Alex Astort-Fabra 711 

ELA      Ms. Cunningham  

Should kids be playing contact sports? 

All across America millions of kids are being injured one after the other and the real question today is should kids play contact sports? They should. Playing contact sports offers a great deal of exercise, and it will help children focus in school. Some kids have been playing sports since they were very young and if they grow up playing the wrong way then that is a hazard to the sport playing community. 

One of the biggest challenges today for parents is letting their kids play contact sports because of the risk of injuries. But if parents do let their kids play they will have happier and healthier children. In the article” crave competition, its good for you: a column by Joseph De Sena, it states: “ it’s time our country and our kids to get back to winning and losing.”  Many studies have proven that playing sports is good when you have competition, although you run a small risk of being injured. With the exercise from playing those sports the children playing these sports will be healthier and will have less risk in getting heart and brain diseases. From the same article “ what people fail to realize is that like Spartans, like all of us children want to win.” Kids should be playing sports to become healthier and less risked to have future heart diseases and to know how to compete.  

 Playing sports helps kids excel in school by increasing focus and learning stamina and also helping to boost self-esteem and self-confidence. If a child stays active and plays sports it has been proven that they will do better in school and have more success in life. Sports will also help with memory and sleep which will help a lot in school. A piece of evidence that I can use to support this is “Although not mentioned as often, research increasingly points to academic benefits for kids who have some regular physical activity.” This shows how beneficial sports can be. Also playing sports will help one person’s self-esteem and self-confidence. In the article “Young teens who play sports feel healthier and happier” it says “Playing on a sports team was linked to higher life satisfaction in both boys and girls.”  I really think that kids should play contact sports because it can really help them to excel in learning and really helps to boost your self-esteem and self confidence. 

Although playing contact sports is healthy and can really benefit you, it has its lows. In the article  “ For kids in sports a breaking point” by Jane E. Brody it says, “ Every year more than 3.5 million kids under 15 require medical treatment for sports injuries. Nearly half of which are the result of simple overuse.” Although this might be true if kids enjoy these sports they would take the risks and know what they were getting into. 

In conclusion playing sports does not only make you healthier but it can boost your learning stamina and help you do well in school. And be healthier kids. Although there are risks to playing contact sports like the risked of injurie it is still worth it take that risk and become a better person. We take risks every day, so will you take that risk?