Children are beginning team sports at younger and younger ages. The proliferation of youth travel leagues and all-star teams provide many opportunities for children to play at a competitive level, even when they are in elementary school. These elements can also make children feel stressed, anxious and frustrated about their performance in sports, leading to an unwillingness to participate.
Skill Development
Children enjoy sports at which they can be successful. They become frustrated when asked to demonstrate skills they don't have the physical maturity to execute. Even with good coaching and ample practice, young children may not have skills such as catching, throwing and kicking that are required for sports success, according to a policy statement on organized sports by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Avoid enrolling children in organized sports before they have started to demonstrate the required skills in a more casual environment to avoid feelings of failure or frustration caused by immaturity.
Peer Interaction
Organized sports are a great opportunity for children to interact with peers. Team Up for Youth, an organization dedicated to increasing low-income children's participation in after-school sports, notes that sports participation is one way that children define their sense of identity and increase their feelings of self-confidence and belonging. Sports can decrease the sense of isolation felt by some children with a physical or cultural difference or a disability.
Adult Involvement
Children are more likely to have continue to play a sport when they have fun and feel successful, but are likely to quit if they feel embarrassed, pressured or bored. Adults who serve as role models and are supportive to child athletes can help to create a positive sports experience and increase the likelihood that children will stick with a sport. However, parents and coaches who pressure children to perform skills that are developmentally beyond them can increase children's feelings of frustration and anxiety. Providing children with adequately trained coaches is an important factor in their continued participation in sports.
Competition
The pressure to win can make children anxious, and focusing primarily on winning can increase their hostility toward the opposing team and decrease self-esteem when they don't win. However, the best athletes benefit more than others from competition in sports because they get more playing time and therefore more opportunities to be successful. Focusing on cooperation and skill-building over competition is one way to increase the potential for a positive sports experience in young children.
References
- American Academy of Pediatrics; Organized Sports for Children and Preadolescents; Reginald L. Washington, M.D., et al.; 2001
- Team Up for Youth; Learning to Play and Playing to Learn; Ann Rosewater; 2009
- Sports Media; Should Elementary School Children Take Part in Inter-School Sports Competition?; Daniel Frankl, Ph.D.; 2003
- "Physical and Psychological Effects of Athletic Competition on Children and Youth"; Vern Seefeldt, et al.; 1980
