The Holistic Benefits of Sports for Children and Adolescents

By Emma Santee

October 27, 2016

Oliveira, Period 3

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The Holistic Benefits of Sports for Children and Adolescents
Sports have been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone for civilization in America.
Starting in the late nineteenth century, professional and collegiate sports have served as some of
the most influential community-building activities. They have had a profound impact on the
country similar to the political system, the media and even Hollywood (Naison).Not only have
sports helped to further the country, but they also benefit adolescents in many ways. Children
and teens in America use sports as an outlet for stress, a way to build lasting relationships and
learn important life skills. Sports and physical activity play an important role in the development
of the skills needed to become a healthy, functioning adult.
When participating in sports it is a natural tendency to make friends are other social
bonds with people on the team. Studies have also showed that, sport friendships are unique to
other friendships that kids have(Partridge). When it comes to being supportive and pushing each
other to be better, sports friendships are on a different level. These type of bonds are formed from
competing with, or against, others and working hard together. (Partridge). These friendships
strong and supportive friendship are extremely important in preventing suicide in teenagers
because, Student athletes who report a strong social support system appear to be more resilient
in terms of the negative processes that push teenagers toward suicide(Merkel). In america there
have been issues with increases in teen suicide, and with the strong friendships that sports create,
there is a lowered chance that someone might commit suicide.
Not only do sports help children and teens make lasting relationships with each other, but
sports also learn to make strong and beneficial connections with the adults around them. Team
athletes are constantly working with a slate of other people, many of whom can become positive
role models along the way(Maslen). These adults can provide an important role in helping teens

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and children develop leadership skills. Even after sports have come to a close in a child or teens
life studies have shown that the skills they learned about how to find role models and mentors
lead to more effective finding of role models later in life. (Maslen).
When playing in a team or even an individual sport, children learn to work together to
achieve a common goal. When on a team sport each person has an equal responsibility to
contribute to the win. When in an individual sport, each person trains together and pushes each
other to improve. In both cases, the diverse pairing of personalities and scenarios will help your
athlete become adaptable, persistent, and patient(Maslen). With the constant teamwork, sport
teach a sense of responsibility for both the whole group as well as the individual. Each member
of the team must learn to respect and support each other to be successful, teaching the important
life skills of respect, responsibility and unselfishness.
America is one of the most grossly overweight countries in the world. This rampant
obesity has led to

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Fig. 1 The Aspen Institutes comparative study on childhood obesity in
countries around the world (Hillman).
an increase in weight related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. As seen figure 1, the
percentage of childhood obesity in the United States is at a much higher rate than any other
country in civilized countries around the globe (Figure 1). Children need activity more vigorous
than everyday walking to stave off potential weight diseases. Being involved in organized sports
creates a structured environment for physical activity, which is more beneficial than walking and
biking to school (Gupta). Consequently, the study found those kids who played on three or more
sports teams in a year, were 27% less likely to be overweight, and 39% less likely to be obese
than those teens who did not play team sports.(Gupta). The more time kids spend playing
sports, it leads to increased health and a decreased risk of being obese. These important steps will
make America a healthier country with a greater future.
Not only are sports keeping children active to prevent obesity, sports are also helping
children to stay away from drugs. For example, in a survey of 445 inner-city seventh graders,
researchers found that only 8 percent of 13-year-old boys who had participated in a team sport
the previous year reported marijuana use, compared with 27 percent of those who had not played
sports(Martin). When making decision regarding their health and their performance, kids
playing sports are less likely to smoke cigarettes and marijuana. These smarter decisions lead to
healthy choices throughout life, allowing future generations to be healthier. According to James
McHale, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Clark University in Boston, Sports keep urban kids
away from dealers and drug-using peers(Martin). Not only are sports keeping the children away
from doing drugs, but it leads to decreased contact through friends and possible dealers. Sports
help to keep children and teens safe from the harmful effects of drugs in a multitude of ways,
making it an extremely important activity for children everywhere.

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Todays kids deal with many psychological issues, including but not limited to,
depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. Sports prove to be a positive outlet for children with
these problems. It has been shown that, ...when kids feel accepted by their peers, they report
higher levels of self-esteem, more enjoyment of activities and are less likely to want to avoid
participating(Partridge). When children feel accepted they are more likely to stay active and
involved in their community. To a further extent, Teenagers who participate in team sports are
happier, have increased self-esteem, and are less anxious, with a decreased risk of suicidal
behavior(Merkel). Being active is only part of the fight, sports need to bring together a social
support network. When a child begins playing a sport they begin to feel a sense of community,
with their teammates, coaches, family members and more. These connections are crucial to selfesteem development and the bolstering of the five Cs: competence, confidence, connections,
character, and caring(Maslen). The social lessons taught and friendships formed in sports are
key to developing into a strong willed and socially cooperative adult.
When many people see sports, they see the physical and social benefits and overlook the
psychological support sports provide. Studies have shown that participating in physical activity,
invigorates the heart and lungs, it stimulates the brain's reward pathway and heightens moodboosting neurochemicals(Volkow). (Neurochemicals are the hormones inside the brain that
make humans feel happy or sad.) With the releasing of these chemicals, children and teens feel
happier and accomplished. Another common phenomenon with having to do with mood
elevations and physical activity is the runners high. The sudden rush of elation and happiness
after finishing a run is very common in runners, and has been proven to improve, both mood
and cognitive function(Volkow). Not only do the neurochemicals help with preventing anxiety
and depression, but the, physical self-worth and physical self-perception, including body image,

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has been linked to improved self-esteem(The Health Benefits of Sport and Physical Activity).
As people begin to be more active and become healthier physically, an improved sense of body
image also leads to better mental health. The more confident and successful a person feels, the
more likely they are to avoid depressive tendencies and behaviors.
In todays society many children are forced into a highly competitive environment from a
very young age. This constant competition and stress on winning and being the best can be
detrimental to the development and growth of children. The highly stressful, competitive, win
at all costs attitude prevalent at colleges and with professional athletes affects the world of
childrens sports and athletics; creating an unhealthy environment(Sports and Children).
When winning is the only option in the eyes of the coach and the parents, sports can drive
children to be stressed about their performance. Unfortunately, when a child is not able to
perform at the expectations of their parents they may lose confidence and try to find other,
possibly harmful outlets to receive satisfaction (Merkel). When the only thing a child knows
from a young age is winning and sports, it can have a detrimental effect on the childs sense of
self-worth. If a child or teens entire sense of self-worth is directly tied to athletic achievement, a
simple failure to succeed can cause issues. This becomes a large problem as it relates to
unrealistic expectations, because, a parent can inadvertently set a child up for failure by
establishing unrealistic goals for performance and winning by forcing a young athlete to
participate in sports beyond their readiness and interest(Merkel). Some children are destined for
greatness in sports, and others are destined to find their talent somewhere else. But when a parent
establishes sports as the one and only outlet for talent, children can have self-confidence issues.
Despite this, the benefits of sports far outweigh the negative repercussions. A small percentage of
children deal with psychological damage from doing sports, where a much larger percent of the

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country live with problem directly relating to not participating in sports and organized physical
activities.
Sports are a positive way to engage youth in America. Organized sports teach many life
lessons that otherwise might not be taught in a traditional school setting. The ability to work
together, communicate, have a feeling of self-worth and responsibility are things that are hard to
come by for many children. When handled incorrectly sports can devastate a childs self-esteem
and confidence, but when handled correctly they can have endless positive effects not found
anywhere else in society. Increasing sports in schools and in communities will help combat
unhealthy behavior in todays youth, and create a brighter future for America.

Works Cited:
Gupta, Dr. Sanjay, and Elizabeth Cohen. Team Sports Help Teens Stay Fit.CNN, Cable News
Network, 16 July 2012, http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/16/team-sports-help-teensstay-fit/.
The Health Benefits of Sport and Physical Activity. The Health Benefits of Sport and Physical

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Activity, Sportanddev.org, 2015, https://www.sportanddev.org/en/learnmore/health/health-benefits-sport-and-physical-activity.
Hillman, Chuck. 7 Charts That Show the State of Youth Sports in the US and Why It Matters The Aspen Institute. 7 Charts That Show the State of Youth Sports in the US and Why It
Matters, The Aspen Institute, 21 Oct. 2016, https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/7charts-that-show-the-state-of-youth-sports-in-the-us-and-why-it-matters/.
Martin, W. Eric. DO SPORTS KEEP KIDS UNDER CONTROL? Psychology Today, Sussex
Publishers, LLC, 9 June 2016, https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200201/dosports-keep-kids-under-control.
Merkel, Donna L. Youth Sport: Positive and Negative Impact on Young Athletes. Open Access
Journal of Sports Medicine, Dove Medical Press, 31 May 2013,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3871410/#__sec2title.
Maslen, Paige. The Social and Academic Benefits of Team Sports. RSS, George Lucas
Educational Foundation, 29 Dec. 2015, http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/social-andacademic-benefits-team-sports.
Naison, Mark. Why Sports History Is American History. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History, The Journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, 2016,
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/reform-movements/essays/why-sportshistory-american-history.
Partridge, Dr. Julie. The Role of Friendships in Youth Sports. National Alliance for Youth
Sports, National Alliance for Youth Sports, Inc, 11 Feb. 2015,
http://www.nays.org/blog/the-role-of-friendships-in-youth-sports/.
Sports and Children. Sports and Children, American Academy of Child and

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Adolescent Phsyciatry, Feb. 2013,
http://www.aacap.org/aacap/families_and_youth/facts_for_families/fff-guide/childrenand-sports-061.aspx.
Volkow, Nora D. Physical Activity May Prevent Substance Abuse. National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA), NIH, 1 Mar. 2011, https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nidanotes/2011/03/physical-activity-may-prevent-substance-abuse.