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Don’t Take the Fun Out of Youth Sports

When I joined a private football league a few years ago, the sport meant everything to me. My coach （教练）said that I had lots of potential （潜力）, and I became captain of my 36 . That was before all the fun was taken out of 37 .

At first, everyone on the team got 38 playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games, and the 39 started. Some parents, who had paid the coach extra so their daughters could have 40 one-on-one training, got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our 41 . The coach was replaced.

The new coach, however, took all the fun out of the game: All we did during practice was 42 . I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the 43 . Of course, all teams run drills; they are 44 . But we ran so much that, afterwards, we had trouble 45 . Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercises 46 for 18-year-olds.

I was very thin 47 I started football, but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much, because I was afraid of being too 48 to run. I feared making mistakes, and the added pressure caused me to make more than my usual 49 .

Is all this pressure necessary ? I 50 up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same, and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s 51 , because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they 52 from the coach or their parents.

I continued playing football at school and 53 my love for it. I joined a private team coached by my school coach. When I started playing 54 him, he told me I needed to relax because I looked nervous. After I 55 down, I played better. When you enjoy something, it’s a lot easier to do it well.

36. A. class B. club C. team D. board

37. A. playing B. living C. learning D. working

38. A. great B. equal C. right D. extra

39. A. business B. struggle C. attempt D. pressure

40. A. free B. private C. good D. basic

41. A. matches B. courses C. lessons D. programs

42. A. jump B. play C. run D. shoot

43. A. duty B. meeting C. operation D. training

44. A. necessary B. boring C. scientific D. practical

45. A. speaking B. moving C. sleeping D. breathing

46. A. used B. intended C. made D. described

47. A. till B. since C. before D. because

48. A. full B. tired C. lazy D. big

49. A. size B. share C. space D. state

50. A. gave B. kept C. ended D. picked

51. A. sad B. shameful C. silly D. serious

52. A. received B. suffered C. brought D. felt

53. A. reconsidered B. rediscovered C. re-formed D. replaced

54. A. at B. by C. for D. around

55. A. fell B. stepped C. slowed D. calmed

36. C 37. A 38. B 39. D 40. B 41. A 42. C 43. D 44. A 45. D 46. B 47. C 48. A 49. B 50. C 51. A 52. D 53. B 54. C 55. D