“When discussing how teens relieve stress at a recent staff meeting, a large portion mentioned some sort of physical exercise. However, those teens that actually participated in team sports felt that sports added stress to their lives. The following is an activity that explores teen priorities with sports and an example of how it can add stress.
Background
Teresa Brown, 17, a senior in high school, is faced with a dilemma. A volleyball, basketball, and track and field standout, Brown is receiving mixed messages from her advisors regarding her athletic future.
Activity
In groups of five, assign the following roles:
• Pat Blockner, a volleyball coach at Brown’s HS, wants her to concentrate on volleyball. Blockner thinks the team can win the state championship next season.
• Rene Santos head track couch at Brown’s HS, believes she should only run track and might receive a college scholarship if she improves.
• Kelly Gibson is a family friend who works for a professional basketball team. Gibson argues that basketball offers Brown the only alternative for a lucrative athletic career.
• Terry Brown, Teresa’s parent, thinks Teresa should cut back on one sport to spend more time on her academics.
• Teresa Brown
Have each of Teresa’s advisors give their argument to the student playing Teresa. Once all the students playing Teresa have made a decision, have them explain their decision.
This activity was taken from the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s Sports & Law publication The Bench Press, a monthly publication for students which focuses on topics related to sports and society. For more information on the Sports & Law Program, contact CRF at (213) 487-5590 extension 130.
Quick Write!
How do your students relieve stress? LA Youth staffers share their ideas on page 10-11. Have your students complete the following statement for 5 minutes:
In order to get rid of stress, I like to . . .”