Top 12 Key Benefits of Youth Sports
There are very few things that have a deeper impact on young kids than sports, and the evidence on psychology and statistics greatly validates this claim.
There are many reasons youth sports have a positive impact on young people’s lives and in this article, we’ll try to dissect some of them. We’ll also look at how you can get your child or student interested in joining sports in a healthy, natural way. Without any further ado let’s jump straight into it.
Infographic from InningAce.com
The 12 Key Benefits of Youth Sport:
Physically Fit
Keep The Weight Under Control
Improve Cardiovascular Endurance
Improves Academic Results
Improves Concentration
Increases Self-esteem and Self-confidence
Keeps Them Out of Drugs
Decrease Dropout Rate
Life Skills
Reduce Stress and Depression
Leadership Skills
Improve Mental and Moral Qualities
Health Benefits
Physically Fit
The biggest and most obvious benefit of playing sports is the physical fitness increase your child will increase. Physically fit children have a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Keep the Weight Under Control
Childhood obesity is a huge problem especially in America and sports help fight the issue in a very big way. If kids exert themselves more and burn more calories the chances of them being overweight greatly diminish.
Improve Cardiovascular Endurance
Improved cardiovascular endurance is a direct by-product of playing sports and its benefits are greatly linked to a healthier life.
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Social Benefits
Improves Academic Results
Sports help keep kids focused. The focus has been shown to help kids work harder and as a result, get better grades and results in their examinations.
Improves Concentration
This ties into our last point, but playing sports increases focus and as a direct result your child’s concentration in and out of the classroom.
Increases Self-esteem and Self-confidence
With more achievements in the field, kids have a greater sense of accomplishment and experience an increase in their self-esteem and self-confidence.
Keeps Them Out of Drugs
Focused, driven children are far less likely to fall into bad habits like drug usage as their minds are occupied with productive activities and are not idle and easily malleable.
Decrease Dropout Rate
Like our previous points, focused children who are actively taking part in academics and co-curricular activities will undoubtedly have a higher chance of finishing their high school education.
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Psychological Benefits
Besides the obvious physical benefits, there are a host of psychological benefits that can manifest from your child’s participation in sports.
Life Skills
Sports teach kids how to deal with difficult situations with confidence and integrity. They teach them to push through obstacles and to never give up no matter how challenging the circumstances. These are invaluable life skills that are essential in almost every professional field and avenue.
Reduce Stress and Depression
When you exercise, your body releases endorphins which are hormones that help your child feel good. This naturally reduces symptoms of depression and stress that a lot of young kids experience especially nowadays with social media and the internet.
Leadership Skills
Team sports like baseball greatly improve your child’s leadership skills as it gives them a chance to make a difference in a group of people and helps them practice these skills in a setting that is safe and supportive.
Improve Mental and Moral Qualities
Playing sports helps kids improve their mental fortitude and more importantly teaches them about morality. When your kids learn about the importance of not cheating, of being graceful in defeat and in victory, they learn the backbone of what it takes to be a morally responsible human being.
What are the Benefits of Sports in your Brain?
Ways to Get Kids Interested in Sports:
You know the importance of sports, but the question now becomes, “how do I get my child interested in playing sports in the first place.”
Lead by Example
Kids need people to look up to, whether that’s there parents or their teachers, and if they see them playing sports from a young age, they will want to take part as well.
Make Sports Fun
If the kids aren’t having fun when they play their favorite sports the chances of them sticking to it, in the long run, are very slim. It’s important to make sports fun for this very reason and this article does a great job of giving you some tips.
Encourage Team Participation
Kids respond very positively to team participation as it gives them a chance to make new friends and play a part in making a difference with a group of people they trust and admire.
Stay Positive
Most important of all, you have to be positive and encouraging if you want your kids to develop a lasting, beneficial relationship with sports. Nothing will discourage their participation and motivation more than you being negative.
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Conclusion
We hope this article gave you an insight into the benefits of youth sports and how they can help your child in incredible ways. For more information about baseball or other relevant information be sure to check out InningAce. We post regular updates on how to improve your baseball game and how you and your child can use sports to change your lives for the better.
Originally published on InningAce on August 28th 2020
About the Author:
Dan has been playing baseball since he is a toddler and recently graduated high school in 2020. He is fortunate enough to be real good friends with the 72nd overall pick of the MLB 2020 draft. He is currently playing college baseball hoping to achieve the same feat one day.
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