Moms Talk Q&A: How Great Are Organized Sports?

For its healthful benefits and ability to teach teamwork and foster leadership qualities, athletic competition has long been considered a basic component of a well-rounded education.

But, like anything, there is a downside to scholastic sports. The hard but undeniable truth of the matter is that not all children are intended to start on their middle school and high school varsity teams.

In the social hierarchy of adolescence, playing clarinet in the band – while certainly a good thing – just doesn’t have quite the same cachet as hitting home runs, sinking buzzer-beaters, or scoring touchdowns on Friday nights.

And so, for all its obvious benefits, athletic competition may also present a version of that proverbial “glass ceiling,” serving to set apart an elite class to which most kids will never belong.

Well, that’s one way of looking at it.

Most parents today are thrilled to have their kids involved in sports, whether in school or outside of school, both for the physical conditioning and also the mental discipline. Some – perhaps naively – also believe that playing sports means their kids will be less likely to become involved in drugs or underage drinking.

But even some of these parents worry about the time commitment and other demands of certain sports, or the singular focus of some student athletes, possibly at the expense of other activities that are equally deserving of their time and effort.

So that’s our Moms Chat topic this week. Are organized sports just the greatest thing? Or have sports and athletes been elevated to some rarified status that is completely unrealistic, and probably unhealthy?

The conversation begins at 1 p.m. To join, click on this article and scroll down to the comments section. Remember to refresh often.