The Importance Of Youth Sports

Children who participate in sports are less likely to be overweight or obese, have higher self-esteem on average, and are generally more invested in their academics. Sports are oftentimes seen as a gateway to academic opportunity, particularly for kids with fewer resources. While this logic is inherently problematic, it is true that high schoolers who were involved with organized sport were more likely to be enrolled in college later on. Youth sports also give children a place to develop socially by teaching them about teamwork, leadership, and compromise. Team sports in particular can provide children with a sense of belonging to a group, and therefore increase their self-esteem and improve their social competence. There are dozens of reasons why youth sport is important and beneficial to a child’s development, and with millions of participants each year in the United States alone, it doesn’t look like youth sports will be going anywhere anytime

Youth sports ages are considered to be high school sports and below. “And more than 45 national sports groups, including the USTA, MLB, NFL, PGA, and NHL are backing an effort to encourage multi-sport play” (Rosenwald, 2017, p. 3). Kids love sports, and it’s one of the things that they do for fun. Sports keep the youth in today’s society physically and socially active which can help prepare them for their future greatly. Most kids that do play youth sports are out for more than just one sport, which helps kids even more, and that is very helpful for them. When they play more than one sport it helps them develop skill that they can use in other sports. “They(the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and

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.

Sports can be viewed as a learning environment that helps individuals learn life lessons, foster strong work habits and develop core values all the while learning a sport skill. Youth sports that truly benefit young athletes should be structured to emphasize participation more than just competition. Children enjoy a sport more when they are able to have fun (Humpries). Despite many excesses some sport programs still manage to promote important virtues like self- confidence, teamwork, personal responsibility, coping skills, and persistence. Through sports kids can learn to stay organized and learn how to prioritize (Ferguson). Sports enables development of physical skills and increasing proficiency makes kids feel good about themselves. It teaches kids that failure is something to overcome and and not to fear (Meyerhoff 8-9). Youth sports has many aspects that are truly benefiting for children, but these benefits are slowly being clouded by the negatives that are prominent in today's youth sports.

Playing sports or even having the knowledge of them can result into happier and more social students. In the video Notebook: Kids and Sports, Katie Couric states, “Playing sports cannot only give kids more confidence, it can also give them more rewarding friendships” (Notebook). This implies that our school can be more successful if we have greater variety of sports kids can join. Although being happier and more social isn't the only benefit of being in sports.

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

Playing sports is also a great way to introduce kids to different physical activities. Playing sports also help kids to learn different skills, for instance how to dribble a basketball, kick and catch a football and hit and catch a baseball. Learning such skills doesn’t happen overnight. It

Those who play any type of sport in their childhood are known to have a higher confidence level. Confidence is something that some kids and teenagers struggle with while growing up. They struggle with who they are and their purpose. Playing a sport can give a child a sense of accomplishment. They can set a goal and then beating that goal they gain accomplishment. Setting

This proves that playing competitive sports is good for the youth and it can also benefit them by playing on a team. It also gives them a lot of life skills such as confidence that they will use later on in their life when they have a job. Lucy Calkins is an expert in writing and in her article “Get Off That Couch and Play!” she also says that, “Students learn important life skills such as how to accept criticism, how to handle oneself under the pressure of competition, how to work hard toward a goal, how to win and lose graciously” (2014). In addition, to Lucy Calkins article “Get Off That Couch and Play!” that later in life if an adult is at a job interview they will need confidence while they are being interviewed, otherwise they probably won’t get the job. Adults and Children also need to work hard to get towards a goal. Like if someone is at their job and their boss needs something right away, they must get it done and not day dream. In the article “Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at High School Level,” education researcher and writer Grace Chen says, “When children and teens participate in group competitions and activities, they learn skills that

Today’s youth is our society’s future, which is why it is important to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. Children and teens who get into trouble are more likely to continue doing so as they reach adulthood. It is important to give children an alternative extra-curricular activity than hanging out with their friends unsupervised with peer pressure all around them. Sports can be a great way to help these children improve their lives.

A lot of parents think that sports are too hard and too physical for teens and children, but sports are,actually, the best thing that will happen to these minors. Sports are a huge influence on children and teenagers, because participating in sports can actually influence the future of young men and women of today's generation. For the children and teenagers that start to play at a young age, sports can help children develop physical skills and learn how to work as a part of a team.

Youth sports are good for younger people because it can help them grow older to be active in stay in shape as older people. ”Youth sports are popular, in part, because they benefit young people in many ways.

As kids participate in sports, they develop confidence, good social skills, build self-esteem, and stay healthy (Sutton). Just from participating in sports kids reduce their likelihood of developing lifelong diseases such as diabetes. Kids that play sports often have better social skills than kids that do not because they spend a lot of time talking with coaches and teammates. As children grow up, they should be required to play sports in order to develop a healthy lifestyle, good team building skills, and good social skills.

Sports may not be all that good for children. Some people might say that sports can cause injury, children won’t get a chance to play if they are not very good, or children may be made fun of for lacking skill in that particular sport. I believe that participating in sports has a much more positive impact on children. Sports can help children’s health approve, help them develop new friends, and can help improve the children’s self confidence.

youth sports is not always a positive one. Some of the influencing factors include: the participation of parents in youth sports programs, the suggestion by coaches, parents and