The following is the second in a three-part series examining violence in sports, and its role in society.
This past weekend I attended an amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) event.
Overall, it was great. Three of my friends competed, two against each other. They all performed well, and nobody was seriously hurt. They had some minor bumps and bruises, but they were all adults and their wounds healed in a few days. Heck, one of them even trained with us the next day (you’re crazy, Steven).
But there was one part of the event that really disturbed me. Prior to the MMA matches, there were a number of kickboxing contests, in which the combatants wore the larger, softer gloves (16-ouncers). One match involved a 13-year-old boy. Along with his big gloves, he was wearing shin guards and head gear.
His opponent, on the other hand, was only wearing the big gloves. Absent on him were the shin guards and head gear.
Turns out, this 13-year-old’s opponent was an adult. They were the same size, probably around 100 pounds. However, I heard the adult was 20. Whatever his exact age, he was clearly more muscular, had crisper strikes, and was much more explosive.
Not too far into the match, the adult combatant had grazed his younger opponent’s head with a roundhouse kick. The match continued as I watched silently in disgust.
Shortly thereafter, that same roundhouse kick connected squarely with the 13-year-old’s head, knocking him to the mat. He failed to get up immediately and laid on the ground for about a minute, rolling side to side, as the referee stopped the match.
I was furious. I wanted to make a scene and yell, “Why was this allowed to happen?!” I wondered what coaches would allow this? What parents would allow this? What state legislators would allow this? But it was allowed.
The youngster eventually got up. As he walked back to the stands, head down and looking at the ground, he feebly shadowboxed, gloves still on, and appeared to me as though he was on the verge of crying.
Some may be thinking, “Geeze, that so-called sport of MMA or kickboxing disgusts me!” But this article is not about MMA. It’s about sports in general.
What I witnessed this past Saturday is merely indicative of what happens across the world when parents and coaches care more about youths’ success in sport and less about the youths themselves.
In the 1970s, our sporting culture began a drastic shift. Sports became big business. Although professional athletics certainly existed before this, sports historically considered amateur for youth, were, in reality, becoming more and more professional in terms of long-term objectives.
Youth soccer, basketball, football, and hockey leagues were being increasingly defined as breeding grounds for future pro athletes, rather than as organizations that taught fair play and provided a safe place for having fun and making friends.
26 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Saraswathi Siriginia 11 months ago
A very interesting article! 5 starz indeed!
Edit Comment Cancel
kris jones 11 months ago
if u cant teach and handle your kids then look at u first as a parent,talk listen and explain to your kids the action movies horror movies football boxing hockey all are violent sports so now what do you do most of those sports are in school.All im saying you cant always look to blame one thing because of something else,things happen mma is just a scapegoat because it is violent .The same was said about wrestling a few years ago but guess what in nhl,nfl,nba snd mlb injuries hav been ocurring,what are you gonna do ban all sports
Edit Comment Cancel
CJ Daconta 11 months ago
This is true, a good friend of mine who competed with me in Taekwondo was basically starved to death every tournament. His mother just told him to shut up and kept pushing him, keeping his 5'4 body frame under 100 ibs. He know looks like a skeleton, its gross. Now he is losing too because he cant keep dropping this much weight.
Edit Comment Cancel
Dorothy Willis 11 months ago
Sports can be very good for kids when they are the ones driving themselves and have good mentors to look after them and keep them safe. It is sad though when they would rather be doing something else and not chasing someone else's dream for them. How sad that something that should be a pleasant pastime can become a dangerous obsession. Let kids be kids!
Edit Comment Cancel
Kirk Mango 11 months ago
Dorothy,
How true that first sentence is: Sports can be very good for kids when they are the ones driving themselves and have good mentors to look after them and keep them safe.
Great Point!!!!
Edit Comment Cancel
Jason Cottier 11 months ago
Parents and coaches really do let a lot of things happen in sports that shouldn't...The year after I graduated high school I went to the first practice game of the local high school team. A Freshman came off the field limping. The coach took off his cleat for him and the kid was pointing to his Achilles tendon. The coach then wrapped his ankle and sent him back out. I started pointing it out to the others in the crowd, I had a few parents agreeing with me that the kid should not be out there with an injury like that, only to be disappointed when they all started agreeing that it wasn't even a playoff game, like it's ok to ruin a 14 year old kids life if it is a playoff game...It's ridiculous
Edit Comment Cancel
Shaun Ahmad 11 months ago
Great read! 5 stars.
Edit Comment Cancel
Greg Adams 11 months ago
David, this is excellent work.
Edit Comment Cancel
Alan Bass 11 months ago
unbelievable article, david
Edit Comment Cancel
Greg Caggiano 11 months ago
Excellant article, you have my pick of the day vote!
It's about time someone wrote about a topic like this, another reason why our society is going down the drain...
Edit Comment Cancel
Joe Willett 11 months ago
Amazing article. Very thought out and researched. Five stars and POTD for sure.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Kneeland 11 months ago
This could be one of the best articles I have ever read. Great work!
Edit Comment Cancel
The Enforcer 11 months ago
"62 percent of college gymnasts (generally considered too old for world-class competition) practiced at least one form of anorexia (vomiting or the use of laxatives, diuretics or diet pills) (David, 1999). "
Actually, this is the definition of bulemia, a very closely related eating disorder. Symptoms include binge eating and then a subsequent purge, usually from vomiting or excessive laxative consumption, whereas with anorexia, the athlete (or person) just stops eating all together. I should know...
In college, I competed in both gymnastics and springboard diving at the Division 1 level. I never thought I was in very good shape, despite weighing under 120 lbs (I stand 5'6"). Compounding my distorted body image was the team's nutritionist, who took one look at my weekly food log and exclaimed, "You CAN'T keep eating this way! You'll never be able to compete if you do!!" So, I just didn't eat at all for a while. Oddly enough, she was pleased with my "progress".
I've since recovered, but the injuries I suffered as a result of competing at such a high level when I was so grossly undernourished remain. Gymnastics hurts. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
My parents never pushed me to succeed. Rather, I pushed myself. The only external pressure I ever felt was from my coaches who (understandably) demanded success, and the crappy nutritionist. She was fired shortly after more than half of my team complained about her...
Parents need to calm down. Let kids be kids and let them have FUN. Seriously.
This is a great article. Thanks for putting it out there!
Edit Comment Cancel
David Mayeda 11 months ago
Hey Enforcer, thanks for the clarification. And thanks more for your personal story! Yes, women's/girls' gymnastics gets more attention than men's in the area of health, but the issue cuts across both sexes. Also, it's great you bring up the sport of diving. I strongly recommend the article by Paulo David that I cited for anyone interested in this topic. Despite the mistake on defining anorexia, when it should be bulemia (my bad there as well), the overall article is amazing and very powerful. That article discusses gymnastics, tennis, and diving at great length and the trials and tribulations most youth go through who try to make it at the elite level in those sports.
Thanks again!
Edit Comment Cancel
Kirk Mango 11 months ago
Enforcer,
I enjoyed your response to this article and would appreciate any time you might give to viewing my website and blog. Your take on the material there would be of great interest to me. Here is the website address: http://www.becomingatruechampion.com and here is the blog address: http://www.becomingatruechampion.blogspot.com. There are links on the blue bar near the title that will help explain the purpose and mission of the website and what it is promoting.
The blog is also uploaded here at bleacher report at this address: http://bleacherreport.com/users/9404-Kirk-Mango and at MomsTeam at this address: http://www.momsteam.com/blogs/kirk-mango.
Oh yes, and that so called nutritionist you had in college needs to get her certification suspended. Didn't he/she take body composition readings and use that as big part of her evaluation tool on what might be best for you personally as well as athletically. As long as you ate healthy, trained properly, and maintained a healthy yet competitive body compostion (fat %), for you, nothing else really mattered. I have two daughters and my advice to them was always simple. Eat nutritionally dense foods, foods low in fat and sugar, cover all the food groups in proper amounts and train in your sport normally and the body takes care of itself. It certainly is a wonderful machine that, if taken care of properly, can do amazing things.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Farrell 11 months ago
david, this is an amazing article, great read! it sure looks like you put time and dedication into your article! great work!
Edit Comment Cancel
Ben Horner 11 months ago
great article David, I agree 100%...I know someone who was forced to play through a torn ankle tendon because "there was going to be a scout" at the game. No scout showed; he now walks with a permanent limp, all because his parents and coaches were stupid enough to make him try and pitch injured...cost him his playing career at age 14
Edit Comment Cancel
Kathie B. 11 months ago
This is very disturbing article, which is what I think makes it a must-read. Adults need to learn the difference between encouraging a child to reach for the stars and excel in something that they enjoy doing and pushing a child beyond their capability to a point that is damaging to their health and their self-esteem. I have 4 boys who are very adament in becoming the best that they can be in soccer and jiu-jitsu, which I will continue to encourage as long as they continue to enjoy what they are doing. But never will I push my children like that! That is disgusting, and adults who think that it is okay are just an embarassment.
Edit Comment Cancel
William Blake 11 months ago
More people need to read this. This is absolutely fantastic work David. This has pick of the day for sure.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jad Semaan 11 months ago
Excellent article David. Keep up the good work.
Edit Comment Cancel
John McClory 11 months ago
Well, if your kid is kickboxing or participating in some sort of MMA match, then be prepared to watch him get his ass kicked. That is the name of the game after all.
But I see what you're saying. The growing seriousness of our sports culture is absurd and frightening.
Edit Comment Cancel
Micah Reller 11 months ago
Very good reading. I enjoyed your article. Being a crazed nut over sports is not a bad thing. Exposing our youth to extensive training programs and high performance expectations at a young age is wrong. I will expose my kids to all kinds of sports. I will not make them hate me or it because of it.
Edit Comment Cancel
Clare Ondrey 11 months ago
Great article - and what I like most about it is that it shows the paradoxical state in which youth sports operates. "I wanna be like Mike" vs. "let kids be kids." Striving for perfection comes so naturally to our society that we cannot separate it from even the youth culture.
What's not mentioned, but also important, is what the pressure of youth sports is doing to those children and young adults who cannot hope to compete at even the lowest level. My younger brother has some minor disabilities that don't manifest themselves in any physical ways but do keep him from ever becoming any sort of all-star. He was not able to participate in even the club sports he enjoyed at his high school because of the uber-competitive atmosphere. So not only have the high performing kids lost out on some of the lessons of the game, but the kids on the opposite end of the spectrum haven't fared much better.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ryan 11 months ago
Great article. I was lucky enough to have my father coach me as a kid and as long as I hustled and gave it my all, he was completely happy. I know alot of others who aren't so fortunate and are pushed harder than they should be.
Edit Comment Cancel
Kirk Mango 11 months ago
David,
This is a very well written article. Excellent points with credible support behind them. I enjoyed reading this, the predecessor to this article, and will surely enjoy the third in the series. I do believe that the inherent dangers, and accidents that occur because of these risks, are symptomatic of the pervasive loss of perspective in sports today (especially at youth levels). "Winning at all costs" and the type of attention given to those that do win can be very seductive leading to many different choices and/or consequences that are not all positive, some of which are well detailed here. Athletes today (and their parents as well) need to have very strong ethical foundations to keep themselves healthy, safe and moving forward toward whatever it is they are hoping to gain (hopefully intrinsically) out of their sports experiences. Whenever extrinsic motivators (winning, money, scholarship, fame, etc.) become the primary meaning or goal behind why a person is doing what they are doing trouble usually follows. I have no problem with an athlete, or any person, trying to become the very best that they can be at something. In fact, I encourage it because of the intrinsic nature, and rewards, one will receive out of doing so. In so doing an athlete would never place winning, or any extrinsic reward, above their health and safety, nor would their parents. To do so would defeat the whole concept of working toward being the best one can because it decreases that persons ultimate potential. It is counterproductive. There is no "fun" in that for anyone.
We all need to get back to building from the inside-out rather than the outside-in, especially at the youth sports level, if we truly hope to make a difference in “Sporting Violence: The Parents, Coaches, and Child Exploitation” – a sure symptom of the pervasive loss of perspective in sports.
Edit Comment Cancel
Andrew Rosenbloom 11 months ago
I enjoyed reading the article. I have recently created a program thats goal is to create a positive culture in youth athletics by working with the coaches and parents. Not only are kids needing to specialize in a sport at an early age they are having their coaches and parents tell them their goals. The goals that these kids are setting are not one's for improvement or effort as they should be, but they pit themselves against their friend and teammate. For instance, as a coach, I hear many kids say I want to start or be on the all tournament team. That type of goal can be disastrous for a child. What I mean by that is that type of ego goal setting can cause a child to be alienated, lose confidence, and possibly even lead to depression. Goals need to be realistic for kids and not have them competing against one another, but competing against themselves. I invite you to take a look at my website for more information regarding my program, P.L.A.Y.: Performance and Lowered Anxiety in our Youth.
Andrew Rosenbloom, M.A.
Director of P.L.A.Y.
www.playyouthsports.com
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.