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Joe Duvic

Prof. Stalbird

Eng 1201

22 April 2020

Why Should Children Play Sports?

Growing up my brother and I were always in season for a sport. Whether it was

basketball in the winter or baseball in the summer, we were constantly traveling around the

Midwest playing a sport. Since 2006 my brother was playing multiple sports in a year,

consistently practicing and making memories. His best memory is from baseball when he was 12

years old, playing at Cooperstown, New York. His team was in the semi-finals of a tournament

and they were down by two runs in the last inning of the game. My brother was up to bat with

two runners on base and he hit a walk-off home run to win the game for his team. From playing

sports, my brother has learned a lot from his losses and mistakes but has also experienced much

joy coming from victories and triumph. Sports have also given my brother the opportunity to

learn many things and he continued to pass his knowledge down to me. Many of his traits such

as his communication, charismatic personality, and leadership come from the sports he played

and the lessons he learned from playing. My brother now attends and works for Sinclair making

advertising videos and speaking at other colleges while earning his communications degree.

Because of sports, I am able to look up to my brother for his leadership, work ethic, and how

successful he is. From his outgoing personality to his work ethic my brother has learned so many

things through sports. I believe that sports are an incredible opportunity for youth around the

world and they should take advantage of it. Children should play sports so they can reap the
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physical and social benefits, such as decreased rates of obesity and increased communication

skills, which will help them build important habits and character traits that will be useful

throughout their lives.

Sports have always been a staple in American culture, but recently there has been a

decline of children in sports. In the mid to late 1900s around half of children were playing a

sport, whether it be little league baseball of football for their school. According to Jon Solomon

from The Aspen Institute, through the years, the percent of children participating in sports has

decreased. In a recent study it was found that in 2016, 36.9% of children between the ages six

and twelve are playing team sports regularly, which is down from 38.6% in 2015, and even

further down from 44.5% in 2008. This 7.6% decrease in 8 years is a massive decrease.

According to Childstats.org, there were 25 million children, years 6-12, in 2008 and 28.22

million children, years 6-12, in 2016. This means that in 2008, 11.125 million children played

sports, and in 2016, 10.41 million children played. That is a difference of just over 700 thousand

children.
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Figure 1: This is a graph showing the decrease of children in sports from 2011 to 2016.

The graph displays how children playing team sports who do not attend practices or games

regularly has had a slight increase. Youth who are playing team sports, youth playing individual

sports, and youth playing team or individual sports who participate regularly has had a

decreasing percentage since 2011.

Many who do not believe children should play sports justify children getting physical

activity through school PE (physical education) classes. Although children do get some physical

activity through these classes, a recent study shows children are not meeting the physical activity

requirements in class. According to Kristina Clevenger “Despite that many U.S. students aged 6

to 14 years are required to participate in PE, fewer than half meet current guidelines of at least 60

minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) daily (Fakhouri, 2014; Troiano et al., 2008).

Further, a recent meta-analysis reported that students are spending just 43% of their PE class

time in MVPA (Lonsdale et al., 2013)” (155). Because of the lack of physical activity in school

there is a need for an external source of exercise. Sports are a viable option to fulfill the

remainder of a child’s physical activity. Sports not only will allow children to meet physical

activity requirements, but children will also reap the physical and social benefits that come along

with playing.
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Figure 2: This graph shows the percentage of youth who are considered obese. There is a

steady incline in all the age groups ranging from 15%-9%. This positive trend is related to the

negative trend of children playing sports. This chart also shows the increasing problem of

children being obese.

Sports are an obvious source of physical activity but are also a fun way to get children

active. Because sports are a fun way to get active, they often promote people to get more

physically active. According to research done by Jung Lee, a majority of the 17 studies

conducted showed that the participation and engagement in youth sports is correlated to a better,

more physically active lifestyle when the child is an adult. With a physically active lifestyle

children will be getting the recommended amount of activity which causes a reduced chance of

the child developing heart disease and type two diabetes later in life while also causing better

weight management. Overall health is linked to the lifestyle a person lives as much as a person’s

circumstance. It is shown that a person's health depends on their genetics, ecological conditions,

and heath care quality 50% while lifestyle accounts for the other 50%.(Bendíková). So, if a child

plays sports they are more likely to have a physically active lifestyle which will help their health

through life greatly.

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Sports bring many more benefits to a child than a healthy lifestyle late in life. According

to Better Health Channel of Australia, when a child plays sports they have increased

cardiovascular fitness, better growth of bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons, improved

coordination, and better physical relaxation. Because of these benefits it has been shown that not

as many children suffer from headaches and backaches, children also get better sleep through

these benefits. These benefits are significant because they greatly increase the quality of a child’s

life through simple things such as better bone structure, better sleep, reduced stress, and better

breathing. These things also correlate to success in school and eventually a career.

As said before, there is a decrease of children in sports, but now more children are only

playing one sport, instead of multiple. Children do this in an effort to become the best in their

sport and reduce the distractions of other sports. The idea of children specializing in sports is

shown in the documentary Trophy Kids by Christopher Bell. Through this documentary children

are shown practicing their sport for hours a day, often being put under pressure by parents to

perform. Some of the children express their wishes to play other sports or to play with friends

rather than practice the one sport they specialize in. The risks of specialization in sports for

children are becoming burnt out or bored with their sport, increased risk of injury, and the feeling

of overwhelming pressure.

Jon Solomon from The Aspen Institute has also commented on this saying the average

child is playing less than two sports because of sports specialization, and this will continue to

happen even though specializing in one sport can be harmful to a child’s health and potentially

slow their athletic progress. Since there are fewer children playing sports there is not only a

decrease in the number of children playing one sport, but also a decrease in children playing

multiple sports. Consequentially, community, recreational, and select leagues are suffering and
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not enough children are signing up to play. Along with these leagues suffering from less children

playing, the leagues are becoming increasingly more competitive, and less fun for the children.

Competitiveness is not a negative aspect of sports, but there is a point where it becomes

dangerous and unhealthy for a child. If a child plays in a league with a highly competitive nature,

then the child will be under greater pressure and stress to perform.

Playing multiple sports has shown to have a positive impact on children. According to the

American Academy of Pediatrics, a majority of children, about 70%, stop participating in sports

by the age of 13. These children stop playing because of pressure, not getting playing time, and

injuries. Of the injuries that cause children to stop playing more than half can be traced back to

overuse through specialization. While children who are specializing are getting injured more

frequently, children playing multiple sports are achieving lower injury rates, a wider range of

activities they enjoy, and overall better athletic performance. Playing multiple sports has been

shown to increase the likelihood of participation in sports as a child gets older and reduce the

risk of injury from overuse. Playing multiple sports provides not only a healthier lifestyle, but

also a healthier mental state, which reduces chances of a child resenting sports later in life.

Playing sports provide a great way to exercise for children and playing multiple sports is

shown to greatly improve quality of life and happiness of a child, but sports are not perfect.

Sports bring the risk of injury and stress into children’s lives. An example of injuries in sports

are concussions in football. It is estimated that around 300 thousand concussions are sustained a

year in football. Football is also linked to CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a

disease that results in the decline of the brains functioning, which is caused by both traumatic,

concussive hits and smaller, sub concussive hits to the head. Symptoms of CTE are memory loss,
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personality change, and depression (Findler).CTE is a serious problem that has many parents

worried about their children in sports.

Another downfall of children playing sports is the stress that can occur from playing.

When children play sports, they often feel like they are under pressure to perform, this is shown

in the movie Trophy Kids by Christopher Bell. Parents often put pressure on children so they can

become better, but often it does more harm than good. Along with the pressure from parents and

peers to perform, there is a level of stress that comes from competition. While most people

believe that the stress that comes from competing in sports is healthy, some have found negative

side effects of this stress such as lasting anxiety and depression. These effects only come from

competition when a child is put under extreme stress for lasting periods of time and they are

already genetically vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

While playing sports do bring the risk of injury and the potential of long terms effect,

they mostly bring positive things. Sports bring a lot of physical benefits, but the psychological

benefits of sports are the most impactful for children. An aspect of sports that people often miss

when discussing if children should play is that the children are constantly interacting with others

and are subconsciously learning things. It has been shown that children playing sports show

decreased suicide attempts, better emotional management, higher confidence, more friends,

reduced anxiety, fewer depressive symptoms, increased compassion towards others, increased

assertiveness, higher life satisfaction, increased feeling of competence, and more respectful

compared to non-sports-playing students (Eime 5-11). These studies ultimately show that

children who play sports have a higher emotional intelligence than children who do not play.

People with a higher emotional intelligence are often more successful, likeable people in adult

life.
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Having good social skills is a characteristic many people strive for and is highly regarded

when applying for jobs. Although some aspects of how social a person is come from genetics, it

is shown that children who play sports often develop these skills through simply participating.

Sports have also shown to build helpful characteristics such as taking criticism, working

collaboratively, increasing self-esteem, promoting work ethic, increasing resiliencey, increasing

organizational skills, and implementing time management strategies (Lindholm). These practical

skills will help children not only in their sports, but also in everyday life through relationships

and dealing with conflict.

Children in sports not only show improvement in emotional intelligence and social skills,

but they also show professional success later in life. According to San Antonio Sports, 90% of

women in high level executive positions played sports in their life. Another study by San

Antonio Sports shows that 75% of executives say that an applicant’s background in sports

positively influences the likelihood of them getting hired. These statistics show that the

participation in sports can help a child later in life when getting a job. It also shows a correlation

between playing sports and success in the business world. While playing a sport does not mean

that a child will always be successful in getting a job, it does increase the likelihood of it.
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Figure 3: This chart shows what percentage of business executives in San Antonio had a

background of sports in their youth. This chart shows that sports were a part of a majority of

executives' lives growing up, with only 6% of executives saying sports were not a part of their

lives.

Sports are such a major part of culture and they will likely never disappear, but the recent

decline of children in sports is something to talk about. Many children are losing the benefits of

sports because of the fear of injury or stress. Sports are linked to many positive things, like

teaching the benefits of teamwork, discipline, and time management. The fear of getting hurt or

being stressed should be miniscule compared to the benefits. If children do not play sports they

are being deprived of emotional intelligence, exercise, and the increased chance of success later

in life. Children should play sports so they can reap the physical and social benefits, such as

decreased rates of obesity and increased communication skills, which will help them build

important habits and character traits that will be useful throughout their lives. These skills sports

teach children will bleed into their personal and professional lives later in life, resulting in their

overall success.

Works Cited
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Bell, Christopher, director. Trophy Kids. Mance Media, 2013.

Bendíková, Elena. "Lifestyle, Physical and Sports Education and Health Benefits of Physical

Activity." European Researcher, vol. 69, no. 2–2, Feb. 2014, pp. 343–348. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=103195028&site=ehost-

live.

Clevinger, Kristina, et al. "The Relationship of Sport Involvement and Gender to Physical

Fitness, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Concept in Middle School Students." Physical Educator,

vol. 77, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 154–172. EBSCOhost, doi:10.18666/TPE-2020-V77-I1-

9228.

Eime, Rochelle M., et al. "A Systematic Review of the Psychological and Social Benefits of

Participation in Sport for Children and Adolescents: Informing Development of a

Conceptual Model of Health through Sport." International Journal of Behavioral

Nutrition & Physical Activity, vol. 10, Jan. 2013, pp. 98–118. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1186/1479-5868-10-98.

Findler, Patrick. "Should Kids Play (American) Football?" Journal of the Philosophy of Sport,

vol. 42, no. 3, Nov. 2015, pp. 443–462. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/00948705.2015.1079132.

Gavin, Mary L., M.D. "Why Exercise Is Wise." Kids Health, Jan. 2018,

kidshealth.org/en/teens/exercise-wise.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2020.

"The Impact of Sport." San Antonio Sports, 22 Jan. 2017, sanantoniosports.org/the-power-of-

sport-impact-of-sport/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2020.

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Lee, Jung Eun, et al. "The Role of Youth Sports in Promoting Children's Physical Activity and

Preventing Pediatric Obesity: A Systematic Review." Behavioral Medicine, vol. 44, no.

1, Jan. 2018, pp. 62–76. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08964289.2016.1193462.

Lindholm, Marika, Ph.D. "The Pros and Cons of Youth Sports Aren't Only Physical."

Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 May 2017,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/more-women-s-work/201705/the-pros-and-cons-

youth-sports-aren-t-only-physical. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

POP1 CHILD POPULATION: NUMBER OF CHILDREN (IN MILLIONS) AGES 0–17 IN THE

UNITED STATES BY AGE, 1950–2018 AND PROJECTED 2019–2050. Childstats.gov,

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2020.

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charts-show-fix-youth-sports/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2020.

"Sport and Children." Better Health Channel, 2018,

www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/sport-and-children. Accessed 29 Mar.

2020.