Have youth sports become too intense? The time and energy youth sports require--along with injuries-are on the rise.

• Author: Hyman, Mark
• Position: DEBATE

YES It's not just adults who think youth sports have become too intense in recent years. A lot of kids think so too.

In 2006, the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association polled young players about behavior they had observed at sports games. Specifically, kids were asked about how the adults--parents, coaches, and fans--were behaving. More than a third said they had been yelled at or teased by a fan; 15 percent said their parents get angry when they play poorly.

When Sports Illustrated for Kids asked similar questions in 2001, the feedback was no less disturbing: 74 percent of the kids surveyed said they had witnessed out-of-control adults at their games.

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This sort of behavior is taking an emotional toll. Researchers at Michigan State University have studied the attrition rates among youth athletes: 70 percent drop out by age 13. Some just decide they like piano or Justin Bieber more. But many told researchers that sports weren't much fun.

There are also physical risks when sports become too intense. Half of all sports in juries among kids each year are caused by simple overuse, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. These injuries--stress fractures, ruptured ligaments, and growth-plate injuries*--can be quite serious, and many can cause lifelong problems. They're all avoidable with rest and moderation.

I know more than I'd like to about injuries that happen when youth sports become too intense. When my son was 18, he ruptured an elbow ligament while pitching for his high school baseball team. At the time, he was playing for three different baseball teams in three different seasons. I wish I'd realized then how excessive that was.

--MARK HYMAN, AUTHOR

Until It Hurts: America's Obsession With Youth Sports

NO Those who argue that youth sports are too intense point mostly to two factors: the amount of time they require and the pressure that they place on young athletes. These are the very qualities, however, that make youth sports so...