Boys And Girls Club Motivation

Each year in the United States, more than 36 million school-aged children participate in an “organized sport” (“Youth Sports Statistics”). Especially over the past few years, many studies have proved or disproved the idea that sports are beneficial for young kids. Those studies have found that youth sports have both positive and negative effects on young children, and research shows parents and coaches have the greatest effect on a child’s experience.

America’s baseball diamonds, soccer fields, hockey rinks, and basketball courts have never been so busy with children. The number of kids involved in an organized sport is not what is so groundbreaking. It’s the way in which children are playing or how their parents are arranging for them to play that may be cause for concern (Ferguson). Much controversy surrounds youth sports with the biggest disagreements coming over parental involvement and the intensity of play. Although there are many benefits for team participation, there is a growing fear that the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives.

Many youth sports are part of community organized after-school programs. There are many different types of these programs such as T-Ball, Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football, soccer, martial arts, cheerleading, and so forth. “There are over 40 million youth participating in organized sports, and both girls and boys have a dazzling array of choices and can play a sport year round” (Le Menestrel and Perkins 13). Communities use youth sport as an outlet to encourage social activity, a healthy lifestyle, and skill development for that particular sport. For example, “Participation in organized sports can provide opportunities for youth to learn more about specific skills and exercises associated with a particular sport” (Perkins and Noam 76). These programs offer opportunities to boost skills and connect positively with others. Without these activities, parents will have to find another developmental setting that may not give similar or beneficial outcomes as those of organized youth sport. Studies found that, “Sports

Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a countrywide organization of local subdivisions that provide after-school programs for young people. The purpose of BGCA is to provide young people with a safe environment during weekends and after school. As a non-profit organization, Boys and Girls Clubs of America run after-school clubs that serves over 4 million children across 3,400 facilities throughout 50 states and Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The organization also has 150 clubs located on the Native American tribal lands as well as another 400 clubs located in military bases that are spread across the globe. Since its inception, the organization and its predecessors have been tackling juvenile delinquency for more than 100 years. In order to accomplish this objective, BGCA opens the clubs on a daily basis after school and during weekends. These clubs are managed by full-time youth development professionals who are supported by volunteers in the community. Despite of its activities revolving around sports and recreational activities, BGCA provide programs that focus on health and life skills, character and leadership development, computer skills, and arts.

The Boys and Girls Club of America is a non-profit organization that provides youth with after-school resources. The club's membership fees are only five dollars per a year to insure that every child has a right to join the club. The organization's goals are to make sure every child graduates high school and has life skills to become successful. The five programs (Education & Career; Character & Leadership; Health & Life Skills; The Arts; and Sports, Fitness, and Recreation) aim to give the child a core development to become prosperous.

The boys and girls club have been serving children for 150 years. They have given their helping hand to millions of kids worldwide. The Boys and Girls club’s mission has always been “To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” The Boys and Girl’s club was formed to assist underprivileged children or children who do not live in the best environment. This organization possesses a numerous amount of goals and achievements they want for each child in the program. They provide a safe and fun environment; help create skills for the future and help children build relationships with positive adults. In addition the

i. In the article “ The Impact of Sports on Adolescent Development” published in Forum on Public Policy in 2013, D.C Jack conducted a study that found

fitness. Every duty that I performed at The Boys and Girls Club of America I

Our calendar is an eight week white erase board displaying our child’s average weekly schedule consisting of two soccer practices, one soccer game, a half a day of refereeing soccer games, one after school Key Club meeting, one after school National Honor Society meeting, midweek bible study, and a miscellaneous charity or volunteering event. We encourage our children to participate in all of these events in hopes that they will help them to be well-rounded, community aware, college-bound individuals. At times I speculate we are pushing our children too far, but I am reassured by studies that show we are just part of the norm in America trying to provide advantages for our children’s future.

While living in the Residence, we will be working with the Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valley in Waterloo. They offer a safe and educational environment to kids, specifically those at-risk, to spend time with their friends and participate in activities put on by staff and volunteers. This gives these kids opportunities that they might not have had access to elsewhere, and it prevents them from finding more dangerous activities in some of their communities. In a bigger city like Waterloo, there is a higher population of at-risk children and teenagers who choose to go to an after-school program like the Boys and Girls Club instead of doing more dangerous activities. Statistically, there are more lower-income families with children who are a part of after-school programs like this because parents are not always available to provide after-school care, which makes them more likely to fall into trouble. We became aware of the need for volunteers in places like the Boys and Girls Club through our own experiences working with teenagers who have gotten into trouble because they did not have this resource.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the CSRA is a local chapter of the national organization that provides afterschool programs to children and young adults in order to provide for their development as productive members of society. (Evans, 2016)

The authors found that while many studies have been done on the impact of sports based intervention programs have on populations that are underprivileged or even homeless, there are few studies that investigate the impact these interventions have on the volunteers who participate in these programs. This study examines the impact of Street Soccer USA on its volunteers.

A typical morning at the Boys and Girls club consist of checking in at the front desk (opens at 7:30). For the next one and a half hours the children have free time, giving them a chance to fully wake up and mingle

Can you be a positive role model who helps make a difference in a child’s life? Can you become that one person that a child could trust and speak freely with? If that sounds like you, head down to your local Boys & Girls Club of America to support and volunteer, and make a world of difference in a child’s life.

Since the creation of man, sports have had a tremendous role in the way people live their lives. From the time we are born, until our elderly age, most of us are involved in some way with sports. Whether it is a scrimmage game of soccer at recess in elementary school, playing on the varsity athletic team or simply watching the Olympics or sporting events on television, sports have an influential role in our everyday lives. The outstanding popularity of the sports industry has profoundly affected youth sports organizations that an estimated twenty-six million children ages six through eighteen participate in at least one school or community based athletic program (Smith & Smoll, 1997). Well structured sport programs can provide youths with