SCHOOL SPORTS IN THE USA: FEATURES AND PROBLEMS

The purpose: Describe the main features in the organization of American school sports, conduct a critical analysis of its current state with an emphasis on revealing systemic problems in this area.

Methods and organization of the research. The study is based on the results of studying foreign scientific publications, a number of interviews and conversations with American experts in the field of education and sports management during the author’s postgraduate education at the Rochester Institute of Technology USA.

Results and discussion. Unlike European and many other countries in which children's and youth sports are developed mainly on the basis of out-of-school sports organizations (clubs), in the USA the initial basis for the development of amateur sports and the reserve basis for professional sports is the school education system. Along with positive experience and undoubted achievements, in the current conditions, serious problems have arisen in American school sports, which are associated with its priority orientation towards entertainment and the resulting one-sided development, excessive emphasis on competition, a shortage of qualified coaches and financial difficulties.

Conclusion. In modern conditions American school sports, despite the developed material base and other positive components, has actually ceased to meet the needs of the US population and is causing a critical attitude from specialists.
 

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