How Sports Benefit Youth and Young Children

Sports and Athletics can benefit young children because sports and athletics offer these young children several different avenues to becoming more physically, mentally, and spiritually tough. By participating in athletics youth learn to be reliant on a team effort, not only does this build leadership skills but it also builds up the child's self esteem. Sports and athletics also helps to build the participants mental, physical, and emotional awareness. By becoming more aware of oneself through sports and athletic one can grow to levels of emotional matureness that are not readily accessible to those of whom do not participate in sports and athletics.

Physical skills are peaked when participating in sports and athletics. When a person is physically fit, athletic skills are normally above and beyond what they would normally be with out them. Mentally, sports and athletics helps to strengthen the mind, helping people to go farther mentally then they thought would ever be possible. It is proven that people that play sports and become involved with clubs and other groups do better in school. It also allows people to gain recognition in their particular sport.


Enhancing efforts to promote participation in physical activity and sports among young people is a critical national priority. "Children learn to assess their social competence in sports by feedback from parents and coaches. " "A constant in the learning process is the role of feedback as we assess the responses of others to our behavior and comments. Not only do sports and athletics provide fun for children, but it also provides a structure environment.

"Sports help children to develop physical skills and get exercise" (Perales 58). If you view others good then they are going to do the same to you, kind of like the old saying "what comes around goes a round. "Children learn quickly through watching the responses of their parents, that certain behaviors make their parents smile and laugh while other behaviors cause their parents to frown and disengage from the activity. But never-the-less, education is and should be taking place in athletics.

• Improved Cardiovascular fitness.



• Greater lean body mass and less body fat.



• Improved strength and muscular endurance.



• Improved flexibility.



• Other health benefits of exercise any physical activity.