| 1. Introduction to youth sports -- What motivates youth sports participation? -- Do youth sports develop character? -- 2. Youth sports for adults -- The adult takeover of children's sports -- The youth sports coach, for better or worse -- The commercialization of youth sports -- 3. The child athlete's family -- The youth sports family -- The sports parent: soccer moms and dugout dads -- Are youth sports overpriced? -- Youth sports as college prep -- 4. The child athlete as miniature adult -- The hurried child athlete -- Toddler sports -- The child athlete as specialist -- The overscheduled child athlete -- Sports camps and academies -- 5. Youth sports may be hazardous to your child's physical health -- Unnecessary roughness: youth sports injuries -- Violence in youth sports -- Do youth sports promote unhealthy eating? -- Do youth sports promote fitness? -- 6. Youth sports may be hazardous to your child's emotional health -- The youth sports athlete under stress -- Youth sports and the shaping of masculinity -- Youth sports as child abuse -- Quitters never win: burnouts and dropouts -- 7. The toxic elements in youth sports -- Youth sports as drudgery -- Youth sports as child labor -- Winning is everything: competition out of control -- Youth sports as elitism -- 8. So you want your son to play football -- A portrait of youth football and its downside -- Youth football coaches: amateurs and abusers -- Bigger is better: overweight players -- No pain, no gain: a plague of injuries -- Does playing football promote bad behavior? -- Do you want your son to play football? -- 9. Concluding thoughts: reform or re-form. |
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