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How to Avoid Burnout in Youth Sports

By Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, 05/09/18, 12:00PM PDT

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Today, adults are most often the organizers and enforcers of youth sports, and too often they get in the way of their children’s best interests, these experts say.

Few would dispute the value to children of participating in sports, organized or otherwise. Being physically active and engaged in friendly competition is widely acknowledged to be good for children’s physical, mental and social well-being. It can foster discipline, cooperation and camaraderie as well as a good time.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s and ’50s, we were free to play games and sports that we chose or devised.