Psychological Trauma: Age & Gender Factors

It is understood that with any associated with any sports is the risk of injury. The primary motivation for the millions of the youth in America who participate in team sports is to have fun (Nelson et al., 2007). It is often asked, why are there so many injuries related to specific sports? One would believe that by now someone would have made efforts to reduce the risk of injuries. One might wonder what happened during the transition between youth sports, where everything is just simply play, to competitive sports, where injuries are more advertised and known. Many factors impact why a child is injured in the first place. Some of those factors include improper form, technique, susceptibility, gender, age, parents, and coaching errors.

With an increasing number of children participating in competitive and recreational sports, athletic injuries have become increasingly common. Youths are beginning sports at younger ages and tend to participate in more than one sport. Often one hears parents-to-be say things such as, “I can’t wait to teach my little guy how to play baseball or basketball.” This shows how popular and influential sports are in today’s world. For youths, sports are often an integral part of their daily lives. The youth of today are not only involved in school-related sports teams but community-based leagues as well, and many of them will continue their sports into adulthood.