by Stacey Terry

Created on: September 20, 2008   Last Updated: January 10, 2010

"Although sports are not viewed as a panacea for society's ills, sports participation that emphasizes skill-building and socially acceptable responses to personal relationships has proven to be a popular aid in the education of youth."

- (Martha Ewing, Vern Seefeldt, and Tempie Brown ; Michigan State University)

How important are youth sports to a child's future? Can a child learn important life lessons just by playing Little League baseball or YMCA soccer or Rec. League football? Do student athletes have better grades and a brighter future than non-athletes? The overall answer is yes. Multiple studies have proven that children who participate in youth sports have physical, social, and personal benefits.

The most obvious benefits of youth sports participation are the physical benefits. Of course, children who play sports and engage in physical activity are going to be in better physical shape than those who participate in sedentary activities. Through sports participation, children increase their general physical fitness but they also establish good health habits for life, including less drug and alcohol use as teens. This is especially important, since childhood obesity in the United States has increased by more than 50% in the last 30 years.

Beyond the physical benefits of youth sports, there are also social benefits to children playing sports. Whether the sport played is a team sport or an individual sport, children learn to have relationships with other children and adults. Through interaction with others, children learn to interact with people from different backgrounds, cultures and socioeconomic groups. They are exposed to more real-life situations and gain experience performing in front of others. Sports organizations and teams provide youth with a community that they can depend on as they grow. That community gives kids a chance to feel that they are contributing to a larger group. It gives them a different view of the world and the people in it. One hockey father says, "Part of the benefit of sports is that children observe its complex social dynamic among coaches, parents, players, and officials. There's a wide range of ethics, such as the attitude toward authority. Do you try to abide by the spirit of the rules, get away with what you can, accept what an official says, or do you argue and yell at him, or complain about it? Another major element they encounter is the difference between teammates who are good at communicating and sharing, versus those

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