These days, middle-class families run ragged by their kids’ competitive-sports schedules are achingly common across America: Weekends are devoured by tournaments and practice, family dinners replaced by mandatory strength-training sessions, and vacations forever postponed. During my five years of researching and writing about youth sports for my book Take Back the Game, I heard so many variations of these stories, and the burden on burned-out teenagers is clear. Less obvious is the effect of relentless overtraining on the rest of the household. In the ever-earlier scramble to develop their kids’ athletic skills, mothers and fathers frequently find themselves giving up the integrity of the family as a whole.
In my observation, this is most common among competitive club sports, which for many kids begin during elementary school and extend through high school. For all the evidence that shows how exercise and sports benefit children, comparatively little research exists on
With a contemporary slate on the horizon, we glance towards the potential dark horses making a run in late fall, and the massive market teams making an attempt to live up to expectations. The Yankees missed out on a golden alternative to upgrade their pitching employees on the commerce deadline. New York should have the most formidable offense within the majors, but the path to a World Series win possible goes by means of the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers; two groups with deep, elite pitching staffs that can put the Yankees at a drawback.
