Are Some Youth Sports too Intense?
By Emma Hendricks
To start I think that you have to try and categorize what sports are to be considered “too intense”. For example a sport such as football is normally called intense because you can easily get injured and it’s a very contact heavy sport. But, I think to classify a sport as intense you have to look at the person playing the sport. The amount of work you put in and the dedication you have to your sport solely depends on how labour intensive it can be. If you’re always putting in half the effort and don’t care then there’s nothing intense about it.
For instance, when I’m at jiujitsu I train as hard as possible so that I can improve and keep winning at competitions. While other kids are there because their parents forced them, or because they have friends there and just want to hangout. But for them it’s not intense because they don’t actually try during class and just mess around. So, if you train like you want to get better and are dedicated to it then it can become intense.
But when a sport is intense there are some downsides to it. If you truly spend most your time training then you can lose hours to do school work and there is also the risk of being injured. In Stanford Medicine’s article about sports injuries statistics, it states that “More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under get hurt annually playing sports”. Knowing this we can see that intense sports are a leading cause for injury and that with previous injuries that can lead to more down the road with overuse.
You have to actually work hard and work towards improvement. Otherwise it’s like you’re just participating to look good or say that you do it. And maybe if you don’t feel obligated to try your best in that sport, then it could be that it’s just not the sport for you. You may choose to do some searching for something that interests you enough to put your all into it and make it an intense sport. Unless you just don’t want something intense that that’s fine too. So I believe a sport is only intense if you make it worth it and put your all into it.
Sports injury statistics. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. (n.d.). https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=sports-injury-statistics-90-P02787
You make a great point about how the amount of work one puts into a sport is what makes it intense. I never thought of it on that level before, but it totally makes sense. I'm slightly confused though, because you said at the end that people should have sports they find intense, but earlier you said intensity leads to injury. Should people be putting their all into a sport then?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting take on how intensity is measured in sports, it is true that if you don't work as hard the sport wont be as intense, I just never really thought of it that way. I think that, if you make it, sports can be intense, but sports are a healthy way to exercise, and a lot of the time injuries are preventable and not necessarily the sports fault. It is also cool how you tie intensity in with how much you like the sport and what your goals with the sport is. I also believe that you have to give your all for the sport you want to be intense, even if other people aren't making it as intense.
ReplyDeleteHey Emma. I like how you broke down your question and came at it from different angles. I totally agree that the intensity of a sport depends on how much effort is put into it. Injury is unfortunate, but if someone really dedicates to a sport then they would be willing to take the risk. I also have another perspective for you. Not putting in as much effort can also lead to injury. If you aren't trying hard at your sport then you will probably be in a bad physical state health wise. This can also lead to injuries, which is what happened to me during subbie year XC on the first meet. I have since learned from it and I have definitely gotten better at running. Good luck in jiujitsu!
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