Should We Get Rid Of Competitive Sports In Schools
777 Words4 Pages
In recent discussions of High school sports, a controversial issue has been whether high school sports are too dangerous and time consuming. On the one hand, some argue that competitive sports are taking time out of education. On the other hand, however, others argue that it serves as a learning experience and is full of teaching life lessons. In sum, then, the issue is if we should take competitive sports out of high school or keep it. While some believe we should take competitive sports out of high school, competitive sports are great learning experiences that can lead to social, psychological, moral, physical and health benefits. The recent scandal in which a New Jersey high school cancelled its football season after seven varsity…show more content… I believe we should keep competitive sports in high school because it teaches valuable life lessons and also how to work with other people. Sports do not just benefit kids when they play them, it lasts a lifetime and leads them to live a better life. Kevin Kniffin, who teaches leadership and management in sports at Cornell University states, “Research to which I contributed, complementing previous studies, showed that people who played high school sports tend to get better jobs, with better pay, and that those benefits last a lifetime,” (Kniffin). In other words, Kniffin believes after athletes graduate high school and maybe college, experiences and lessons they learned in sports are going to stick with them and can lead to better jobs and better pay. Furthermore winter youth sports season is in high gear, millions of boys and girls across the country are…show more content… Many people believe school should only be about education and sports should be played outside of schools in club teams. Amanda Ripley, an Emerson senior fellow at the New America Foundation believes that, “The problem is the dishonesty. By mixing sports and academics, we tempt kids into believing that it’s O.K. if they don’t like math or writing — that there is another path to glory,” (Ripley). In other words, we are telling kids that there is always a second choice if you don’t like school and that is sports. In some ways that is wrong because not every athlete will make it big. She also believes that, “Competitive sports is not about exercise. If it were, we’d have the fittest kids in the world. It’s about a fantasy with a short shelf life,” (Ripley). Basically, Ripley is saying sports are fantasy whether it's the kids fantasy or the parents, it won’t last