Competitive sports are becoming very popular among schools and their pupils, as can be seen through the rise in fixtures of all different sports between schools. Those same schools organize these fixtures— they are team sports, of course-- but the academies may only see half of the debate over the value of competitive sports.  The schools seem to miss the negative side of competitive sports for children.

            On the one hand, competitive sports are fun, exciting, and generate a feeling of pride in the children who participate.  They are also healthy and allow the players to become fitter. These are extremely important benefits, since children are very energetic and need to have fun sometimes after a long school day. They need the pride that comes with being in a team in order to create more self-esteem, which is beneficial for their future lives and careers.

            On the other hand, children can easily run the risk of injuries, or can be placed under stress by their teammates for poor performance. This stress may lead to drops in performance at school or failure to complete homework to a high standard.  Furthermore, children may be rejected by their peers because they let the team down. This can be very hurtful and friendships may end as a result.

            On balance, it seems that competitive sports for children are an effective way to release their youthful energy, but it is plausible that schools have overlooked the stress or exclusion which students integrated in competitive sports face.