Many parents' major concern today is that their children "stay ahead of the pack", and keep "an edge" over the competition. For this reason, schools are filled with children in enriched and accelerated programs. Children are being started in competitive sports like swimming, basketball, golf and tennis at a very early age. Being exposed to such competitiveness and pressure, how does this effect a child socially? Does it build character? Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting children to live up to their potential. However, it is the child's ability to find and utilize that potential and sports can play a large role in this part. This paper will explore the sociology of sports and whether or not they effect the way children communicate, socialize, learn, and in all become better adults.

First off, what is a sport? Though the answer to this question seems obvious, sociologists study sports in a more systematic way and they need a more scientific definition (Coakley 78). It is hard to come up with a concrete and precise definition of sports without making the word confusing to the non-sociologist. There are many kinds of activities that can be considered spo

5. Increased media coverage of women in sports (Loy, and Sage 42-43).

Before the mid-1970's many girls and women did not participate in sports mainly because teams and programs didn't exist. However, today this has changed greatly and girls and women have the opportunity to play virtually every sport boys and men play. Although, I know from being an avid sport participant in high school that it still is not fairly treated because many female sport programs don't receive the same amount of resources and funding as male sport programs. Females also began to have more opportunities once Congress passed Title IX of the Educational Amendments in 1972. "Title IX declared, No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance" (Coakley 208). This law along with the worldwide women's movement that was brewing strong for 25 years helped females advanced tremendously in the area of sports. From that point on women have been constantly proving and re-shaping the speculations that society has placed on them about playing sports (Coakley 209). They have repeatedly shown society that they are strong and talented enough to compete like men and even with men, and that they will continue to do so.

3. Do we want our definition of sports to depend on the subjective orientations of the participants involved in the activities (Loy, and Sage 315-316)?

1. Do we want our definition of sports to refer to specific types of activities?

Within the sports arena, research has shown that the role of the coach is a critical source of information that influences a child's self-esteem ("Athletes in America"). "High school baseball players whose coaches had been trained to use a "positive approach" to coaching (more frequent encouragement, positive reinforcement for effort and corrective, instructional feedback) had significantly higher self-esteem rating over the course of a season than children whose coaches used these techniques less frequently" (Smith, Smoll, & Curtis 36-37). In fact, Micheli believes that participation in sports stimulates a child's desire to succeed in other areas. Micheli argues that a positive sports experience provides children with an achievement- oriented attitude that extends to academics and social situations. According to Micheli's book, in a comparison of child athletes with non- athletes the athletes scored higher in positive personality traits and social acceptance than their non-athletic counterparts. In another survey, teachers rated athletes higher in positive personality traits, saying that they had, "more wholesome and more integrated personalities" (Micheli 29-33).

Since sports programs do teach morality what else can they teach? Do varsity sport programs affect the education and development experiences of high school students? Though varsity sports are very important in some schools and for some students, they are only one of the many sources of potentially influential e

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Approximate Word count = 2084
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)