Organized sports as a child has always been encouraged and there is a couple of reasons for that. They are that they are good in three aspects of life. It helps children and teens develop a strong social life, physical and mental abilities, and good academic achievement. I participated in sports as a kid, so as an example, I can say that organized sports is very beneficial for development in children and young adults. One study I found was a great process in pinpointing just how great sports can be for kids. The study’s frontrunners were Terry Bennett, Ellen L. Lipman, and Lindsay Robertson.
Their purpose was to gain information on healthy child development, particularly as it pertains to child athletic participation, review of the studies of competitive sports and developmental outcomes, and to make recommendations regarding how competitive athletics programs support principles of healthy child development, where improvement may be needed and where future research may be needed to answer questions that are as yet unanswered. They used other studies to build on top of their own findings and their method was the “evidence informed review method” (Bennett, Lipman, Robertson).
Some variables they considered were history of the child’s family, socioeconomic status, and even mental health problems. This allowed them to expand the search because they could consider many factors thus get a very overarching outcome. Based on the research, there has been findings in each of the three aspects we discussed earlier. Beginning with social life, organized sports have been reported to improve this aspect for a couple of reasons.
In definition, Social skills are those that are used by adolescents to get along with others, to understand hat they are thinking and feeling, to play and work cooperatively, and to form relationships with friends, family and important adults such as teachers, neighbors and coaches. In fact, children who are considered highly “sociable” have been found to be to have lower levels of behavior problems and better cognitive and emotional outcomes under stressful circumstances than children who are lower in sociability – that is, more sociable children seem to be more resilient to negative life situations.
Youth’s participation in sport may affect their social development through many mechanisms, such as: forming coach-athlete relationships, problem solving with peers in team sport, socializing with friends who have common goals, learning to regulate one’s emotions, working co-operatively others, or most importantly foregoing the company of peers who prefer unstructured “hanging out” or other activities. In the long run, student athletes in high school appear to be less socially isolated and report less loneliness.
Furthermore, they are more likely to socialize with school-oriented peers, however also with peers who are likely to drink alcohol underage. Sports involvement appears to play an important role in the development of adolescent self-identity, which in turn impacts focus in school, peer group formation and post-high school plans. Overall, social skills and experiences include concepts such as choices of peer group, number and quality of friendships, social status, empathy and concern for others, loneliness and romantic relationships.
The next aspect that has been linked to organized sports in young people is the development of physical and mental health. In particular, regular physical activity through the lifespan is associated with improved health and quality of life, as well as reduced risk of premature mortality in general, and of specific health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, colon cancer and diabetes. There is evidence of improved bone strength linked with physical activity, but mixed results for improved cardiovascular risk factors.
Early physical activity has also been noted to help children acquire a basic foundation for movement which is needed to enable individuals to participate in a range of physical activities later in life. Ultimately, physical health outcomes for school-aged and older children involve growth, fine and gross motor development, freedom from injuries, sexual development and illnesses. The next feature that is connected to a healthy development in children and young teens through organized sports is the boost in academic achievement.
Academics include cognitive abilities, which could be scores on tests of intelligence and problem-solving, and academic achievement, which includes completing grade levels, standardized school test scores, school completion and ability to pay attention and focus in class. The effects of athletic participation on academic outcomes in youth have been a topic of debate in educational research for many years.
Some argue that time spent in sports, particularly at an elite level takes away from hours spent learning, doing homework or attending class whereas others highlight potential cognitive benefits of improved physical fitness and the translation of improved goalsetting and work ethic in sport to the academic setting. While there is some preliminary research indicating that physical fitness may benefit memory and learning in the elderly, or brain plasticity, which is the ability to form new connections, this basic science research is still preliminary.
Instead, there is focus on the effects of sport participation on academic outcomes, as performance in school has been associated with positive adult outcomes, making it an important developmental effect and predictor. All in all, these three aspects have been a huge part of research characteristics in finding just how beneficial organized sports are on children and young adults.
