AshleyWilliams

Mrs.Jankowski
English12H
23November2015
BenefitsofSportsonKids
Oneofthebestactivitiesyoucangetayoungkidinvolvedinisteamsports.Teamsports
havebeenaroundforhundredsofyears.Therearemanyteamsportsayoungcangetinvolvedin
suchas,basketball,baseball,volleyball,andmanymore.Kidswhobecomeinvolvedinsportsat
ayoungagewilllearnlifeskillsthatwillhelpthemfortherestoftheirlife.Tosomekidsthey
jointomeetnewpeopleandnothavefun,butforsome,sportsbecometheirpassionandthey
spendalotoftheirtimeplayingthatsport.Joiningsportsisagreatwayforkidstoexcelinlife.
Youngkidsbenefitfromsportsinthesocialaspect,physical,andacademic.
Kidsbenefitfromsportsinthesocialaspect.Sportsallowkidstobewithotherpeersthat
sharethesameinterestsasthem.Thenumberonegoalformostkidswhengettinginvolvedina
sportistohavefunandmeetnewpeople.Foryoungkids,theabsolutemostimportantthingis
thattheyhavefunandmakefriendshipsthroughsports(Billardp2).Friendsthatkidsmake
throughsportswillforeverbesomeoftheirbestfriends.Kidsaretaughttobuildstrong
friendshipsthroughplayingsportsandhowtocooperatewiththeirteammates.Beinginvolved
inteamsportshelpsgiveyoungkidstheconfidencetheyneedtomakenewfriends
(Sportanddevp5).Itgivesachildmoreconfidence,whichmakesiteasiertoautomaticallymake
friends.Itraisesselfesteem,andselfbelief,andthere'sanabsolutecorrelationbetween
believinginyourself(Harrisp20).Beinginvolvedinvolvedinsportsisawaytoincreasea

childsselfconfidence.Increasedconfidenceintheirphysicalabilities,theabilitytobeapartof
ameaningfulgroup,theopportunitiestolearnaboutcommitmentanddisciplineanddedication
(Neighmond3).Havingconfidencewhentryingtomakefriendsiskey,andsportrelated
activitiesgivesyoungkidstheconfidencetheyneed.
Sportsallowkidstoshareaconnectionwithotherkidsthathaveaninterestinthesame
activitiesthattheydo.Theirteammatesbecometheirfamilyandtheywilldoanythingtoprotect
them.Therearetwogoals,tryingtowin,andlookingoutforyourteammates(Billardp3).
Youngathletesshareaspecialbondwhenplayingteamsportstogether.Eveninthemost
intenseprogramsthekidswilltellyouthatthisiswhattheywant:thesheerfunofthegame,and
thetribalbondwiththeirteammates(Ferguson2).Youngathleteslearnsocialandmoral
developmentthathelpsthemcreatestrongfriendships.Theselearningaspectshighlightthe
impactofphysicaleducationandsportonachildssocialandmoraldevelopmentinadditionto
physicalskillsandabilities(Sportanddevp2).ProfessorIrwinsaid:Sportallowsyouto
developamentoringrelationshipwithpositive,schoolorientedpeers(Harris1).Throughthis
relationship,youngkidscanmoreeasilycreatestrongfriendships.Youngathleteswillalways
rememberthetimestheyspentwiththeirpeersplayingsports.OctavioHerrerasaid,Allmy
funmemoriesgrowingupwerearoundsports(Neighmondp6).
Youngathleteslearnlifelessonsinteamsportsalongwiththeirfriends.Growingand
learningwiththeirfriendswillkeepthemclose.Throughparticipationinsportonphysical
education,youngpeoplelearn,alongsidetheirpeers,theimportanceofkeyvaluessuchas,
honesty,teamwork,fairplay,andadherencetorules(Sportanddevp2).Theylearnlifeskillsthat
willhelpthemsociallyfortherestoftheirlife.Thiswouldnotbepossiblewithoutstartingsports

atayoungage.Butasimportantly,itisthatitsgettinglifeskillsthattheyreallyseewillallow
themtoachievethingsthattheywouldntiftheyhadnotplayedasport(NeighmondP2).There
aremanykidsgettinginvolvedwithsportsintodaystime.Betweenagessixtoseventeenkids
involvedinsportsareatanestimated28.7MillionintheUnitedStates(Billard1).Thenumber
onereasonyoungkidsgetinvolvedinsportsistomeetnewpeopleandmakegoodfriends.A
childsNo.1reasonforplayingsportsistohavefun(Billard1).
Youngkidswhoareinvolvedinsportsbenefitintheclassroom,aswellasbeinginvolved
inateamsportgiveskidssomethingtoworkhardforandgivesthemareasontomaintaingood
gradesintheclassroom.Sportshelpthemlearnhowtodowellintheclassroom,andhowto
managetheirtime.Itforcesthemtobemoreorganizedwiththeirtimeandtoprioritizealot
better(Ferguson2).Alotofsportteamsrequireaveragegradestobeinvolvedintheprogram,
thisforcesstudentathletestoworkharderthananonathlete.Beingphysicallyactiveallowsfor
moreenergytogetworkdone.Inthelowerlevelsofschoolkidsbegintolearnhowtojuggle
schoolandathletics,butinhigherlevelsofschooliswhenkidslearntoexcelintheclassroom
andonthecourt(Neighmond3).Highschoolstudentswhoplayateamsportaremorelikelyto
getbettergrades(Harrisp1).Youngathletesareproventotryharderintheiracademicsifthey
areapartofanyathleticprogram.Sportsareaboutdevelopingasenseofworkethicand
learningwhythatsimportant(Neighmond3).
Playingsportsimprovesastudent'saveragegrades.Thebenefitscanevenbemeasured
onthechildsreportcard.Weknowfromalotofresearchthatkidswhoparticipateinsports
tendtodobetteracademically(Ferguson3).Studentathletescaremoreabouttheirgrades
becauseitcanimpresstheircoachandincreasetheirchancesofgettinganathleticscholarship.

Manyathletesdreamaboutplayingatthecollegeleveleversincethefirsttimetheysawthe
sport.Thereareroughly138,000scholarshipsavailableinDivisionIandDivisionIIsports
(OShaughnessyp5).Sincetheoddsarelowforastudenttogetanathleticscholarship,itmakes
themworkharderintheiracademicssothattheycanreceivepartialacademicscholarshipand
partialathleticscholarship.
Acoachcantellbyhowhardoneofhisplayersisworkingintheclassroomifhe/shewill
workhardonthefieldorcourt.Ifacoachcanseethatanathletesgradesarefallingitcanshow
themthattheplayerdoesnotputinenougheffortinthatclassroomwhichcanalsoresultinlack
ofeffortinthesport.Coacheswillfrequentlydogradecheckstomakesurethathisplayersare
stayingontopoftheirschoolwork.
Otherextracurricularactivitiesarenotasbeneficialtoachildsschoolwork.Teamsports
helpachildlearnmanyskillsthatwillhelpthemintheclassroom.Teamsportwastheonly
extracurricularactivitytohaveaconsistentandsignificanteffectonstudentsgradesacrossall
schools(Harris2).Studentshavemoreconfidencewhentheyareinvolvedinteamsport,they
learntobeleadersinschool,andcaremoreabouttheirfuture.Studieshaveshownthat
adolescentswhoplaysportsaregenerallymoreconfident,betterleaders,moremotivatedintheir
schoolwork,andtheirplansforthefuture(Fidler1).Learningtoworkhardistaughtthrough
almostallsports,andworkinghardiskeytohavingsuccessintheclassroomandinlife.
Sportbasedprogramshavebeenshowntoimprovethelearningperformanceofchildrenand
youngpeople,encouragingschoolattendanceandadesiretosucceedacademically
(Sportanddevp10).

Beinginvolvedinsportsatayoungagewillimproveonesoverallphysicalabilities.
Beingonasportsteamisoneofthebestthingakidcanbeinvolvedintopreventchildobesity.
Parentswhowantfitkidsshouldntmakethemdiet,theyshouldmakethemplayteamsports
(HealthyDevelopmentofChildrenandYoungPeopleThroughSportp1).Beinginvolvedin
sportsismorebeneficialthanadietbecausethisisaconsistentactivitythatyoungkidsarebeing
involvedin.Newresearchfindsthatchildrenwhoplayonseveralsportsteamsarenearly40
percentlesslikelytobeobese(DailyNewsp2).Morekidsarebeinginvolvedinmultiplesports
atatime,whichmeanstheyaregettingalotofextraexercise.Somekidsareplayingonmore
than5teamsatatime(Ferguson2).Beinginvolvedinallofthesedifferentactivitieswillkeep
ayoungkidbusyandveryactive.
Teamsportshelpwiththeoveralldevelopmentofyoungkids.Playingdifferentsports
helpsyoungkidswhoarestillgrowingdevelopahealthybody.Sportandphysicaleducationis
fundamentaltotheearlydevelopmentofchildrenandyouthandtheskillslearnedduringplay,
physicaleducationandsportcontributetotheholisticdevelopmentofyoungpeople(Healthy
DevelopmentofChildrenandYoungPeopleThroughSportp2).Healthybones,increased
endurance,andweightlossareallbenefitsofbeinginvolvedinteamsports.TheU.SCenters
forDiseaseControlandPreventionwebsitesaysregularphysicalactivityinadolescence
improvesstrengthandendurance,helpsbuildhealthybonesandmuscles,helpscontrolweight,
cutsanxietyandstress,andmayimprovebloodpressureandcholesterollevels(Fidler2).Ifa
kidisinvolvedinasporttheyareencouragedtoeathealthy.Eatinghealthyhasalargeimpacton
physicalappearancealso.Manyfruitsandproteinsarenecessaryforathletes.Otherfactors

associatedwithalowerriskofbeingoverweight/obeseiseatingfruitsandvegetables
(DailyNewsp7).
ChildhoodObesityisbecomingabigproblem.Beingoverweightisbecomingmoreand
morefrequentlyseenintodaystime.Youngkidsthatgetinvolvedinteamsportsarelesslikely
tobecomeoverweight.Accordingtothestudycited,teenswhoplayononesportsteamper
seasonsignificantlycuttheirchancesofbeingoverweightorobese(Fidler2).Mostkidsthatget
involvedinsportsatayoungagejointohavefunandbecausetheylovethesport,buttheydo
notrealizethatwhytheyarehavingfunplayingthesporttheyaredecreasingthechancesof
beingobese.Adolescentswhoplayedonthreeormoresportsteamsinthelastyearwere27
percentlesslikelytobeoverweight/obeseand39percentlesslikelytobeobesecomparedwith
adolescentswhodidnotplayonanysportsteams(DailyNewsp4).Consistentphysicalactivity
givesayoungathletemoreenergyandbooststheirselfconfidence.Selfconfidenceissomething
thatcanbedevelopedstrongerthroughparticipationinsports.Beingingood,physicalshapeis
somethingthatmostkidswant,andwithparticipationinsports,theyincreasetheirchancesof
developingagoodphysicalappearance.
Giventhesepoints,gettingyoungkidsinvolvedinsportsisagoodwayforthemtospend
theirchildhood.Millionsofyoungkidsbecomeinvolvedindifferentsportseachyear.People
needtomakesurethatsportsforyoungchildrenstayapopularactivityinAmerica.Also,that
athleticprogramsforyoungchildrenkeepgrowingeachyear,sothatmorekidscanexperience
theamazingbenefitsthattheworldofsportshastooffer.Thiscouldinvolvegettingmore
coaches,creatingmoreprogramsforyouth,andstartingseriousprogramsatayoungage.For
me,sportshasmademethepersonIamtoday,andwithoutathleticsIwouldneverhavegotten

someoftheopportunitiesthatIhavehad.Gettingyouthinvolvedinsportsisverybeneficialto
them.Theywillgrowintheirsociallife,seechangeintheirphysicalability,andbenefit
academicallyfromjoiningsportsteams,

WorksCited

Neighmond,Patti.BenefitsofSportstoaChildsMindandHeartallPartoftheGame.
MorningEdition.
1July2015.Print

Ferguson,Andrewctal.InsideCrazyCultureofKidsSports,
Time154:2
(12July1999):52.
massultra.Web.3Nov2015.

Sportanddev.HealthyDevelopmentofChildrenandYoungPeopleThroughSport.
Sportanddev.
(ND).Web.4Nov2015.

Harris,Sarah.WhyTeamSportsReallydoImproveGrades:LinkBetweenSelfesteemand
BetterPerformanceinClassroom.
DailyMail.
24May2013.Web.4Nov2015.

Billard,Chris.PuttingKidsBackIntoKidsSports.
ExperienceLife.
Sept.2014.Print.

Fidler,Ann.DoSportsAffectaTeenagersLife?
EverydayLife.
2015.Web.9Nov.2015.

OShaughnessy,Lynn.7ThingsyouNeedtoKnowAboutScholarships.
U.SNews.
22June
2010.Print.

DailyNews.TeamSportsSeenasaKeyFactorWhenPreventingChildhoodObesity.
Daily
News.18July2015.

Outline
I.

Social
A. MakingFriends
1. Meetnewpeople
2. Spendingalotoftimewithotherpeers