America’s Sports Empire Is Falling — And No One Wants to Admit Why.
Usually, I make relatively short, educational videos about college sports…but as I’m watching the Olympics, I realize something was happening that I could not believe.
A country with a population smaller than Atlanta, Georgia was leading the entire world in medals…and the Americans were falling behind.
Why? I asked myself…
Well…That one question turned into a 30 minute video.
I hope y’all learn something new!
– Harris
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Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2023). America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being, 2023. https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren23/health7.asp
Jayanthi, N., LaBella, C., Fischer, D., Pasulka, J., & Dugas, L. R. (2017). Sports specialization and injury risk in young athletes. American Journal of Sports Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29135275/
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Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. (n.d.). National action plan to reduce economic barriers in sport. https://www.idrettsforbundet.no/om-nif/rapporter/idrettens-nasjonale-tiltaksplan-mot–okonomiske-barrierer/begrense-kostnadsnivaet-generelle-rammevilkar-for-idretten
Ohio State University. (2023). Will my kid be a pro athlete? Study finds what parents think. https://news.osu.edu/will-my-kid-be-a-pro-athlete-study-finds-what-parents-think/
Skiresort.info. (n.d.). Ski resorts in Norway: Day ticket prices. https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resorts/norway/sorted/day-ticket-price
Time. (n.d.). Play ball: Participating in three or more sports can cut teen obesity. https://time.com/archive/7138070/play-ball-participating-in-three-or-more-sports-can-cut-teen-obesity/
Vox. (2024). Kids sports, youth participation and college admissions. https://www.vox.com/life/422562/kids-sports-youth-college-admissions-athletes
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1 Comment
Such a great deep dive into this… he does it again!