Some people claim that participating in competitive kinds of sports can be stressful for young people, that is why youngsters should not be permitted to take part in such events. I am a strong advocate of this opinion, because young people, no matter how well they were prepared, actually find themselves unable to withstand the pressure of the expectations of others. Moreover, if, due to physical problems or growing up, they are forced to leave the sport, they experience great distress due to the need to say goodbye to what has become the main meaning of life.
In my opinion, people need to ban or strictly limit children from participating in big sport in order to avoid bad consequences such as a nervous breakdown or depression. What might affect their mental state? Young sportsmen not only have to deal with their parents’ expectations, who are often the reason why children participate in competitive sports events, but also with their trainers’ and even fans’ ones. Even if adolescents do not have social medias, they hear comments of other people and suffer a lot, if these remarks are too demanding, disapproving and judgmental. For instance, Russian skater Sasha Trusova experienced a strong breakdown after learning the results of the Olympic Games, where she had taken second place. Later, she admitted that she tried to meet the expectations of her coach, her fans, tried her best because she was predicted to win, but she failed and because of this she was mentally broken.
The second reason why teenagers should be banned from doing such a big sport is the fact that they often become addicted to glory, competitions, achieving goals and being a part of their sport, and after leaving this industry, they lose the sense of life. Moreover, they often have to do that due to their body changes caused by growing up or physical traumas. Frequently, young sportsmen cannot accept it and suffer a lot. For example, in gymnastics or skating, athletes can perform some tricks only up to the certain age, approximately 16 – 19 years. After that, they do not participate in these kinds of sport anymore, they can only become couches, judges or practice it on their own. Often, it does not satisfy former sportsmen, because they miss the feeling of fame and importance and cannot recover themselves from this disappointment for a long time.
In conclusion, youngsters do suffer from participating in competitive sports events, since they become depended on others’ expectations and addicted to the life of a sportsman, after which they are not able to mentally stabilize themselves and find a new goal.