Sports in High Schools- cots

On February 23, 2016 in American Sport in the 21st Century, we discussed the costs of high school athletics. United States High Schools cut $2 billion in funding for athletics in 2005. A high school athletic program is no longer a given. Schools in 43 states charge students to participate in sports. The average price to participate in one sport is between $150- $200. The other Ohio Legislature recently passed the Pay for Play Law for high schools, meaning to play one sport it would cost $625. This led to schedule reductions, travel restrictions, cutting coaches, eliminating athletic directors, and fewer teams.

By increasing the cost of playing a sport, it can keep low- income students from participating, at a time in their lives when they should focus on stating active. Over the last 40 years, there has been a demand for more classes, clubs, services, and sports. With these demands comes a need for more money. Since the economic crash in 2008, there has been pressure on the state budget cutting money sent to the schools. The result of this cut is the more money it is to participate in a sport. Unfortunately, high school athletics is not a priority when teaching positions go unfilled.

In 2014, twenty- two percent of children ages 6-17 did not participate in a sport and the number of participants had risen every year in the past six years. There were 2.6 million fewer kids in 2013 then in 2008 playing sports.

I believe that with the trend in youth participating in sport will continue to decline if the price of participating in a sport continues to rise. Parents already spend enough money on children with equipment, camps, travel, and summer AAU, that paying $600+ a sport is ridiculous. I do see the point in raising the cost because of the budget cut in schools but I believe that something else has to be done.

More: http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/11/15/sports-fees-fine-but-school-cant-be-pay-to-play/

Sport and Socialization- Athletes as Role Models

In class on February 9, 2016 in American Sport in the 21st Century, we discussed athletes as role models. At the beginning of the 20th century, athletes viewed being a role model part of their job. If you impact someone's life, don't you have an obligation to be a role model? The answer to this question is yes; you represent more then just yourself. Besides playing a good game, a role model should possess the following qualities: honesty, commitment, good sportsmanship, sense of humor, fairness, determination, good self- image, and high moral values. Although these are not the only qualities a role model should possess, these are just a few.

One athlete that stands out to me as being an exceptional role model is Carolina Panthers quarterback, Cameron Newton. Cam is known for his random acts of kindness by handing out footballs to random fans after the Panthers score a touchdown. This all started in 2013, when Panthers offensive coordinator, Mike Shula teased Cam about his Superman pose and how it would be better if he hand delivered a football to a young Carolina fan. His love for kids did not start because of this. He always had a love for children.

The most notable moment for Cam was when he delivered a football to six- year- old Panther fan, Colin Toler. Little did Cam know, this gesture by Cam meant the world to young Colin. Colin's father promised to take him to a Panthers game, and unfortunately, his father passed away due to an illness before the father and son could attend a game. Thanks to Colin's friend, a few weeks later, he was able to attend a game with his grandparents.


Cam did not know the story behind Colin attending the game. As for Colin, that day will go down as the best thing that has happened to him. It does not matter how big or small an athlete does something for a child. A small gesture could mean the world for someone, just as the football Cam gave to Colin. I truly believe that if you want to be a professional athlete, you have to uphold the values of a role model. So many children look up to these athletes during competition because they want to be just like them, both on and off the field.

More: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2016/2/7/10909594/cam-newton-giving-footballs-away-kids

Youth Sports- a price to pay

On February 11, 2016 in American Sport in the 21st Century, we discussed youth sports, elite sport training programs, and problems in youth sports. These elite sport training programs emphasize the potential for children to gain material rewards through sports. There are also problems associated with youth sports. There is often pressure on these young children to excel in their sports, parents instilling unrealistic goals of stardom, as well has overuse injuries.

John Amaechi, Mike Trombley, and Travis Dorsh represent the dreams of many children; to play sports professionally. Amaechi started at center for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tromboley was a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, and Dorsh was a kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals. These three athletes all agree that the way youth sports are played today bears no resemblance to their childhoods, and the money, time and energy that parents spend.

The amount of money parents spend on their young children is absolutely crazy. There is a lot of pressure on children to be the best athletes to get a college scholarship and eventually play professionally. Steve Clarkson, who had a limited professional career, and now a sought- after quarterback coach, opened his Dreammaker Academy in 1986. One hundred thirty- five young quarterbacks from 35 states, will travel to Los Angeles for a two day camp with Mr. Clarkson. Out of these young athletes, they range from 3rd grade though high school seniors. Parents of these children will pay $800 each, not including airfare, hotel, and other expenses. In addition to camps around the country, Mr. Clarkson also offers private coaching starting at $400 an hour. He said, "I hope parents understand is that there are some three million high school players and by the time they scale that down to the quarterback position there are a couple hundred thousand starters. Then you get to Division I and II, an there are 360 quarterbacks. When you get to the NFL, there are 64. When you think about the odds, that's not very good odds."

Mike Trombley, now a financial advisor, said, "I think sometimes kids aren't playing multiple sports anymore because its just too expensive." Financial costs are easy to quantify. With these costs, there are also injuries and psychological scars. Parents think the more money they spend on their children as youths, the better they will be and will help them with a college scholarship and eventually play professionally. The percentage of high school kids who move on to play collegiately is very small.

There are many people that I know who did not spend thousands of dollars of getting elite training. It is crazy to look at how much money parents spend on their children to excel in sports. If a parent pushes their child too hard, it will cause a burnout and the child will no longer want to play sports because it is no longer fun to them.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/your-money/rising-costs-of-youth-sports.html

Why We Study Sport- Gambling

On January 21, 2016, in American Sport in the 21st Century, we discussed the reasons for studying sport. The are many reasons why one would study sport. The main reason we discussed is that millions of people are interested in sport. Sport constitutes much of our conversation, reading and leisure. One- tenth of the World Almanac is devoted to sports. Fifteen percent of major network time is devoted to sports. Major TV networks include FOX, ESPN, CBS, and NBC. Sport accounts for 49.7 percent of Twitter chatter. USA Today devotes 1/4 of its space to sports, with 100 journals. Lastly, sport constitutes as the 4th largest industry in the US and is 11th in the world.

The NCAA tournament- a three- week, single- elimination competition- that not only builds excitement among student and alumni of participating schools and among sports fans at large, but also creates a flurry of gambling activity. Every year around this time of year, tens of millions of Americans who pay little or no attention to sports- let alone college basketball- participate in a ritual of filling out a March Madness bracket and entering a pool. Some people base teams on which mascots they like or colors of the school. Other people will do extensive research to decide who will win. The NCAA estimates that about 1 in 10 Americans will complete a tournament bracket.
 There is no reliable estimate as to how much money is wagered, but there are guess that are in the billions of dollars.

In the past few years, FanDuel and DraftKings, the two leaders in daily fantasy sports, have tried to jump in on the tournaments' popularity. In 2005, FanDuel put forth a "Survive the Madness" challenge and DraftKings promoted a "March Mania" game. This year, the FanDuel champion will earn $50,000.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding these daily fantasy sites, but that hasn't stopped the sites; but, there is a fear that the industry might collapse. In New York, which has the largest daily fantasy market, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is battling in court to end illegal gambling. Other states are considering a stronger regulation and 6 states already have laws in place for illegal gambling. The NCAA on the other hand, is trying to distance themselves from this controversy.

Although gambling is illegal, that won't stop people from filling out brackets and gambling between friends, family members, and co- workers. I believe that if the law cracks down on illegal gambling, people will not pay as much to the best time of year, which is March Madness.

More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2016/03/07/maria-sharapova-failed-drug-test/81446346/