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Until It Hurts: America's Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids
Near the end of a long season, fourteen-year-old baseball pitcher Ben Hyman approached his father with disappointing, if not surprising, his pitching shoulder was tired. With each throw to home plate, he felt a twinge in his still maturing arm. Any doctor would have advised the young boy to take off the rest of the season. Author Mark Hyman sent his son out to pitch the next game. After all, it was play-off time.
Stories like these are not uncommon. Over the last seventy-five years, adults have staged a hostile takeover of kids' sports. In 2003 alone, more than 3.5 million children under age fifteen required medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half of which were the result of simple overuse. The quest to turn children into tomorrow's superstar athletes has often led adults to push them beyond physical and emotional limits.
In Until It Hurts , journalist, coach, and sports dad Mark Hyman explores how youth sports reached this problematic state. His investigation takes him from the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania to a prestigious Chicago soccer club, from adolescent golf and tennis superstars in Atlanta to California volleyball players. He interviews dozens of children, parents, coaches, psychologists, surgeons, sports medicine specialists, and former professional athletes. He speaks at length with Whitney Phelps, Michael's older sister; retraces the story of A Very Young Gymnast , and its subject, Torrance York; and tells the saga of the Castle High School girls' basketball team of Evansville, Indiana, which in 2005 lost three-fifths of its lineup to ACL injuries. Along the way, Hyman hears numerous about a mother who left her fifteen-year-old daughter at an interstate exit after a heated exchange over her performance during a soccer game, about a coach who ordered preteens to swim laps in three-hour shifts for twenty-four hours.
Hyman's exploration leads him to examine the history of youth sports in our country and how it's evolved, particularly with the increasing involvement of girls and much more proactive participation of parents. With its unique multiple perspective-of history, of reporting, and of personal experience-this book delves deep into the complicated issue of sports for children, and opens up a much-needed discussion about the perils of youth sports culture today. Hyman focuses not only on the unfortunate cases of overzealous parents and overly ambitious kids, but also on how positive change can be made, and concludes by shining a spotlight on some inspirational parents and model sports programs, giving hope that the current destructive cycle can be broken.
Stories like these are not uncommon. Over the last seventy-five years, adults have staged a hostile takeover of kids' sports. In 2003 alone, more than 3.5 million children under age fifteen required medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half of which were the result of simple overuse. The quest to turn children into tomorrow's superstar athletes has often led adults to push them beyond physical and emotional limits.
In Until It Hurts , journalist, coach, and sports dad Mark Hyman explores how youth sports reached this problematic state. His investigation takes him from the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania to a prestigious Chicago soccer club, from adolescent golf and tennis superstars in Atlanta to California volleyball players. He interviews dozens of children, parents, coaches, psychologists, surgeons, sports medicine specialists, and former professional athletes. He speaks at length with Whitney Phelps, Michael's older sister; retraces the story of A Very Young Gymnast , and its subject, Torrance York; and tells the saga of the Castle High School girls' basketball team of Evansville, Indiana, which in 2005 lost three-fifths of its lineup to ACL injuries. Along the way, Hyman hears numerous about a mother who left her fifteen-year-old daughter at an interstate exit after a heated exchange over her performance during a soccer game, about a coach who ordered preteens to swim laps in three-hour shifts for twenty-four hours.
Hyman's exploration leads him to examine the history of youth sports in our country and how it's evolved, particularly with the increasing involvement of girls and much more proactive participation of parents. With its unique multiple perspective-of history, of reporting, and of personal experience-this book delves deep into the complicated issue of sports for children, and opens up a much-needed discussion about the perils of youth sports culture today. Hyman focuses not only on the unfortunate cases of overzealous parents and overly ambitious kids, but also on how positive change can be made, and concludes by shining a spotlight on some inspirational parents and model sports programs, giving hope that the current destructive cycle can be broken.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
9 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Mark Hyman
3 books11 followersFilmmaking: Co-director, “The Great China Baseball Hunt," a documentary in production on the race to develop the first big-leaguer from Mainland China.
www.chinabaseballfilm.com
Writing: Three books on the adult-managed world of youth sports and articles for the Washington Post, New York Times, BusinessWeek and Sports Illustrated. In 2017, Principal Investigator for Aspen Institute Project Play Initiative’s State of Play Reports. SE Michigan, Western New York, Rochester.
Books: Concussions and Our Kids: America’s Leading Expert on How to Protect Young Athletes and Keep Sports Safe, a collaboration with Robert Cantu, MD
The Most Expensive Game in Town: The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today’s.Families
Until It Hurts: America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids.
Confessions of a Baseball Purist: What's Right - and Wrong - with Baseball, as Seen From The Best Seat in the House with Jon Miller
Follow:
Twitter: @gwsportsprof @sportsparents @chinabaseballf1
Instagram: Chinabaseballfilm
WeChat: Chinabaseballfilm
markhyman.com
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business.gwu.edu/ms-sport-management
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 3, 2010
3.5 stars. An interesting look on how obsessive parents, coaches, and America in general are becoming with "youth" sports. There were several touching anecdotes and an overall good message about a problem that continues to plague America today.
December 25, 2022
borrowed from emma! I loved this, super important read & a good argument for collegiate club sports 💪🏼💪🏼
November 30, 2022
easily readable and digestible (thank god im so tired of academia for this class) with some horrifying stories of eds in women’s sports, and a great way to describe youth sports now. kristen propst u should read this!! u are a victim!!!
May 4, 2023
It’s very very important for more athletes and athletes’ parents to realize that they should not be training beyond what their bodies are physically capable of handling. That is the main idea of this book basically and the author provides many examples, to the point where they start to become repetitive.
From the title, I assumed this book would be about the emotional consequences of young athletes with overbearing parents. However, it seems to focus mainly on the physical side. I’m not saying that the physical side shouldn’t be valued, but as one of the so-called athletes in this book and as someone who knows many people with these kinds of parents, I think more of us suffer mentally than physically. The author seems to write from an outsider’s perspective in that he has never been on the receiving end of the parenting he describes and I wonder if that is why this book feels a little…detached? I saw that Hyman is a journalist, and I definitely see that in the writing. I wonder if he could have chosen better examples for the most part, though.
The most interesting part for me was where he mentions how athletes are more likely to cheat in school. I hadn’t known that before and I wish he expanded on that. Also, the swimmer who developed an ED because of she was a people pleaser, I wish more had been included.
From the title, I assumed this book would be about the emotional consequences of young athletes with overbearing parents. However, it seems to focus mainly on the physical side. I’m not saying that the physical side shouldn’t be valued, but as one of the so-called athletes in this book and as someone who knows many people with these kinds of parents, I think more of us suffer mentally than physically. The author seems to write from an outsider’s perspective in that he has never been on the receiving end of the parenting he describes and I wonder if that is why this book feels a little…detached? I saw that Hyman is a journalist, and I definitely see that in the writing. I wonder if he could have chosen better examples for the most part, though.
The most interesting part for me was where he mentions how athletes are more likely to cheat in school. I hadn’t known that before and I wish he expanded on that. Also, the swimmer who developed an ED because of she was a people pleaser, I wish more had been included.
April 19, 2020
An EXCELLENT read that should be required before coaching young people.
October 13, 2013
I have a pet peeve with non-fiction books that present a bunch of evidence of a problem, then fail to offer solutions. This book does that. As the parent of competitive soccer player and a former competitive dancer, I have seen it all. Literally. Fist-fights on soccer fields, stolen dance costumes, awful comments from parents to their children and mine. I know the issues in this book are real.
Will reading this book make you rethink your parenting of competitive kids? Maybe. Will you see aspects of yourself in this book? Probably. Will it make you question what's really important for your son or daughter? Probably. But if you read this book, I would be willing to bet you're not one of those out of control people who do need to take a step back.
Will reading this book make you rethink your parenting of competitive kids? Maybe. Will you see aspects of yourself in this book? Probably. Will it make you question what's really important for your son or daughter? Probably. But if you read this book, I would be willing to bet you're not one of those out of control people who do need to take a step back.
January 16, 2016
Basic message is that it's the adults who are ruining youth sports, too often using the kids as fodder to build up their own egos. Unfortunately, the adults who most need to hear this message would NEVER read this book.
July 21, 2024
There's nothing new in this book, and it wasn't new even when it was published in 2009, but it's a good summary of the broken system of kids' sports in America. Mark Hyman looks specifically at the high-end competitive sports environment, the one in which parents hire coaches for individualized attention for their children and pay hundreds (thousands) of dollars to attend out-of-state "elite" tournaments in every imaginable sport. The result is kid burnout, parent frustration, injury, boredom, and wrong priorities. Hyman runs through each of these problems, and more.
The biggest message he wants to get across is that the push for ultra-competitive, year-'round sports specialization had led to a major rise in injury rates in the 1990s and through the 2000s. These were new types of injuries loosely related to "overuse," that is, kids throwing baseballs too much at too young of an age, swimmers doing too many laps, gymnasts too many leaps. Hyman quotes doctor after doctor who express surprise at the surge in surgeries for teens and preteens, as well as the acceptance by kids and their parents that it's just the price to be paid for sports excellence.
The other awful part of this package is that few kids actually reach their goals or even come close, whether that's a major college scholarship, the Olympics, or a professional career. The odds are stacked against any one kid reaching the pinnacle, and the more popular the sport, the higher the odds, of course. But parents can't help but be tied up in their kids' lives, their kids' successes, and the ways those reflect on them as parents. Hyman has dozens of anecdotes along those lines as well, including his own embarrassing efforts to push his talented, but far from star-level, son on the baseball field. Ultimately, his son had elbow surgery early in college and then failed to make his college team upon returning. By then, Hyman had realized he'd pushed his son too hard in earlier years, and he's relieved that his son has found happiness without a pro baseball career (not that he would have been a pro anyway).
This book or any of the others like it should be required reading for every commissioner and coach of any child sports league. The options that Hyman presents for lower levels of competition and for dialing down high-profile events like high school football in Texas or the televised Little League World Series are very sensible. But of course we know that in the 15 years since he wrote the book, the pendulum has only swung further in the wrong direction. NIL money has made it even more tempting for parents to push their kids on the fast track because it's not only college scholarships, but NIL money and their own social media followings that can truly bring a financial return on investment. If Hyman wrote an update to this book, I'm sure he'd say that awareness of the dangers is higher, but the actions of parents, school administrators, and private coaches and for-profit kiddie leagues is ten times worse than in the past. Sad.
The biggest message he wants to get across is that the push for ultra-competitive, year-'round sports specialization had led to a major rise in injury rates in the 1990s and through the 2000s. These were new types of injuries loosely related to "overuse," that is, kids throwing baseballs too much at too young of an age, swimmers doing too many laps, gymnasts too many leaps. Hyman quotes doctor after doctor who express surprise at the surge in surgeries for teens and preteens, as well as the acceptance by kids and their parents that it's just the price to be paid for sports excellence.
The other awful part of this package is that few kids actually reach their goals or even come close, whether that's a major college scholarship, the Olympics, or a professional career. The odds are stacked against any one kid reaching the pinnacle, and the more popular the sport, the higher the odds, of course. But parents can't help but be tied up in their kids' lives, their kids' successes, and the ways those reflect on them as parents. Hyman has dozens of anecdotes along those lines as well, including his own embarrassing efforts to push his talented, but far from star-level, son on the baseball field. Ultimately, his son had elbow surgery early in college and then failed to make his college team upon returning. By then, Hyman had realized he'd pushed his son too hard in earlier years, and he's relieved that his son has found happiness without a pro baseball career (not that he would have been a pro anyway).
This book or any of the others like it should be required reading for every commissioner and coach of any child sports league. The options that Hyman presents for lower levels of competition and for dialing down high-profile events like high school football in Texas or the televised Little League World Series are very sensible. But of course we know that in the 15 years since he wrote the book, the pendulum has only swung further in the wrong direction. NIL money has made it even more tempting for parents to push their kids on the fast track because it's not only college scholarships, but NIL money and their own social media followings that can truly bring a financial return on investment. If Hyman wrote an update to this book, I'm sure he'd say that awareness of the dangers is higher, but the actions of parents, school administrators, and private coaches and for-profit kiddie leagues is ten times worse than in the past. Sad.
February 11, 2019
Great read covering an important subject affecting the healthy development of American children and handicaping the forward movement of our society at large. One point I would have appreciated is an examination of the student athletes academic journey at division one colleges. That fact that too many young people are encouraged by the adults in their lives to risk long term physical and mental health to play a sport at a D-1 institution only to find that the sports overhead leaves little time or energy to fully take advantage of the educational opportunity.
Sports are are great and I extracted great benefit from them but anything taken to extreme becomes sickness.
Sports are are great and I extracted great benefit from them but anything taken to extreme becomes sickness.
August 17, 2021
Good points made about the dangers of overtraining at a young age, overzealous sport parents, and the hardship of earning a sports scholarship at the price of potential injury. At times, the book was overdramatic. Both my boys participate in little league baseball. They like the competition and the pride of winning a game. To me, there’s nothing wrong with that, and yes, as a parent I enjoy watching and sometimes getting involved as a spectator. It did alert me to things like pitchers elbow and year round training, which isn’t good for a young player, so happy I was given this reminder about pushing too hard to train at a young age. Overall, a good book!
December 11, 2020
As a high school coach and long time youth athlete, this book should be required reading for all sports parents and coaches. Are youth sports truly for our kids, or have we made them all about us, the adults? A book I plan to have on my bookshelf the rest of my life.
April 10, 2022
The book I wish I wrote
Mark has beautifully researched and shared exactly what uve been longing to hear. Very well researched and an incredibly important topic. He shared with humility and honesty. Bummed I didn't find this book sooner.
Mark has beautifully researched and shared exactly what uve been longing to hear. Very well researched and an incredibly important topic. He shared with humility and honesty. Bummed I didn't find this book sooner.
February 11, 2021
Lots of problems, not many solutions.
November 10, 2021
The part about female knees is a bit outdated, but other than that, this needs to be required reading.
August 29, 2023
well-researched and insightful but pretty outdated and i feel conflicted about a large part of his argument
Want to read
July 23, 2025How over-competitive youth sports harm kids.
September 14, 2025
A great book on how adults have pushed children into playing sports until they get hurt. This is a short book full of personal stories on how competitive sports hurt children.
December 2, 2012
This book is one of the first of its kind to bring the problem of youth sports into the open. An essential read for the sports parent, coach, health care provider or anyone involved in youth sports. Hyman makes it all too clear the problem with our culture, and how our obsession with sports pushes our kids to the point where it's' not fun anymore', becomes not a game but a business, and parents that all too often view team sports as a surefire ticket to a scholarship.
Sobering, unbelievable and at times funny, any sports parent will see themselves in these pages, including the author, Hyman, who humbly shares his own (previous) obsession with his son's baseball playing days. Hyman meticulously researched his topic, and shares his notes on interviews with surgeons, sports parents and Olympic athletes. Brutally honest, the results will surprise the reader - including: "65% of athletes on Division I and III teams say specializing in one sport was not necessary to play in college", and that sports scholarships if lucky, cover only 15% of college tuition and living expenses, and specializing in one sport at an early age does not improve chances of sports success in high school years.
Hyman concludes on a positive note, calling all parents to re-consider their role in their child's sport, and with a plug for a "return to fundamentals". The reader is left with a thought from the director of a soccer league that prohibits parents from coaching from the sidelines or yelling at the athletes, because after all "the game is for the kids". Yes, it is for the kids after all.
Sobering, unbelievable and at times funny, any sports parent will see themselves in these pages, including the author, Hyman, who humbly shares his own (previous) obsession with his son's baseball playing days. Hyman meticulously researched his topic, and shares his notes on interviews with surgeons, sports parents and Olympic athletes. Brutally honest, the results will surprise the reader - including: "65% of athletes on Division I and III teams say specializing in one sport was not necessary to play in college", and that sports scholarships if lucky, cover only 15% of college tuition and living expenses, and specializing in one sport at an early age does not improve chances of sports success in high school years.
Hyman concludes on a positive note, calling all parents to re-consider their role in their child's sport, and with a plug for a "return to fundamentals". The reader is left with a thought from the director of a soccer league that prohibits parents from coaching from the sidelines or yelling at the athletes, because after all "the game is for the kids". Yes, it is for the kids after all.
December 1, 2020
I should have read this years ago. A gripping, engaging book about how adults have screwed up youth sports for youth. I am left feeling angry at what sports for youth has become in the USA, and I have seen it in my own life, as a sports coach who teaches youth athletes.
I read books like this in the hopes that I will, at least, not become a continuation of the problem, and at best, a part of the solution to the problem. The problem? How to keep youth sports fun for kids, oriented toward kids having fun, and beneficial for the overall development -- physical, emotional, mental -- of children and young adults.
The book talks about all the topics that are covered in many other books, but keeps its focus, pretty well, on youth sports, even though the related topics (such as concussions in sports) could easily derail the book and conversations. By the penultimate chapter, I was feeling pretty much like adults are monsters, preying on children in sports for their own gratification, at the expense of the well-being of children.... their own children. That's basically the thesis of the book, and it is done well.
Hell, I was crying at some points in the book.
The last chapter is important, because it shows that there is hope. It shows that there are some people trying to give back to children what adults have taken from them: the fun part of sports.
I read books like this in the hopes that I will, at least, not become a continuation of the problem, and at best, a part of the solution to the problem. The problem? How to keep youth sports fun for kids, oriented toward kids having fun, and beneficial for the overall development -- physical, emotional, mental -- of children and young adults.
The book talks about all the topics that are covered in many other books, but keeps its focus, pretty well, on youth sports, even though the related topics (such as concussions in sports) could easily derail the book and conversations. By the penultimate chapter, I was feeling pretty much like adults are monsters, preying on children in sports for their own gratification, at the expense of the well-being of children.... their own children. That's basically the thesis of the book, and it is done well.
Hell, I was crying at some points in the book.
The last chapter is important, because it shows that there is hope. It shows that there are some people trying to give back to children what adults have taken from them: the fun part of sports.
March 11, 2010
This book is fairly short and a pretty easy read. I am very interested in the topic as I have played sports all my life and now coach a boys basketball team. The author has a lot of valid and useful statistics as well as opinions/stories from all kinds of people involved in youth sports, ranging from doctors and therapists to parents and coaches, including his own experiences. I really liked that he mentioned several times that he is not flawless and he is at fault also. I thought however, that the subject is too broad for only 160 pages. He talked mostly about baseball (understandable in that this seems to be where most of his experience lies) and only touched a bit on other sports. I think it would have been nice to see a little more variety and depth to the book. Overall, I really enjoyed the information he did provide and his writing style.
November 3, 2009
I have gone against the grain with some of my decisions about not pushing my kids in sports as we try to keep the emphasis on having fun and just being active for the joy of movement. I feel confident recommending this book to other parents and coaches who push just to turn my child into a "winner" at any cost.
This book not only covered injuries, but also touched briefly on disordered eating practices and anabolic steroid use, which added to the read. Definitely sports can be a high-pressure minefield - not only for the kids, but also their parents.
I hope more parents will read this book - particularly the ones that don't realize how sports-obsessed they are and the potential harm to our children.
This book not only covered injuries, but also touched briefly on disordered eating practices and anabolic steroid use, which added to the read. Definitely sports can be a high-pressure minefield - not only for the kids, but also their parents.
I hope more parents will read this book - particularly the ones that don't realize how sports-obsessed they are and the potential harm to our children.
August 10, 2016
This book gave me an enormous amount of food for thought. It made me more aware of the good things our Little League Association are doing. And to be wary of a few things.
It also gave me some perspective for my son who is involved in an intense support and how we need to be hyper vigilant to avoid falling into the traps Hyman outlines in this book. He briefly, but carefully, talks a lot about how parents and coaches get so caught up in providing these children the chance to be 'winners' without realizing how many child-athletes are victims in many ways. It was an eye-opening book for me.
It also gave me some perspective for my son who is involved in an intense support and how we need to be hyper vigilant to avoid falling into the traps Hyman outlines in this book. He briefly, but carefully, talks a lot about how parents and coaches get so caught up in providing these children the chance to be 'winners' without realizing how many child-athletes are victims in many ways. It was an eye-opening book for me.
June 14, 2013
Interesting critique of youth sports in the U.S. The author's contention is that parents/adults take kids sports too seriously to the detriment of kids. He chronicles the rise of the coaching/private lessons industry, the rise in overuse injuries in ever younger kids, and how specializing in one sport at a young age hurts kids future chances. It's a bit one sided, but it's also great food for thought.
August 9, 2014
This book is good read about a youth sports in America. It provides some good reminders and things to think about as our 8 year old is entering the world of competitive sports. The book moves along quickly and keeps the reader engaged and if you have a child in youth sports, well worth your time.
January 1, 2016
If you have ever watched youth sports from the sidelines and felt the intensity of the competition between parents, coaches and officials a little absurd ..... This book is for you! If you haven't had that feeling.... This book is especially for you. It's about how far removed we have become from fun in sports for kids. It is a fascinating and insightful book.
June 19, 2011
About 2/3 of the way through, nothing is terribly surprising except just how far some parents and coaches will go to ignore their child's or athlete's pain in order to keep them on the field, mat, or pool, for example, before these bodies are developed enough to endure these workouts.
September 24, 2011
I knew that parents obsess over their kids sports but I had no idea how far it has gone in recent years. It is truly troubling how parents ruin their kids love of sports by pushing them so hard. Very good eye-opening book.
August 26, 2012
i'm sure loads of people can push back that the book in one-sided or his research isn't thorough, etc. all I know is the book made me think quite a bit about my kids sports participation and how I can do the right thing on the sidelines...
November 12, 2014
This would have been a good magazine article. A thought provoking message that needs to be brought up more, but a book was overkill. My attitude towards organized sports have been changing and this book solidified my view.
March 19, 2009
Heartbreaking. A quick read, interview heavy about how we try to succeed through our children & can destroy them in the process.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews