I read today that the world number 1 female tennis player, Ashleigh Barty, is retiring from competition aged 25. Why are people surprised? Competitive sport is insanely tough mentally and physically and there is more to life than playing tennis. This lady will have done nothing else except train and play tennis since she was a young girl, sacrificing her youth to sport.
Actually this is just one example. I think competitive sport at all levels is broken. There is too much emphasis on winning and not enough emphasis on long-term health. Even local level competitions are taken way too seriously with kids in their teens training every day, sometimes several times every day, including weekends and public holidays. Kids don’t know any better but the trainers should. This is the route to long-term health issues and injuries which are not allowed time to heal properly. When the kids eventually quit, due to health issues or because they are just sick of it, then they are replaced by the next in line on the conveyor belt of kids being trained for competition. The sports clubs and trainers are seeking glory and replace one broken kid with the next victim.
Competitive sport is broken.
Liam Mor's Blog