That's Ron Turker and he has something to say about the current craze for child athletes. Perhaps his most interesting and provocative comment is: "Our kids no longer play sports; they are youth athletes.”
In the old days kids arranged and organized their own sports. Today, that's no longer the case; there are leagues upon leagues, coaches upon coaches, etc. Parents are spending a lot of money on coaches, leagues, equipment, road trips, motels, tournament fees, etc.
Turker has also found that he is now seeing more juvenile athletes coming in with repetitive stress injuries (both physical and, in a sense, emotional) that were once rare. Often, all the kids want is some time off from athletics.
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