Letters

Five-year-olds not too young to get involved in sports

In regards to John Tuft’s letter written about youth baseball in Spokane (Voices, May 6): The age of 5 is fairly early to start involvement in a competitive sport. From my experience, however, it takes this early start for kids to have a chance at becoming a skilled, fundamental athlete, whatever the sport may be.

As a current college athlete, I know that the sports world is a competitive one. For athletes to have an edge, they need to start playing at a young age. I realize this is spoken from a very competitive standpoint, but aside from playing sports to gain an advantage, it can be a great way for kids to start getting involved. I have read several studies that assert the fact that involvement in sports considerably reduces the chances of a child taking part in negative behaviors.

If we want our youth to seek positive sources of success and refrain from getting in trouble, sports might not be a bad avenue to travel down. Although 5 is a very young age, I don’t think it is too young for kids to start engaging themselves in the sports community.

Kyla M. Evans

Cheney