Do high school sports take a toll on a young body?

Yes

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by Adam Jacquet

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High School istudents are caught in the middle of their physical and social development. Because of the growth hormones which are released into their maturing bodies, the average teenager's muscles will grow, heal, and develop at a rate which far outstrips the average adult's. For this reason, high school sports are often highly competitive, encouraging athletes to push themselves to their physical limit during training simply because their young bodies can take the strain. While for most healthy teens this exercise does wonders for their physique, injuries are becoming increasingly common for these young athletes, from minor pulled muscles to torn ACLs.

However, this by no means indicates a need to revoke athletic activities from young adults. It is very important to maturing youth to have physically challenging outlets for their energy to avoid self-destructive boredom and sloth, and it is equally important for their developing cardiovascular and muscular structures to be challenged and worked hard. High school athletics give students the opportunity to develop healthy competitive relationships, as well as giving them a distraction during their free time to avoid their turning to drugs or similar, less constructive methods of passing time.

It is when sports are taken to extremes and teenaged athletes begin to push their bodies beyond reasonable limits that injuries begin to take place. Some find themselves "burnt out" after school, their bodies worn down, exhausted, and deteriorating from the extreme pressures imposed on them. College sports do little to help, often encouraging high school students to push their limits just to make the recruitment cut. College students' bodies have, for the most part, finished their growth and are settled in their composure, and as such they can handle the increased pressure placed on them by their extracurricular activities. High school students' bodies, on the other hand, are in full swing of growth and development, and extreme pressure on forming muscle and young joints can often lead to injury, as the body isn't yet ready to handle such pressure.

High school is a time to carefully structure and guide the teenaged body's growth, not hammer down on it with harsh training, long hours of practice, and constant physical strain. While some may be naturally suited to the strain and will rise to be spectacular young athletes, most will begin to feel increased pain and difficulty through the years. Some try to ignore the strain and push themselves harder, but this tactic only leads to increased damage to their physique.

While high school sports are very important to social and physical development of their young athletes, the pressure is often far too great for the developing bodies of the competitors. Whether the toll is minor aches and pains in the person's twenties or serious physical injury which removes them permanently from the playing field, all high school athletes feel the consequences of their struggles.

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