Sports and the Youth: Why So Important?

Harrison, P., Naraya, G. Differences in behavior, psychological factors, and environmental factors associated with participation in school sports and other activities in adolescence. Journal of School Health, 2003. 


Sports provide children and youth with many opportunities to grow physically and socially, as well as emotionally. Moreover, physical activities with other children allow them to build social skills through peer interaction. Many parents are concerned about whether or not to allow their children to participate in team sports and, if so, at what age.


At What Age Should Children Start Team Sports?

Child development experts say that children develop interested in team sports around ages 5-6. Some educators feel that learning to cooperate with peers at a young age is very important for children because this way they will be more socially ready for kindergarten and grade school. However, adults must emphasize cooperation over competition in team sports, especially with young children. They also should not show favoritism to young children based on their demonstrated skills in sports. Children's (especially boys') motivation to participate in team sports moves from a focus on competition in early childhood to one on cooperation and friendship by the late elementary school years. Thus it's important to help young children advance developmentally to appreciate the cooperativeness of team sports.

Competition

Team sports are useful for teaching youth many important skills. The first of these skills is competition. In today's world, we are surrounded by competition. Adults face competition when they are applying for and keeping jobs, whereas children face competition in academics and sports. Participating in competitive team sports at an early age gives children an opportunity to understand the healthy aspects of competition in a friendly environment. 

Physical Benefits

Team sports also help a child's physical well-being. Children who are actively involved in a sport are more likely to describe themselves as being in good physical health than students who do not participate in sports.

Social Behavior

A child's feeling of self-worth and learning of social behaviors can be helped greatly through extracurricular sports. Meeting new friends, working together as a team and developing a healthy competitiveness are important strides in social and emotional growth that all children experience. 

Emotional Benefits

Emotional growth is also important for youth. Sometimes, the emotional development of youth is hindered because of the physical and/or emotional absence of parents. Sports provide youth with opportunities to interact with a caring and supportive adult. Adult support outside the family is a major protective factor for high-risk youth. The interaction a child has with his or her coach helps to improve self-esteem as well as lower the chance of depression.

Conclusion

Sports provide numerous opportunities for children and teenagers to grow socially, emotionally, and physically. Furthermore, they also allow youth to learn and practice in a competitive environment. 

As for the reference to Keepin It Real program, sports sounded like a great topic for an in-class presentation made by a guest speaker. This could serve at least 3 purposes: 

1. Tell the middle schoolers about the importance of going in for sports, being fit, and leading a healthy life style. 

2. Show the middle schoolers that going to college is a reality. One of the ways to get higher education without having to pay high tuition fees is a sports scholarship. For that, we decided to invite a UT student, an athlete, to be a guest speaker in class and to serve as a role model for the kids. 

3. Get the kids more excited about Explore UT Day.

With all this in mind, we started planning.... TO BE CONTINUED