“Be the Best You Can Be” is truly an important motto to keep in your hypothetical wardrobe; However, this idea emphasizes one of the biggest weaknesses of youth sports: hypercompetitiveness. While this is an important idea to remember, the company's benefits come in smaller, less complex ideas. With this in mind, the negative connotation regarding participation trophies has taken the country by storm. A large percentage of parents whose children play sports object to these awards because "they encourage being a loser" or "they're not real trophies." These positions have become customary due to the hyper-competitiveness in today's sports. Society promotes the idea that only the best will succeed and that individuals should strive to become the best at a certain field. While striving to become the best you can is crucial to becoming a successful person, small steps not only in sports but in life help foster mental and physical growth in children. In other words, sports hypercompetitiveness has altered the values ​​of childhood activity. As athletes who grew up in the age of hyper-competitiveness, our children have been harmed by the severe hyper-competitiveness of today's youth sports. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To begin with, the demands of today's youth sports are irrational and ineffective for the personal lives of child athletes. Although practice is the key to success, it is important to note that these children play sports, most of which were created for recreational purposes, and do not maintain these activities as a job. When children begin to view their respective sports as work and not as a getaway, they also begin to lose interest. For example, I played basketball for thirteen years with practices five days a week for several hours, not to mention the additional summer workouts needed to maintain development. I slowly began to lose interest after years of crazy training schedules, as I also began to view the sport I once loved as a downfall. Additionally, excessive demands can lead to stress and anxiety. News flash: these kids are still student-athletes. Allowing a child only a little time to work on their studies is completely unwise. According to the US Youth Soccer website, children should practice no more than 18 to 20 hours per week. Yet this amount of time spent training – about three hours a night – can cause children to lose focus on education and other necessary areas. At such a young age, it is unfair to put their personal lives through so much turmoil, as these years can be the most crucial in their development as a human being. Stress and anxiety levels have increased in recent years, and we're not helping by imposing stricter training schedules. Hyper-competitive atmospheres not only have effects on children's personal lives, but also on their own bodies. According to Dr. Anne Murray of Sports Medicine, with the human body's demanding schedules and limitless stresses, sports injuries are the second leading cause of emergency room visits. Physical activity is necessary for the normal growth of children. However, when the activity level becomes "too intense or too excessive" over a short period of time, ".