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Foundation of Youth Ministries

The positives of having sports in High School
Alexander Thomas
November 15, 2015

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Abstracts
This was a study done to try to show why the idea of having
sports in high school was a good thing in youth ministry. There are a lot
of misconceptions when it comes to sport because of how some of the
sports programs have bad results. This is to try to prove that when it is
done correctly the results are hard to argue with because they show
how sports can positively affect the lives of the youth. This research
paper includes research done from many different researchers and
different universities that had a similar idea and give evidence and
facts of real life success of schools with sports programs where the
sports programs affected the future of the lives of the youth positively,
both mentally and physically. There is also some biblical support from
the profit Ellen G. White and her take on physical fitness as well as a
few biblical versus that let you know how God feels about physical
fitness and sports. Although this may appear to be biased because I
did participate in high school sports my partner will include the
downsides during the presentation.

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The Pros of High school Sports

People think that playing sports makes the youth more prone to
violence but that is only possible if the coach is coaching the wrong
way. Thus the impacts of incorrect coaching are lower grades,
increased chances for violence and dropping out of school. But if we
makes sure that the coaches are coaching the way that it should be
done then the positive effects of high school sports will implemented
on the youth. From a biblical perspective the bible says in 1st Timothy
4:8 For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in
every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life
to come. Then in 1st Corinthians 10:31 the bible says, so, whether
you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. But
Ellen G. White in her book called education the results of not having
physical activity are, "The whole system is enervated and diseased" (p.
208); "the mind often becomes unbalanced" (p. 209); and the moral
power is lessened and the "door is opened to impurity" (p. 209)
Now transitioning over to the idea that sports in high school
made the youth more violent there was as study done. In October
Sarah McMahon from Rutgers University wanted to see if there was a
correlation between certain acts of violence, (specifically rape), and

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high school sports. Results showed there were only small differences
between the students that had participated in various high school
varsity sports and those who had not been in sports in high school.
Students who participated in sports had greater acceptance of three
out of five types of rape myths, and less willingness to intervene with
perpetrators after an assault; however, the effect sizes were small.
There were no significant differences for bystander efficacy. What was
significant was the interaction between the genders and sports but
whether or not the sport was contact did not have much significance.
There was another study done by a few researchers from The
University of Texas, Wichita State University and Portland State
University that wanted to also find a correlation high school sport
participation and college enrollment and the results were high school
sports participation was positively associated with college enrollment,
even with the utilization of propensity score modeling, for White boys
and girls, Black boys, and Latino boys and girls during the 1980s,
1990s, and 2000s.
But when it came down to the black female athletes, that seemed to
be the difference that was the most important when associated with
race and gender differences. The results mentioned them being at a
disadvantage in the 1980s and 90s, but they had lower high school
sports participation rates when up against males. This studies
mentions that college attendance was affected by sports in high school

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in a positive manner even though it was mostly for the male

population.
Now lastly there was a study done by researchers from the
Department of Health Science and Technology in Switzerland and
Cornell University to see what would be a contributing factor on
whether or not someone would be actively engaging in physical
activities after the age of 70. It was found that, in contrast to prior
beliefs, self-rated personality profile as a young man had little
predictive influence on later-life physical activity. Instead, the single
strongest predictor of later-life physical activity was whether he played
a varsity sport in high school, and this was also related to fewer selfreported visits to the doctor. Even in the old age past 70 the older
generation of adults would make decisions about their lives now based
upon their physical activities in high school.
High school sports how more power over the decisions made in
the youths future then perceived. So if its known that sports can have
this much impact, then the efforts put into them should be held to a
high standard. If a youth loves playing basketball then if he or she
wants to do that, he or she need good grades, good academic
standings, and do so in a manner that glorifies God. The sport should
not be about winning; the sport should be something that would
improve the lives of those around the sport, even the apposing team.
Coach Morris of the MVA Eagles would pray with both teams before

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starting and after the game was over, but it was harder to do this with
the public school teams if it was an away game because it was not
allowed. At the end of the game or activity the question, how does this
glorify God? Should be a simple question to answer if the motives of
the coach or youth leader in charge are doing it for God and not for
winning.

Bibliography
1 Timothy 4:8
1 Corinthians 10:31
Dohle, S., & Wansink, B. (2013). Fit in 50 years: participation in high
school sports best predicts one's physical activity after Age 70. BMC
Public Health, 13(1), 1-13. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-1100
Ellen, G. White. (1903). Education: Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press
Publishing Association, 1952. 324 pp.
Interview with Jeff Morris Coach of MVA Eagles Soccer team and
Gymnastics team.

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McMahon, S. (2015). Participation in High School Sports and Bystander

Intentions, Efficacy to Intervene, and Rape Myth Beliefs. Journal Of
Interpersonal Violence, 30(17), 2980-2998.
doi:10.1177/0886260514555009
Shifrer, D., Pearson, J., Muller, C., & Wilkinson, L. (2015). College-Going
Benefits of High School Sports Participation: Race and Gender
Differences Over Three Decades. Youth & Society, 47(3), 295-318.
doi:10.1177/0044118X12461656