Youth In Sports
Athletics: Affecting the Lives of Youth Today Children are greatly influenced by practically everything that happens to them during their childhood. ... It is estimated that 30 million children, ages 6-18 years old participate in organized sports outside of school. So, it can be said that athletics have a great influence on our youth today. According to the American Sport Education Program sports participation: Builds an appreciation of personal health and fitness; Develops a positive self-image; Teaches how to work as part of a team; Develops social skills with other children and adults; Teaches both how to manage success and disappointment; and, teaches how to respect others (Ramsburg). ... Personally, one of the greatest experiences I have had in my life thus far is my participation in organized sports. ... Through experience, I have found that sports can have a very positive influence on kids in so many ways, including, but not limited to, the social and physical aspects of their life. ... Sports can easily be that factor. The world of athletics is continually growing, becoming increasingly more popular among youth today. In the 1980s, estimates of youth participation rates ranged from 20 to 35 million. In the 1990s, Ewing and Seefeldt reported that 55 percent of youth ages 10 to 18 years participated in a nonschool sport activity (Joperd). The benefits of sports are numerous, and outweigh any negative impacts by far. ... Sports consist of physical activity in one way or another, helping the computer-minded generation of children gets out of the house and into shape. ... “Soccer for example, can do wonders for a childs future bone health, suggests a report in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. ... Getting children involved in sports will help them to be active while having fun at the same time. ... There are also great affects on the social aspects of a child’s life when participating in sports. Studies have shown that participation in sports helps the development of social competence-the ability to get along with and be accepted by peers, family members, teachers, and coaches (Ramsburg). ... Sports are a great way to help kids make friends in a comfortable environment, and instantly create a common ground between them; the sport which they play. ... Another social aspect that can be influenced by sports is the development of cooperation in children. ... When asked what impact she felt athletics had on her as a child, Maryellen, an athlete since the first grade, said, “Playing sports allowed me to learn teamwork. ... There has been a great deal of controversy over the emotional stress implicated on children in competitive sports, and research has shown both positive and negative outcomes occur, with the positive far outweighing the negative. Studies of athletes ages 9 to 16 showed that both physiological and subjective measures of anxiety states are increased above resting levels in anticipation of competitive sports events and clutch situations during play. ... Sports in a way, makes children reach out to others because it is almost impossible to be on a team and not get to know the other members of your team. ... Accepting defeat, and demonstrating good sportsmanship is another attribute that young athletes can gain from sports.