Losing is a Part of Life
Throughout adult life, and even teenage life, everyone has to deal with competition in one way or another. Finding a girlfriend, getting a job, buying a used car, gaining admission to college, earning college scholarships, participating in sports, band, and chorus: all of these involve competition. There is no escape, and only one way to overcome competition's negative aspects: embrace them. The easiest mind to influence is the one that is still growing and does not yet have biases. The easiest way for someone to be able to understand competition and its negative and positive effects is to learn about it while their mind is still expanding. The easiest time for this to take place is when they are a child. Experiencing competition is necessary for kids to be able to deal with the world around them; therefore, children should continue to take part in organized sports during their childhood. In her Children Need to Play, Not Compete, author Jessica Statsky writes that "competitive sports pose psychological dangers for children" (The St. Martin's 256). Without being understood fully, competition can be very destructive. If it is understood as an essential part of life and if the outcomes are demystified, it is not nearly
Statsky tells the reader some of the physical reasons children should not play competitive sports. Her reasons are compelling, which strengthens her pathos appeal, but her appeal to logos is slightly weakened by them. She claims that children should not play some competitive sports because "they entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing bodies" (The St. Martin's 255). Competitive sports do not entice children into physical actions that are bad for their bodies. Often, these rough physical qualities are what draw kids to these sports. There are some dangers that should be avoided in sports like baseball. "A twelve-year-old trying to throw a curve ball, for example, may put abnormal strain on developing arm and shoulder muscles, sometimes resulting in lifelong injuries", claims Leonard Koppett in Sports Illusion, Sports Reality (The St. Martins 255). A psychology professor at San Jose State University continues, whether they are injured or not, the fear of becoming injured takes away from the kids' enjoyment of the sport (The St. Martin's 255). Kids, for the most part, are risk-takers and do not fear injury, since a many consider themselves indestructible. If competitive sports are taken away from kids because of the possibility of injury, the kids might simply discover another way to hurt themselves. A lot of kids will do things that they know will possibly hurt them, for the simple fact that they are thrilling. Eliminating competitive sports will not child-proof the world. I do not believe that competition is driving kids away from organized sports. "According to Dr. Glyn C. Roberts, a professor of kinesiology at the Institute of Child Behavior and Development at the University of Illinois, 80 to 90 percent of children who play competitive sports at a young age drop out by sixteen" (The St. Martin's 256). This statistic is not solely due to the a
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Approximate Word count = 1278
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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