Controlled Sports

Controlled sports permeate the everyday life of American society. Even young children are affected through their exposure to organized athletics, which include baseball/softball, soccer, football, karate/judo, wrestling, field/ice hockey, lacrosse, boxing, and rugby. Participation in such sports can have both a positive and negative effect on the lives of children.

Griffin (1998) offers research and personal insight on organized athletics in an attempt to help parents make decisions about their children and sports. One of the main issues the author addresses is what impact sports have on the social, physical, and moral development of children. The basis of this book is that children see sports as more than just enjoyment and the enhancement of physical skills, particularly for the child who is an enthusiastic participant: "sports is about growing up, the direction life will take for this child. Sports can have a significant effect on the success or failure of that process" (Griffin 19).

The author concludes that once a child chooses an organized sport, and becoming seriously involved in it, then it becomes important for the child's maturation process to encounter success. Success is interpreted as fulfilling the standards of the particular sport, e.g., a good batting average in baseball. The child may have to stretch in order to achieve the standard, a process that Griffin sees as part of the reward: "the best circumstance for children to be in is where they co

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author concludes, however, that prepubescent children can respond to endurance and aerobic training if the program is adequately designed and continues for 12 weeks or more. Weiss and Chaumeton (1992) focus on motivation as an explanation of an individual's participation in sports. Early studies of such motivation in children concluded that external rewards such as trophies or ribbons produce less interest in a particular activity for children. The authors contend that external rewards play a positive role in the motivation of children in sports: "Children who have not experienced certain activities or adults who have been sedentary most of their lives may not choose to engage in sport, leisure, or fitness pursuits on their own" (Weiss and Chaumeton 72). In addition, very young children tend to attach an additive meaning to external rewards, viewing them as a bonus for participating in sports that they already consider enjoyable. Weiss and Chaumeton (1992) also explore the issue of feedback and reinforcement by adults and peers. Such feedback includes expressions of approval or disapproval of mastery attempts and outcomes, acceptance of mistakes, and actions to correct skill performance. The authors consider the qual

Category: Psychology - C