Kids and sports: how teens can find a balance between sports, school, and growing up.

* OBJECTIVE

Students should understand

* Many teens are devoting themselves intensely to a single sport.

* A healthy teenage lifestyle should balance physical activity with important short- and long-term goals, and family and friends.

* WORD TO KNOW

tendinitis: inflammation of a tendon, which is a tough band of tissue connecting muscles with bones and/or other muscles.

* BACKGROUND

While the benefits of participating in sports are many, kids do have to be careful about injuring themselves. Adolescent girls have unique health challenges. Doctors warn that overexercising while losing weight can lead to a condition called female athlete triad--a combination of eating disorders, amenorrhea (a decrease in estrogen), and osteoporosis (a weakening of the bones). Warning signs include extreme weight loss, irregular menstrual periods, fatigue or inability to concentrate, and stress fractures or muscle injuries.

* CRITICAL THINKING

CAUSE AND EFFECT: What are some of the benefits of kids' involvement in sports? What are some drawbacks? (Answers will vary, but benefits should include health/fitness and being more motivated as students; drawbacks should include possibility of injury and/or burnout.)

* ACTIVITY

MAKE A TIME BUDGET: Have each student list how he or she typically spends nonschool hours. Is there a better way to balance afterschool activities, time with friends, homework, and family time? Can trips or activities be more efficiently scheduled? Have them make a new schedule for themselves and try it for a few days. Does it work any better?

* STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Individual development and identity: How participation in team sports can develop a young person's confidence, focus, and organization skills as well as physical fitness.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Graham, Stedman, Move Without the Ball (Simon &, Schuster, 2004). Grades 6-12.

* Voight, Cynthia, Runner (Scholastic, 1994). Grades 6-12.

WEB SITES

* Food and Fitness (see Exercise links) kidshealth.org/teen /food_fitness/

* The Pressures of Kids' Sports cnn.com/2005/US/06/20 /youth.sports

* Taking the Pressure Off Sports Competition kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy /fit/pressure.html

Madisen Haines, 12, loves sports. The 7th-grader plays volleyball at Grace Yokley Middle School in Ontario, California. She is also training for the Los Angeles Marathon in March.

But Madisen's greatest love is soccer. She plays on a travel team in her area. A demanding schedule of practices and games--including a tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, over the Thanksgiving holidays--keeps Madisen on the run. She squeezes in time for friends during free periods in the school day.

Does Madisen miss not being able to hang out and relax after school? "No," she says without hesitation. "Because if I [weren't] in sports, I would be bored. I like to be active."

For tens of thousands of kids throughout the country, playing on travel teams means more than just being active. Many hope to get a sports scholarship to college. Some even dream of going professional.

But how do kids balance a love of sports with a normal, healthy life?

"A Well-Rounded Person"

First, remember that there is more to life than just sports, says Douglas Tynan, a child and clinical psychologist with Nemours Health & Prevention Services in Delaware. "Very few children grow up to be professional athletes," Tynan told JS, "and even those who do will have a very short career. You always have to keep your long-term goals in mind."

What are good long-term goals? Striving to become "a well-rounded person," says Judy Young, a sports psychologist in Reston, Virginia. "Kids have to think about all the things that are important in their life. Sports should only be one of them, balanced with family, friends, and schoolwork."

Madisen understands this. "Grades come first" in her family, she says. "I have to keep at least a 3.5 average, stay on the principal's honor roll, and I can't get any C's."

Many coaches say that the most accomplished athletes are, like Madisen, also the most highly motivated students. "They make the best use of their limited time," observes one coach.

Another part of the balance is health. Doctors warn that young athletes have to be especially careful about injury. In the past decade, the increased intensity of sports has led to a rise in the number of injuries among child athletes.

Says Madisen: "I've pulled tissues, tendons. I've gotten mild tendinitis in my knee, which happens when your muscles tighten up because your bones are growing so fast."

So far, injuries haven't stopped her. But for any teen, training too hard, or not taking an injury seriously, can have long-term consequences. A single knee injury early in life, one study found, can increase a person's risk of developing arthritis later in life by five times.

Then there is the simple matter of avoiding burnout. "I've known kids to do things like play ice hockey all year," Tynan says. "At some point they say, 'It's no fun anymore.'"

Setting Priorities

Keith Belfield Jr. eats, breathes, and dreams basketball. Besides playing for J. M. Alexander Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, the 13-year-old plays for the Charlotte Storm, a travel team in the Amateur Athletic League. Five days a week, he rushes to the library after classes to do his homework--then goes off to practice or a game. Weekends are for tournaments. This summer, he will try out for two camps.

But Keith doesn't feel like he is missing out on fun and friends. He is playing with his friends, he says. And he can't imagine doing anything more fun than what he does.

"I just love the adrenaline [hormone that stimulates energy]," he told JS. "When it's the fourth period and you're losing, and you have to catch up. You're running up and down the court as fast as you can, trying to score points and make your teammates look better." To Keith, there is no greater feeling.

According to Young, "being in a group of people that is working toward a goal" and "needing to make decisions about priorities" are two of the greatest things about sports. "You have opportunities," she says, "to practice making decisions."

In part because of her dedication to sports, Madisen is already thinking seriously about her future. "If I'm not going to make pro soccer or if I don't get on the national team," she says, "I'm going to go to Harvard and be a lawyer!"

Your Turn

THINK ABOUT IT

1. What do kids gain by playing organized sports?

2. At what point do you think playing a sport would not be worth the time and struggle?

KIDZWORLD SPORTS ZONE kidzworld.com/site /get_physical.htm

SPECIAL: KIDS AND SPORTS, PAGES 6-7

Decide whether each sentence is true, false, or an opinion. Write your answer on the blank line provided.

--1. Adrenaline is a hormone that stimulates energy.

--2. In the past decade, there has been a rise in the number of injuries among child athletes.

--3. Soccer is a better team activity for young people than football.

--4. Neither of the kids interviewed in the JS article has ever had a sports injury.

--5. A kid who doesn't succeed as a professional athlete should go to law school instead.

ANSWERS

1. true

2. true

3. opinion

4. false

5. opinion