Interesting article about competitive sports and depression

[Anonymous]

In the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I swore I’d never again complain about driving carpool for my kids’ rock-climbing team through Seattle traffic. Medical science has long touted the physical and mental health benefits of children’s sports. Add in social interaction, and youth sports feels like an all-in-one pandemic fix.

But as youth teams and leagues return, it’s worth examining what our children are actually signed up for. Youth sports are no longer the neighborhood pickup games of American lore. In recent years children as young as 6 and 7 are increasingly enrolling in high-level sports programs with professional coaches and year-round competition schedules.

By age 13, up to 70% of children have dropped out of organized sports. I was certain the stats wouldn’t apply to my family — until two of the best, strongest, older athletes on my kids’ climbing team dropped out.

Evidence suggests that as young people compete more intensely in sports, gains in mental wellness may be replaced by mental health challenges particular to competitive athletics. Pre-pandemic, up to 20% of college athletes experienced major depression. For young athletes competing at national and international levels, anxiety and depression were 20% to 45% — higher in some cases than those in the age-matched control groups. In one study of elite Canadian swimmers, an eye-popping 68% met the criteria for depression.

https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2021/05/covid-could-cost-us-a-generation-of-student-athletes-some-are-sounding-alarms-about-a-crisis-already-unfolding.html

After reading the article, I now think a lot of the things I see on the top team is related to the stress and depression of the players(specially on the girls side). Right now it is very high stress time because of the ID/tryout season and pandemic. I wonder if any club will start to address these issues. Probably not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

until two of the best, strongest, older athletes on my kids’ climbing team dropped out.


After reading the article, I now think a lot of the things I see on the top team is related to the stress and depression of the players(specially on the girls side). Right now it is very high stress time because of the ID/tryout season and pandemic. I wonder if any club will start to address these issues. Probably not.

Oh yeah. Those "climbing team" rivalries will sure wear down a person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

until two of the best, strongest, older athletes on my kids’ climbing team dropped out.


After reading the article, I now think a lot of the things I see on the top team is related to the stress and depression of the players(specially on the girls side). Right now it is very high stress time because of the ID/tryout season and pandemic. I wonder if any club will start to address these issues. Probably not.

Oh yeah. Those "climbing team" rivalries will sure wear down a person.

It doesn't appear the quote comes from the linked article so not sure why the two were paired. That said, I assume the author quoted was writing from the perspective of what they know. In this case their child is on a competitive climbing team and that's fine; however, the linked article does provide broader perspective as well as using basketball in New Jersey as their example. Focusing only on the article, there's conflicting messages about the decline of youth sports. In one sentence the author tries to suggest inconsistent COVID-19 restrictions impacted youth participation in sports. I do agree with that assertion but I don't think the drop over the past 12 months reflects the bigger picture observed over the last five or ten years. Specifically, "In 2018, only 38% of kids ages 6 to 12 played team sports on a regular basis, down from 45% in 2008, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. In addition, the average child spends less than three years playing a sport and quits by age 11, the Aspen Institute found." This ten year decline has nothing to do with COVID. IMO, I think it has more to do with the "everyone is a winner and gets a trophy" environment created in this country. Kids leave sports because their is no sense of competition driving them to stay at the younger ages. Those kids who do stick around are driven to perform - for good or bad - and I would argue are better equipped to deal with failure as an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

until two of the best, strongest, older athletes on my kids’ climbing team dropped out.


After reading the article, I now think a lot of the things I see on the top team is related to the stress and depression of the players(specially on the girls side). Right now it is very high stress time because of the ID/tryout season and pandemic. I wonder if any club will start to address these issues. Probably not.

Oh yeah. Those "climbing team" rivalries will sure wear down a person.

It doesn't appear the quote comes from the linked article so not sure why the two were paired. That said, I assume the author quoted was writing from the perspective of what they know. In this case their child is on a competitive climbing team and that's fine; however, the linked article does provide broader perspective as well as using basketball in New Jersey as their example. Focusing only on the article, there's conflicting messages about the decline of youth sports. In one sentence the author tries to suggest inconsistent COVID-19 restrictions impacted youth participation in sports. I do agree with that assertion but I don't think the drop over the past 12 months reflects the bigger picture observed over the last five or ten years. Specifically, "In 2018, only 38% of kids ages 6 to 12 played team sports on a regular basis, down from 45% in 2008, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. In addition, the average child spends less than three years playing a sport and quits by age 11, the Aspen Institute found." This ten year decline has nothing to do with COVID. IMO, I think it has more to do with the "everyone is a winner and gets a trophy" environment created in this country. Kids leave sports because their is no sense of competition driving them to stay at the younger ages. Those kids who do stick around are driven to perform - for good or bad - and I would argue are better equipped to deal with failure as an adult.

I would argue the opposite: That the insistence on early specialization and competition over more casual skill development and growth are driving away all but the most focused kids and driven parents. I have no idea how closely this corresponds with actual talent. What’s interesting is that as early specialization and traveling teams are increasingly emphasized, there’s less available for the talented kids from less affluent families — who were often able to access educational opportunities via scholarships due in large part to their athletic skills. It IS depressing.

[Anonymous]

Can’t wait to switch to crew in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

I think MS & HS sports should be open to more kids. I think more kids wouldn’t drop out at age 13 if that was the case.

[Anonymous]

Good article. My ds’s friends are all doing travel soccer at 8 yrs old and it’s so tempting to get caught up in it. He’s on a less competitive team this Spring and is so happy that I’m going to go with my gut and not buy into travel soccer right now.

[Anonymous]

My kids go to a school with no cuts for any sports and a sports requirement. The number of kids who try new things is inspiring. For the first time in a long time, after we switched to this kind of school, I see kids playing for fun again, even the really athletic kids. They get all the benefit of exercising and working hard to improve, being a part of team, having leadership opportunities, learning the thrill of victory and agony of defeat, with none of the other modern nonsense we are seeing in youth athletics.

The competitiveness of some leagues and schools (and we've been there too) is a disaster for development, and it is all related to college admissions, for profit youth sports, tracking kids to levels and labeling them according to ability, and measuring their worth based on these levels. It is all marketing. It is the same tactic used by the most addictive video games. Parent and their kids have become addicted to leveling up in pay to play sports.

[Anonymous]

NP.

Here is a link to the article OP quoted.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-04-10/youth-sports-mental-health-pandemic

I agree with many of the author's points. At risk awakening the forum bully, the instability of youth sports, and particularly soccer, is detrimental to the lessons you want to teach kids - taking risks, managing stress, and persisting through setbacks. Putting kids on a never-ending chopping block beginning at 8 is setting kids up for mental health issues.

[Anonymous]

Too much money into the play but I could not get it.
That puts a lot of depression on me.
And I blame the depression on sports.


Seriously...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP.

Here is a link to the article OP quoted.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-04-10/youth-sports-mental-health-pandemic

I agree with many of the author's points. At risk awakening the forum bully, the instability of youth sports, and particularly soccer, is detrimental to the lessons you want to teach kids - taking risks, managing stress, and persisting through setbacks. Putting kids on a never-ending chopping block beginning at 8 is setting kids up for mental health issues.

It’s not like high school is better. Something like basketball at a public school has a cut rate that would make an ecnl team jealous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP.

Here is a link to the article OP quoted.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-04-10/youth-sports-mental-health-pandemic

I agree with many of the author's points. At risk awakening the forum bully, the instability of youth sports, and particularly soccer, is detrimental to the lessons you want to teach kids - taking risks, managing stress, and persisting through setbacks. Putting kids on a never-ending chopping block beginning at 8 is setting kids up for mental health issues.

It’s not like high school is better. Something like basketball at a public school has a cut rate that would make an ecnl team jealous

You are right, of course. I was focusing more on the formative years when a child can fall in love with a sport and learn life lessons that will set them up for success in any area in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to a school with no cuts for any sports and a sports requirement. The number of kids who try new things is inspiring. For the first time in a long time, after we switched to this kind of school, I see kids playing for fun again, even the really athletic kids. They get all the benefit of exercising and working hard to improve, being a part of team, having leadership opportunities, learning the thrill of victory and agony of defeat, with none of the other modern nonsense we are seeing in youth athletics.

The competitiveness of some leagues and schools (and we've been there too) is a disaster for development, and it is all related to college admissions, for profit youth sports, tracking kids to levels and labeling them according to ability, and measuring their worth based on these levels. It is all marketing. It is the same tactic used by the most addictive video games. Parent and their kids have become addicted to leveling up in pay to play sports.

Similar experience with a school that provides opportunities for everyone to participate in sports. In addition, one of my kids has been fortunate to finally find the right fit with a coach and a team. It took years though.

Nothing good comes from creating an environment where kids play to not lose.

One interesting thing I've seen with some of my son's friends from soccer is that as they started high school, they were interested in taking up a new sport, like lacrosse. Soccer is no longer fun for them. They are happier as a bench player on a losing JV lacrosse team than playing varsity soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think MS & HS sports should be open to more kids. I think more kids wouldn’t drop out at age 13 if that was the case.

It wouldn't be hard for schools to fields multiple teams in most sports. Of course then the kids wouldn't represent the school per se, but if we think athletics are really an important part of what happens in high school, then why not field three volleyball teams if enough kids want to play?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to a school with no cuts for any sports and a sports requirement. The number of kids who try new things is inspiring. For the first time in a long time, after we switched to this kind of school, I see kids playing for fun again, even the really athletic kids. They get all the benefit of exercising and working hard to improve, being a part of team, having leadership opportunities, learning the thrill of victory and agony of defeat, with none of the other modern nonsense we are seeing in youth athletics.

The competitiveness of some leagues and schools (and we've been there too) is a disaster for development, and it is all related to college admissions, for profit youth sports, tracking kids to levels and labeling them according to ability, and measuring their worth based on these levels. It is all marketing. It is the same tactic used by the most addictive video games. Parent and their kids have become addicted to leveling up in pay to play sports.

One problem is that Physical Education is no longer physical education. The PE teachers are often big fat blobs, and the kids spend half the lessons studying health in a classroom instead of exercising, and the other half of the time they are engaged in dumbed down, low intensity exercise because proper exercise is too dangerous. There should be more PE classes and all kids should play proper sports in that time. Then the teams can indeed be competitive endeavors where some kids get to play and others get cut. Both types of program are useful.