Sports and Children: Are We Pushing Too Hard?

Are children being pushed too hard in sports?

These days it seems like everyone you talk to has a child who is immersed in a sporting activity.  These sporting activities include games all weekend at a travel baseball tournament, football practice seven days a week, soccer practices or early morning swim team practices. 

When do children these days have time to just get out and play with their friends and be, well, a child? Sure, they are with their friends at sporting activities, but is that the same as hanging out in the backyard or in the neighborhood with their buddies? 

Go spend some time at the ballparks and see how you feel about some of the coaches’ and parents’ behavior. I hear stories of 8- and 9-year-old football players throwing up on the sidelines and returning to the practice field. I have been to tee ball games with 5- and 6-year-olds playing in 30-ish degree, bone-chilling weather bundled up so tightly they couldn’t swing the bat. 

So my question to you is this: Are children these days pushed too hard in sports or are we building a generation of better athletes?