Sports As Children example essay topic

Sports and Children: a good combination. Since the creation of man, sports have played a huge part in the way people live their lives. From the time we are born, until the time we die, most of us are involved in some way with sports. Whether it be a scrimmage game of soccer at recess in elementary school, or playing on the varsity athletic team, or simply watching the Olympics on TV, sports has an influential role in our everyday lives. We are taught at a young age that sports are fun, exciting and rewarding.

Over the past couple decades the growth in youth sport has reflected the popularity of professional sport. This popularity has had a profoundly positive affect of youth sports. Many of us can look back on our childhood with fond memories, remembering the games we played, the friends we made, the fun we had and the lessons we learnt. From the time that I was three until I was 14, I was heavily involved in gymnastics. I never regretted being so involved in sports because it has given me opportunities and opened doors that I would have never have seen had I not been involved with athletics. Growing up I never realized the impact or the importance that the lessons I learnt through sport would have on the rest of my life.

The people we become are influenced by the experiences we have and the lessons we learn. When children actively participate in sports, they are offered a unique opportunity to learn life lessons in a fun and positive atmosphere. Steve Young once said", Being active in sports has taught me all of life's most important lessons". Sport participation is an essential part of a child's development because it offers the child the potential to become physically, socially and emotionally successful people. Sport introduces children to health competition, which some skeptics claim to be the downfall of sports. It is the main goal of sports to produce a winner and a loser.

These skeptics will admit that winning aids in the development of self- esteem but sports produce more losers than winners, which fosters self doubt and in turn will decrease the child's self esteem. The idea that "winning isn't everything it's the only thing" has been constructed by society and drilled in the mind of these young children who do not fully understand the meaning of competition. When children are constantly confronted with failure, they develop low motivation not only in sports but in other aspects of their lives as well. While it cannot be denied that competition produces more losers than winners, it should be pointed out that sports is not the only environment where humans are involved in competition.

There are high levels of competition to be accepted in to university and graduate studies as well as in the work force for jobs. A child's failure in competition helps them learn to win gracefully and lose with dignity and honor. It teaches children that through perseverance and determination they can win the next time. Learning to deal with adversity and setbacks in sports prepares children to deal with obstacles that life will throw at them. It has been noted in recent years that some organized youth leagues have drifted towards a more competitive nature, which can often lead to unpleasant experiences especially for poor performers, girls and late maturing boys. This system eliminates children before they have the opportunity to reach their full potential, even though the elimination is more often unintentional, it can have devastating effects on a child self- confidence.

Children come to feel unworthy, unwanted, disappointed and more self-conscious. Just as the least loveable child may need love the most, the least athletic child may need athletics the most. It is true that sports are becoming more competitive, but there are many youth sporting programs available today which de-emphasize competition and instead focus on effort, participation and skill acquisition. Quality programs focus on developing basic skills that strengthen a child's sense of what the child "can" do.

Through skill acquisition and positive feedback children begin to feel confident and competent in their ability to learn and perform new skills. They develop the motor skills and the coordination they need to gain a better sense of body awareness. From this they are better able to efficiently and to the best of their ability subsequently giving them a more positive self-image and higher self-esteem. One of the most evident benefits that a child can gain from participating in sports, whether it is a competitive or non-competitive environment, is the development of higher self-esteem. The emotional state of a child is fragile and impressionable as they are still constructing an identity. Exposing children to an environment that allows for repeated experiences of success and positive reinforcement will allow the child to gain self-confidence and a sense of pride in their everyday lives.

Self-esteem and self-image are only a few benefits that a child can gain from participating in sports. Other benefits include development of group cooperation, teamwork and friendship-making skills. Being a part of a team, in a sense brings about feeling of belonging and acceptance. This helps raise the children's self-esteem, while spontaneously teaching them how to interact with peers and adults. A child will quickly learn that playing a game catch is not as much fun if the other player does not return the ball.

Children learn early on that they must follow rules or face the consequences of an unfair game. When 16 young children are brought together to as a team, they are not always going to get along. Children can often be left out if they are not as athletic as others are. Although this is not a desirable situation, the children are taught that they have to be able to work as a team in order to attain their goal. Through this teamwork, they learn problem solving-skills, and it leads them to better understand how their personal decisions affects the world around them.

Cooperation and teamwork are skills that are needed in the work force, at home and at school. There are athletic teams and organizations in just about every school in North America. Athletic students often have practice before school, after school and during play-offs they may even have a practice at lunch. Many of these students play on other teams outside of school, which taking away even time from studying and homework. They often come home tried and unmotivated to do work. However, many of these schools have implemented some kind of incentive or motivation for those who participate in sports to perform just as well in school as they do on the field.

These schools require athletes to maintain a required grade point average in or to participate. The students develop excellent time management skills, learning how to divide their time between practices and games and still leaving room for school, homework, friends and family. The children are often on a strict time schedule that forces them to be more disciplined and in turn, they often out perform their non-athletic peers. The understanding of time management will carry over into adulthood and can lead to a productive and organized life. Student athletes are highly motivated individuals who continually strike to achieved success in every aspect of their lives. Motivation is one of the most important and transferable skills learnt through sports.

Goal setting and motivation go hand in hand. In every sport, it is vital for the athlete to learn how to set goals and accomplish them successfully. Goals need to be difficult but realistic so that the athlete will be committed to achieving the goals. These goals give the athlete something to strive and set up a systematic outline of how the ultimate goal will be achieved. When one goal is achieved, the athlete becomes motivated to continue on to the next goal because they gain a sense of accomplishment and they are one step close to obtaining that final goal. Goal setting is important to any athlete or person who wants to achieve their ultimate aspiration.

In contrast, due to lack of motivation in many children, the level of obese children has risen dramatically in recent years. While obesity is associated with many risk factors for chronic diseases later in life, overweight children also suffer from conditions that affect them while growing up. They often suffer from low self-esteem, discrimination and harassment, Unfortunately, most obsess children remain obese into adulthood. Childhood obesity has become a major public health concern.

Prevention and management is the easiest and most cost effective way of dealing with this concern. Instilling healthy lifestyle habits during the early years will have more of a chance to be successful through adult years. Evidence shows that most factors leading to obesity is low energy expenditure and physical activity. Enhancing physical activity in young children is a successful part of the management of obesity in children. Sports are an excellent way to increase a child's physical activity level in a way that is enjoyable. This enjoyment for physical activity will carry on into adulthood insuring a healthy and long life.

Increase in physical activity stimulates musculoskeletal growth and even repetitive stress on muscles can cause a positive response on musculoskeletal structure. Bone mineral content decreases and muscle tissue becomes atrophic with low physical activities. Although sports are a form of physical activity with proven benefits there is always the risk that the child will be injured. When children are placed in a competitive arena, we often see an increase in the number of injuries, because their bodies are growing and lack the strength and the protection that is needed absorbs hits or falls. Children's judgment as well as understand for the game is often immature increasing the child's risk of injury. With proper precautions and protective equipment, a number of injuries can be prevented.

Compared with the number of over weight children in North America, the athletes injury concerns, which most are preventable, have little consequence on the big picture. Patty Mouse once said", In sports and in business its good to be goal oriented and relentless in your pursuit of your goal. However, in life its not all about the destination- its really about the journey. So, it's important to enjoy the journey, and in the end, to be able to be proud of the person you have become". The experiences children gain from being involved with sports and the lessons they learn will be with them forever, influencing whom they become and make the journey to their destination pleasurable. Instilling good habits early will help guide children in the right direction to becoming successful adults.

There is more to life than sports, but being actively involved in sports, as children will develop lifelong skills that will benefit the child outside the sporting world.