A trend gaining foothold in today’s world is to expose children to sports at younger and younger ages. Grandparents and parents remember the days of playing baseball in the neighborhood or picking teams to play games at recess, but few became involved in official sports until their later years in junior high and high school. Now there are “pee wee” leagues for just about every sport. Many sports even have three-year-old signup sheets. The question is, why?

Many think this change comes from parents wanting their kids to excel in sports and get head starts on mastering the skills and abilities. While there are some recreational sports that aim more towards the fun aspect, several early elementary sport clubs make players dedicate a lot of time to the team in both practices and traveling competitions. Some believe this gives kids further experience and helps them stand out for varsity when they get older. Sports starting at young ages can also instill work ethic in the kids and be a reminder of how it’s important to be active. Little kids create some of the closest friendships in their first teammates.

Laura Newman, junior, says, “I got to pick most of the sports I did as a young child but didn’t have a choice for soccer and running. I am glad my parents threw me into them early because I like playing sports and being competitive.”

Others, however, believe this trend is focusing more on parents’ enjoyment and less on the kids. They view it as needless stress being piled onto kids’ shoulders by pushing them into competitive sports too early. Coaches yelling at high school players for striking out is often more accepted than third graders receiving harsh words about missing the winning goal. By zoning in on one sport at six years of age, it becomes more likely for the athlete to experience burnout or miss out on different sports they could have liked better.

Trevor Zahn, junior high wrestling and football coach, says, “This trend partly comes from the competitive nature of the parents. They want their kids to be successful, and putting them in sports as young as they can is what they are told to do.”

Do kids need YMCA teams or aggressive traveling leagues? Zahn voices his thoughts, saying, “From a coaching standpoint, I think it is beneficial to have athletes start young as long as they are focused on the basics and keep it fun.” The answers are open-ended and different for every child, but it is important for parents to remember to be encouraging rather than forceful and make sport-related decisions with their kids.