by Patricia Thorton

Created on: September 05, 2008   Last Updated: September 22, 2008

High School sports are critical to the health of children now more than ever. These sports are also significant to young people's development of qualities related to perseverance and discipline. We have transitioned from a time where kids would flood the streets to play football, to a time where kids will flood the internet lines to play Madden 2009 on their gaming system. With such realistic gaming, children would rather score a touchdown on a video game than to do so in real life, simply because it is easier. While in college, I coached middle school football. I witnessed this first hand. Children who had a desire to play simply did not have the drive to put in the hard work to one day become as good as the players that they controlled on their gaming systems.

Furthermore, High School sports develop the confidence of young children. Before I started playing football, I was overweight and had absolutely no self-confidence in the world. Now one might say I am a little cocky. But I would rather my child be cocky than have low self-esteem any day. This is especially true in contact sports. Regardless of whether or not a child is good at hitting, the mere fact that a child realizes that he can take a hit, get up, and keep moving forward is a priceless lesson for any young person to learn. Children can also learn discipline while playing high school sports. If your child is not the type that responds to authority well, wait until he has a football coach screaming in his face telling him to do one hundred push-ups. These coaches have a unique way of straightening out kids who do not respect their elders.
Lastly, the character one builds while playing sports can benefit children in life beyond high school. Having to finish a game, despite how badly their team is getting beat, will teach children to push through any tough time that they experience down the road. Running that last wind sprint when a child feels he may be too tired to keep going will teach children that they are capable of much more than what their mind allows them to think they are capable. The phrase "the sky is the limit" has a new meaning once a child watches his body develop through an entire season of hard work. There is so much that a child learns while they are in sports. These lessons must be learned at this point in their lives in order to survive college. I am not saying the only way to learn these lessons is by joining a sport, however, I am saying that it is the best way to learn them.
In this article I mention football a lot, however, I believe any high school sport that a child is able to join is worth the time and money involved. Parents should not hesitate to motivate their children to play sports. The qualities that a child can develop while in sports are priceless. They have been priceless in my life. The hope that a child can have for his future when he realizes that there are benefits to hard work is worth any price tag.

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