by Rob Merlino

Created on: February 10, 2007   Last Updated: March 11, 2007

In every school community there are students of all ages who participate in youth sports. Many kids begin playing organized sports beginning at age 5 or 6 and kids play sports throughout their entire school career. There are different reasons kids play sports. Initially parents usually introduce their children to a sport or sports and as the children get older, their interests dictate continuing in a given sport. Participation in youth sports at all levels has an effect on the participant's self esteem and the children who continue to be involved in sports through their middle and high school years are more likely to have higher academic acheivement, fewer discipline problems and a more positive view of their school and community. Coaches as a role model play a critical role in the development of the student as an athlete and an individual. Teachers need to be aware of the effects youth sport participation can have on a student, positive and negative, so they may recognize the important correlation to academic ACHIEVEMENT.

Many kids have their first experience with a youth sport because mom or dad decided it would be a good idea to expose them to a sport. Groups of 5 and 6 year olds are put in the charge of an adult volunteer whose role should be to teach the basics of a game and make sure the kids get plenty excersise while having some fun and making some new friends. Many children are exposed to a variety of sporting experiences at a young age and begin to focus on the sports they enjoy when they reach middle school age. By the time kids reach high school, they know what they like to play and continue out of their enjoyment of the game. There are many reasons kids play sports, and winning is not at the top of the list. Fun, interacting with peers, and challenging themselves come before winning for most youth sports participant regardless of their level of ability. (Pugh) Children also begin to learn the benefits of being part of a team and feel just as good when a teamate makes a good play as when they do themselves. Kids who are forced to participate in a sport against their will at younger ages will more likely view continued participation as a stressful situation and will likely not continue. The ideal environment for younger athletes to foster a continued dedication to a sport is one where they have a voice and negative adult behavior is non existent.(Pugh)
Children who have a positive experience participating in a youth sport tend to have higher self

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