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Bryson Warren is a pro basketball player who earns at least $100,000 a year. His face is on a trading card, and thousands of fans follow him on social media.

Bryson is also a teenager. At 16, he joined a new pro basketball league that was created for high schoolers. It's called Overtime Elite (OTE).

This league pays talented juniors and seniors to train and play in Atlanta, Georgia. They also finish high school while they are there. The players hope to then be drafted by the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Does that sound like the chance of a lifetime? For Bryson, it was-even though it meant leaving his home in Arkansas. "I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do," he explains.

But the new league has raised a big question in the sports world: Are teens too young for the stress that comes with going pro?

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Bryson Warren is a pro basketball player who earns at least $100,000 a year. His face is on a trading card, and thousands of fans follow him on social media. Bryson is also a teenager. At 16, he joined a new pro basketball league that was created for high schoolers.

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What Are The Chances Of My Child Becoming A Professional Athlete?

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What Are The Chances Of My Child Becoming A Professional Athlete?

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(Wilson)

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What Are The Chances Of My Child Becoming A Professional Athlete?

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Want to know chances of your child becoming a professional athlete TackleSmart offers a variety of information on how to become a professional athlete

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10 Athletes Who Took an Unconventional Path to the Pros

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10 Athletes Who Took an Unconventional Path to the Pros

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(Gould)

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10 Athletes Who Took an Unconventional Path to the Pros

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Some athletes were better off taking the road less traveled. Most players vying for a professional sports career follow the presented blueprint. Pick up a ball as soon as your hand-eye coordination allows it...

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Going Professional as a Teen: The challenges of young student-athletes playing professionally

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Going Professional as a Teen: The challenges of young student-athletes playing professionally

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(Schafer)

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It takes a lot of talent, hard work and commitment to become a professional athlete. In a research experiment conducted by Malcolm Gladwell, Canadian journalist and author, found it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert or professional at anything. Ten thousand…

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How young is too young to play professional sports?

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How young is too young to play professional sports?

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(Ray)

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Ben Ray writes about sports for the Federal Way Mirror and its sister newspapers in King County. Contact benjamin.ray@soundpublishing.com.

The youngest player in the National Women's Soccer League was signed by the Washington Spirit on March 3.

Chloe Ricketts, 15, was signed to a three year contract to play pro soccer. Ricketts is a midfielder from Wisconsin who started participating with the team, training with them in January.

The former youngest player in the NWSL is Olivia Moultrie, who currently plays in Portland for the Thorns. Moultrie, now 17, signed when she was 15 years and 286 days old. Ricketts is three days younger than Moultrie was two years ago.

Soccer seems to be the one sport that young athletes can enter and make a difference and compete at the highest level. Back in 2004, Freddy Adu (14 years, 4 months, 29 days) entered a game as a substitute for the San Jose Earthquakes and held that record until 2019, when Francis Jacobs beat him by one day (14 years, 4 months, 28 days).

In men's sports, basketball used to be the sport where young stars often signed when they graduated high school and were draft eligible. But ever since 2006, the NBA increased age requirements to 19 years old, nullifying any younger players going into the league.

Baseball also has the tendency of signing players out of high school, but the rigorous minor league system gives players a chance to mature and find their way before making it to the big stage. The Mariners signed AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez in 2017 at just 17 years old, but it took him five years to make it to the big leagues. On top of that, he sped through the farm system quicker than most young prospects.

The question I find myself asking is, how young is too young? If the kids are ready and good enough, shouldn't they be allowed to participate? If the answer is straight up no, we would've had to wait on the Williams sisters, Lebron James and Kobe Bryant, drastically changing their careers.

From another perspective, parents always want the best for their child. But oftentimes there are situations where kids are pushed too far and the focus is on them instead of the athletes. Even the media can put immense pressure on these kids before they can even vote or drive a car - like calling Lebron James "The Chosen One."

There is also the problem of taking away these kids' ability to be a kid. Once they sign the dotted line, it's all work all the time. In an era where mental health is as important as ever, teams need to give these young players every avenue they can.

Ricketts is an awesome icon for young girls everywhere. To know that if you are good enough, you can play with the pros and break records. On the other hand, how many parents see this and want to push their kid to the limit, and how much damage will that cause?

I wish nothing but the best for Ricketts and hope she tears the league up. The Washington Spirit and Ricketts will travel to Seattle just one time this season. The OL Reign take on Washington in October at Lumen Field.

Ben Ray writes about sports for the Federal Way Mirror and its sister newspapers in King County. Contact benjamin.ray@soundpublishing.com.

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How young is too young to play professional sports? | Federal Way Mirror

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The youngest player in the National Women's Soccer League was signed by the Washington Spirit on March 3. Chloe Ricketts, 15, was signed to a three year contract to play pro soccer. Ricketts is a midfielder from Wisconsin who started participating with the team, training with them in January.

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Are athletes too young? Tennis star Coco Gauff opens up about depression

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Are athletes too young? Tennis star Coco Gauff opens up about depression

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(Daniels)

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Are athletes too young? Tennis star Coco Gauff opens up about depression

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There’s been a major debate in all sports regarding the age at which players can turn professional. In the NBA, you are required to be at least 19 yea…

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Is going pro as a teen the opportunity of a lifetime—or a losing play?

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How young is too young to play professional sports?

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How young is too young to play professional sports?

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(Matthewson)

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Pro sports leagues around the world have age limits for participants. The NFL requires athletes to be at least three years removed from high school (usually 21 or 20 years old). The NBA requires athletes to be 19. The NHL's age minimum is 18 years old. Major League Baseball has an 18-year-old minimum for U.S. players and 17 for international players.

Other team or individual sports have varying policies. And athletes, or their families, push the limits of how early they can become a professional. Take 13-year-old American soccer prodigy Olivia Moultrie for example. The Canyon Country, Calif., native on Feb. 25 she had signed with a sports agency, Wasserman Media Group, and signed a multiyear deal with Nike.

In late February, Moultrie relocated to Portland, Ore., the Portland Thorns F.C. developmental academy. Moultrie in her first professional action in a preseason match against the U.S. Women's National Team.

Moultrie became the youngest girls soccer player to accept an athletic scholarship two years earlier when she accepted one from the University of North Carolina at the age of 11. Now the barely-teenage prospect is the youngest girls soccer player to forgo her scholarship and turn pro.

Even though Moultrie is technically a professional, she has to wait five years before she can sign with a professional team. The National Women's Soccer League (N.W.S.L.), the top pro women's soccer league in the U.S., doesn't allow players to sign a contract until they are 18. FIFA rules will not allow Moultrie to sign with a foreign club until age 18 either.

Moultrie's route to the pros is much more common among boys than girls. According to the New York Times, only two current members of the U.S. women's national team skipped college and went straight to the pros: Mallory Pugh and Lindsey Horan.

American girls' soccer players, for the most part, follow the traditional path through youth teams to powerhouse Division I soccer programs such as Stanford and North Carolina. They are subsequently drafted into the N.W.S.L via the league's draft in January.

Debuting too early in sports can have its consequences. While some might find success, others struggle to adjust to the top leagues at such a young age. Some examples of players who made pro debuts around Moultrie's age?

Freddy Adu

Freddy Adu became the youngest American to sign a pro contract when he signed with D.C. United after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft at age 14.

Adu's career started well: He scored 11 goals in 87 matches over his three-year stretch with D.C. United. He made the MLS All-Star in 2005 and 2006.

However, Adu had trouble sticking with one team. After spending his first three professional seasons with D.C. United, the midfielder bounced through 13 more soccer clubs, starting with a trade to Real Salt Lake following the 2006 season, over the next 11 years. Adu last played for Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL and was released following the 2018 season.

Matthew Briggs

In the English Premier League, Matthew Briggs became the youngest player in a Premier League game when he made his debut for Fulham F.C. at 16 years and 86 days old in May 2007. That was younger than Izzy Brown, who made his debut with West Bromwich Albion in 2013 (16 years and 117 days old) or Aaron Lennon, who made his debut with Leeds United in 2003 (16 years and 128 days old).

After Fulham, the teenager played for nine clubs in lower-tier leagues over the next 11 years, scoring six goals in 140 appearances as a defender. Briggs is a member of Maldon & Tiptree F.C. of the Isthmian League, a semi-professional league in England.

Lucy Li

While the PGA Tour requires golfers to be 18 to join (with some exceptions for 17-year-olds), that doesn't stop golfers at USGA events from lowering the age bar. A pair of 10-year-olds, Michelle Wie in 2000 and Lucy Li in 2013, each qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.

Li is the youngest golfer to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, doing so in 2014 at age 11. Through two rounds, Li shot a 156 (+16) and missed the cut. After spending 2015 out of the national spotlight, Li won the Junior PGA Championship and was a part of the winning team of the 2016 Junior Ryder Cup.

Recently, Li made the cut at the 2018 U.S. Women's Open as one of seven amateurs participating. She finished with a 299 (+11) and finished 55th. Li is the seventh-ranked amateur women's golfer in the world per World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Joe Nuxhall

The youngest pro baseball player to appear in a Major League Baseball game came in 1944 while numerous MLB players were fighting in World War II, Joe Nuxhall made his debut on the mound in the ninth inning for the Cincinnati Reds in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was 15.

The teenager lasted two-thirds of an inning. He allowed five runs on two hits and five walks. One of the hits was by Hall of Famer Stan Musial.

After the outing, Nuxhall did not return to the majors and the Reds until he was 23. He went on to have a 16-year career with more than 2,300 innings pitched and a 3.90 career earned run average (ERA).
TJ Mathewson is a junior journalism student at Arizona State University

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Moultrie's pro debut raises questions about teenagers in pro sports

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Pro sports leagues around the world have age limits for participants. The NFL requires athletes to be at least three years removed from high school (usually 21 or 20 years old). The NBA requires athletes to be 19. The NHL's age minimum is 18 years old.