sports as career

Too bad, my opponent forfeited. I was looking forward to this debate. However, I will provide a counterargument, with statistics, to prove my point. Sports is risky business. If a teen or even a child put their mind to a life filled with sports, going pro and living in luxury, then some, not all, but some will let it go to their head. They will practice, play, practice, play - resulting in a higher rate of injury. "Children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospitals. On average the rate and severity of injury increases with a child's age."The main reason that the type and severity of sports injuries increases in children over this years is due to over practice. By making a child feel as though he/she has to practice over excessively in order to go pro and live a life of luxury, you are hurting the child - they will continue to play and get hurt, ignoring the fact that they are injuring themselves. "Overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle and high school students." My point exactly - over practice, overplaying a sport can result in repeated injury.These two points were pulled off of http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org...Distorted facts.In most cases, children aren't athletically gifted; it is simply their parents that make them feel that way, and give them a unrealistic sense of who they are and what they want to become. Percent of coaches who are dads coaching their own kids 85% This was pulled from http://www.statisticbrain.com...My point is that allowing a child to pursue sports as a career is unrealistic in most cases. With 85% of coaches who are dads coaching their own kids, their are bound to be some distorted facts. "Great job, son!""I fell ten times.""Still, great!"This is what I mean - sports as a career interest gives most children an unrealistic sense of who they are, when, in most cases, the child isn't even athletically gifted. What are the odds?Very few can go pro in sports. Very few. Setting kids up as a sports success will not only give them an unrealistic sense of who they are, it only sets most up for disappointment when they realize they aren't that good. Odds of Going Pro Odds Odds of a High School football player making it to the NFL 1 in 6,000 Odds of a High School baseball player making it to MLB 1 in 4,000 Odds of a High School basketball player making it to the NBA 1 in 10,000 Odds of a High School soccer player receiving a full ride to a Div I or II School 1 in 90 The following is from a study done by Michigan State on Youth Sports. 10,000 kids ages 5-14 nation-wide were surveyed. Pulled from http://www.statisticbrain.com...Children should not rely solely on sports as a career option, because the odds are microscopic and it will only lead to disappointment in the future. My argument is that 'sports as career' is a disadvantage to a child, because it provides them with an distorted image of themselves, it can lead to injury if done in excess, and it will lead to disappointment. I support children playing sports in moderation - but choosing it as a career option and practicing it in obsession, no, unless they prove to be a prodigy. Even then, they should have a Plan B if something goes wrong - say, they get injured. 'Sports as career' is not beneficial to a child's thinking and health.