Sports are an imbedded aspect of American culture. From time honored traditions like the Friday night lights at a high school football game to the World Series, there is no doubt that Americans pride themselves on their love of sports. This love has evolved over the years, and as a new generation of athletes step onto the field, rink, or court for the first time, many are now wondering — how young is too young? Look around any suburban town in America, and there will be youth programs for kids as young as five for basketball, tennis, gymnastics or competitive quidditch. Many of us tried a variety of sports when we were young until we found something that stuck with us. For most parents, sports present great social, physical and emotional opportunities for their children, and they enjoy being  spectators at their child’s events. For a select few though, this is not enough.

Today’s society has moved far past the “soccer mom” niche of yesteryear. No longer toting lawn chairs and snacks in a minivan, today’s suburban sport parents can be found front and center next to their children, pushing them towards a division one, full-ride, all-expenses-paid,best friends with the coach college scholarship as young as elementary school. Sideline coaching, whether it be making comments or directing kids to make a certain play, has become all too regular. It is almost as if parents feel the same internal drive their child does during a sport. We are all born with a natural instinct for competition, but must a parent really be on the same level of intensity as their child when on the sideline?

I may be slightly biased about this topic, as I myself am a product of sideline coaching from my father, which reached a peak during my short-lived middle school basketball career, where he was always one of the most loudest and critical parents shouting from the bleachers. But hear me out; of course parents always want their child to produce the best effort possible, however, this must be done with their best interests in mind. Winning is a fun aspect of sport, of course, but there are so many other positive factors from participating in youth sports that get overshadowed when this becomes the key focus.

Teamwork, failure, cooperation and social skills are essential for elementary age children to learn, and parental behavior can have a tremendous impact on them. As people born in gen. Z grow closer to being in the parental phase of their lives, it will be a new social psychology observation to see if they will mirror the same pattern of competitiveness that generations past have exhibited. No matter what, youth sports will continue to be an essential part of the American childhood experience, but how this impacts future generations will be up to how future parental generations prioritize for their children.