Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,506,802 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Don't take the fun out of youth sports. (voices).


FAIRFAX Fairfax, city (1990 pop. 19,622), historic seat of Fairfax co., NE Va., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; inc. 1892, as a city 1961 (at which time it became independent and no longer included in a county). There is some light manufacturing.  COUNTY, VIRGINIA--When I joined a private soccer league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me. My coach said that I had lots of potential, and I became captain of my team. That was before all the obsessed ob·sess  
v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es

v.tr.
To preoccupy the mind of excessively.

v.intr.
 parents took the fun out of playing.

At first, everyone on the team got equal playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the pressure started. Some influential parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have private one-on-one one-on-one
adj.
1. Consisting of or being direct communication or exchange between two people: one-on-one instruction.

2. Sports Playing directly or exclusively against a single opponent.
 training, got upset when she didn't give them more playing time in our matches. The coach was replaced.

The new coach made soccer hell. He gave me a starting position, but he sucked all the fun out of the game: All we did during practice was run. I always prayed to God that it would rain so the sessions would be canceled. Of course, all teams run drills; they are necessary. But we ran so much that, afterward af·ter·ward   also af·ter·wards
adv.
At a later time; subsequently.

Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here
, we had trouble breathing. Younger people shouldn't be doing workouts intended for 18-year-olds.

I was skinny (Skinny Station Protocol) Cisco's proprietary implementation of the H.323 IP telephony model. Skinny phones can also be configured for the SIP protocol. See IP telephony.  before I started soccer, but as a member of this team I wouldn't eat much, because I was afraid of being too full to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual share.

Is all this stress necessary? I ended up quitting the soccer team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing soccer completely. That's sad, because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they felt from the coach or their parents.

I continued playing soccer at school and rediscovered my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing for him, he told me I needed to relax because I looked tense. After I calmed down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it's a lot easier to excel at Verb 1. excel at - be good at; "She shines at math"
shine at

excel, surpass, stand out - distinguish oneself; "She excelled in math"
 it.

Do you have a personal story to share?

If we publish it, we'll pay you $100. Send your 500-word story--along with your nm, address, and phone number--to: Voices, The New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
 Times Upfront, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999; or e-mail upfront@scholastic.com.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Scholastic, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2002, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Author:Dalla, Narissa
Publication:New York Times Upfront
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Dec 13, 2002
Words:380
Previous Article:Democrats not fractured. (letters).
Next Article:Deep sea time bomb? (Photo).
Topics:



Related Articles
Kids, parents, coaches and recreation activities.
Youth serices at West Point: not only is West Point a premier leadership institution but it is a historical landmark that attracts three million...
Parental violence in youth sports: facts, myths, and videotape. (Social Issues).
Portraits of a revolution: photographer Rachelle Lee Smith gives lesbian and gay youth an outlet to speak for themselves. (art).(Brief Article)
An after-school model: parks, schools and communities work together in Indianapolis. (Great Parks: Indy Parks).
Parks and recreation enhance quality community sports: Sportstowns USA.
Becoming good sports: professionals need to exercise their power by helping community youth develop through parks and recreation.
Congressional Youth Sports Caucus kicks off on the hill.(ASSOCIATION NEWS)
Advocacy update: facilitating youth sports: park and recreation organizations need to advance their leadership role in youth sports.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles