Question

Leading Together
Reader
Annotation
View All
Numbers
Dear editor, I am writing to ask a simple question.

Can we really have gotten to a place where families are expected to sacrifice everything for the benefit of one member? Can we fairly expect the other people in that family—each with his or her own dreams—to give up what they want so that one person can pursue their individual dream? And what does it mean when you reading this letter already know the topic I’m discussing, before I even name it?

I am discussing youth athletics.

This matter has gotten out of control. Not only have we created a world in which families are expected to drive hundreds of miles a season to get their children to various sporting events, but we now have an entire generation of children who believe this is their birthright. Do our children thank us when we arrive, road weary, at this week’s tournament or championship or 5th grade Sunday afternoon game?

We have created a culture of family sacrifice all in the name of the supposed “greater good.” Youth athletics provides our children with skills in teamwork, and isn’t that a skill they will all need if they are expected to lead this country into the future?

I am not so troubled that only a tiny percentage of them will go on to professional sporting careers. I am not so troubled that our cars emit carbon as they ferry children on long drives. I am not even so troubled that sometimes other family members suffer from a lack of attention as a result of the time we spend on youth sports. I should be! Each is a tragedy.

Let me be crystal clear: team sports should be about teamwork. Instead, children and their parents obsess only over personal stats, and focus on an individual's achievements over a team's success. Furthermore, the focus of school-age sports is now on catching the attention of professional sports recruiters instead of valuable life lessons about leadership and developing camaraderie with local peers.

This, my friends, is the real tragedy of our new sporting culture. Our children may be learning the meaning of hard work, but also to place personal ambition above all else. And what does that teach the next generation about the world they will be asked to lead? How does that prepare our children to take this country into the future?

I ask you to consider not just how the shifting focus in team sports diminishes one of our country's most important leadership development training arenas. I ask you to consider what we are teaching our children about who matters.

I believe every single person in this country matters. I believe we need to raise a generation of people who can lead us all, together.

Question 7
Bookmark
Read this paragraph from the passage.

“I ask you to consider not just how the shifting focus in team sports diminishes one of our country's most important leadership development training arenas. I ask you to consider what we are teaching our children about who matters.” (paragraph 9)
How does this paragraph convey the author’s purpose?


A. By emphasizing the excitement communities feel at local games.

B. By describing the confidence children gain from athletic programs.

C. By urging the audience to reflect on harmful changes in youth sports.

D. By celebrating the progress children have made in organized activities.

Answer 1

C. By urging the audience to reflect on harmful changes in youth sports.

The author asks readers to "consider" the shifting focus and what it teaches children, which calls for reflection on negative impacts rather than celebrating or describing benefits.