on their own personal goals instead. The second issue discussed was pressure by significant others to achieve success. Even friends place a major impact on putting pressure on the youth causing them sometimes to not be successful. The third issue was instilling unrealistic goals of stardum or professional status. Some parents may push their kids to this level because they want them to grow up and be successful and become a pro athlete, even though odds may be slim. The fourth and last issue we discussed was overuse injuries, over training, and burnout. By setting unrealistic goals, it can sometimes cause an injury due to the over training. By pushing young athletes above their comfort zone, it could cause them to be burnout from the sport which could mean that they do not have an interest in the sport anymore. Found again in Coakley's text on page 139, here is the youth sports national report card....

1. Child-Centered Philosophy: D
2. Coaching: C
3. Health and Safety: C+
4. Officiating: B-
5. Parental behavior/Enviornment: D

http://alphamom.com/parenting/youth-sports-theyll-make-you-crazy-if-you-let-them/

Benefits of Sports for Youth

In class on February 21st, 2013, we talked about the benefits of sports for youth. In my opinion, I think sports for youth is good for many reasons. It helps them develop a good set of communication skills followed up with team work. It helps them start new friendships at a young age that could last a lifetime. It also helps them set personal goals for their future. It gives them a good insight on the meaning of competition and helps them realize that sometimes winning isn't everything. We can relate sports to everything we do in life, and its good for them to realize that at such a young age. I believe sports can mature someone from a young person to an adult.

Here is the list of the main benefits that were mentioned in class

• Develops and maintains fitness
• Preparation for adulthood
• Opportunity to learn values
• Teaches interactive skills
• Produces opportunities for leadership

In my opinion, the world we live in today is not a very healthy society. So I strongly believe that developing and maintaining fitness is the best benefit you can get from participating in sports. Found on page 144 of Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies by  Jay Coakley, research shows that playing youth sports can enhance social and physical development, but it doesn't do this automatically, nor is it likely when programs are not organized to match the overall maturational level of the children who play in them.

Why do boys and girls participate in sports? (Top 5 reasons, ranked from most important to least, discussed in class)

Boys

1. Competition
2. Fitness
3. Recognition
4. Friends
5. Parents

Girls

1. Friends
2. Parents
3. Fitness
4. Competition
5. Recognition

http://www.livestrong.com/article/95377-benefits-sports-children/