Advanced Essay #1: Coaching Kills

Youth sports is at an all time low in participation, and is only projected to dip lower and lower. This is primarily due to the way coaches are taking kids' health into their own hands. I have been on the receiving end of a coaches irresponsibility, and I will share both my story and my thoughts on this unfortunate situation.

I showed up to the field, finally, about 10 minutes before the game started. This wasn’t good, seeing as how it was the first game of the fall season. I grabbed my bag and ran down to the cluster of fields below the parking lot. When I got there my coach looked somewhat relieved.

He clasped my shoulder and said, “You’re starting today.”

I looked at him with wide eyes and replied, “Sure coach, whatever you need.” From there, I had about 7 minutes to get ready to start the first game of the season. There were a handful of college scouts behind the dugout waiting to watch the game, to see who they would recruit in the future. After I threw a little and got somewhat loose we had to take the field. I felt alright, but I took my time with my warmup pitches just to be cautious.

However, as soon as the game started, the pressure of the college coaches started to reach me. I felt like I had to throw the ball through the catcher's glove in order to impress. This extra exertion only wore me down quicker. During the third inning, I could tell that I was starting to fade. My mechanics were getting sloppy, but I couldn’t tell my coach.  Then the worst thing that could happen happened. I went into motion, whipped my arm forward, and released the ball. I could feel tingles start in my elbow and slowly crawl towards my fingertips. My arm felt like it was on fire. Everything slowed down, and I knew it was bad. It’s amazing the impact one pitch can have on your entire trajectory.

Unfortunately this is the way of youth sports nowadays. Overuse is one of the most common reasons for serious sports injuries, and it isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Many coaches of youth teams prioritize winning over player development and health. My coach made the decision to start me and try to put the team at an advantage, but put my health and safety at a disadvantage. This is a problem that starts and ends with coaches caring about their players. It is the responsibility of the adult managing the children, however this power of coach is often abused, and the kids pay the price.

Another reason that is causing these serious youth sports injuries is the unnecessary competitiveness from youth coaches. Once you get to a high enough level in your sport coaches will do anything to win and gain some recognition for themselves. I have been on the receiving end of this competitiveness, and it stunted my growth as a player.

If these coaches can not find a balance between winning and developing youth players. Unfortunately the only way to make this happen would be to enforce even more regulations into these games. This is a shame as it doesn’t allow the kids to just play the sports they love to play, but it is necessary if coaches do not change their actions on the field.


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