Sports is one of the greatest displays of individual talent or team cohesiveness that we can view. It has been around a long time and the achievements have been fantastic. With that said, there are many additional things that sports can do. During national crisis, we can depend on sports to help give us comfort or help change some of our thoughts. Most people can appreciate the impact sports can have on us.
Since it seems that the most successful sports participants start very young and we often send our kids to some type of sports program in school or the community. How much attention have we paid to the way our youth are impacted by sports perhaps negatively?
how impressionable, they see, they do. Now what are they seeing? In professional arenas, we see the success of the players which is the natural expectation of the event. We also see violence by players towards other players. Sometimes there are multiple incidents in games that seem to be acceptable. One of the most common terms is “PASSION” . He or she is very passionate about the game or as a person.
Now, move that behavior to any workplace; What would be acceptable about the passion you bring to your job? It’s not just about the passion, it’s about how we project behavior and what is okay. How come it’s okay for a coach to get in a person’s face and holler and scream and treat the player so poorly? How does that person feel and what is the short and long term impact? Will that person recover and when will they recover? Who will they hurt because they’re hurt (hurt people hurt people)?
Youth are especially receptive to the treatment of abuse; can it be termed that? Of course! If that treatment of a child occurred at your home Child Protective Services would be investigating. We also know young males often lack the ability to express how they feel inside. We as parents often lack the ability to determine that something is wrong. This combination of inner turmoil and humiliation in a game can have an emotional toll on a person. Numerous professional athletes are opening about mental health issues that they have experienced.
Now, I love sports and I love the accomplishments often achieved. I also love to see happy families and I dislike the violence in our homes and our communities. The next time that a violence act occurs ask yourself “what happened to him or her in their past”?
Remember not every man or woman who coaches or leads our youth is the right person to do it, you can win the game and lose in life. Which is most important to you, you choose?
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