Voice Your Opinion: Change is Needed in Youth Sports Everywhere you look, you see kids bouncing a basketball or waving a tennis racquet (网球拍).And these kids are getting younger and younger In some countries, children can compete on basket-ball, baseball, and volleyball teams starting at age nine. _ (46) And swimming and gymnasticsclasses begin at age four, to prepare children for competition. It&39;s true that a few of these kids will de-velop into highly skilled athletes and may even become members of the national Olympic teams. _ (47) This emphasis on competition in sports is having serious negative effects. Children who get involved in competitive sports at a young age often grow tired of their sport.Many parents pressure their kids to choose one sport and devote all their time to it. _ (48) But 66 percent of the young athletes wanted to play more than one sport for fun. Another problem is the pressure imposed by over-competitive parents and coaches. Children are not naturally competitive. In fact, a recent study by Paulo David found that most children don&39;t even understand the idea of compe-tition until they are seven years old. _ (49) The third, and biggest, problem for young athletes is the lack of time to do their homework, have fun, be with friends-in short, time to be kids. When they are forced to spend every afternoon at sports practice, they often start to hate their chosen sport. A researcher&39;s found that 70 percent of kids who take part in competitive sports before the age of twelve quit before they turn eighteen. _ (50) Excessive competitiveness took away all the en- joyment. Need to remember the purpose of youth sports-to give kids a chance to have developing strong, healthy bodies. 47 48 49 50