Were an article on sports in school
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Explore the many benefits high school sports offer to students, both during the secondary academic years and beyond.
Athletics have been a mainstay of the high school scene for decades. Today, the field has merely expanded, encompassing an even greater variety of competitive options for male and female students alike. While many students get involved in high school athletics for sheer love of the game, there are significant benefits from these extracurricular activities as well. We have 10 ways high school sports benefit students – some of which students and parents may not even realize.
Community Representation
While club sports have become a popular pastime for both students and college recruiters, there is still a lot to be said for playing for your high school team. According to U nigo, students who participate in high school sports learn the benefit of representing their community on the field or court. These athletes learn the fun of team rivalries and revel in the praise of a job well done for their school. This feeling of community and the honor of representing the home team may run over into college athletics if the student advances in his sport as well.
Fitness
The fitness level of athletes in high school sports programs cannot be underestimated. According to a report from the National Federation of State High School Associations (a 2006 study on female athletes found that when female students are given more opportunity to participate in athletics in high school, their weight and body mass improve. A 2001 survey found that students agreed they would not spend as much time in sedentary activities like watching television and playing video games if they had other options after school.
Studies also suggest that student athletes are less likely to participate in unhealthy or risky behavior when they are playing sports in high school. The same report by the cited a 2002 study by the Department of Education that found students who spent no time in extracurricular activities in high school were 49 percent more likely to use drugs and 37 percent more apt to become teen parents. Just four hours in an extracurricular activity like sports each week dramatically improved those numbers.
Teamwork and Cooperation
An article at We Play Moms explains that because everyone is working toward a common goal in team sports, students learn firsthand how their performance impacts the rest of the team. Student athletes must find their place, whether it is to be a leader of the team or to play a supporting role.
Positive Mentors
High school athletics are filled with positive mentors, from the coaches on the sidelines to the leaders on the team. Students learn to work with a wide range of authority figures, who teach them important lessons about hard work, respect and good sportsmanship. Early experiences with mentors like these help shape student athletes in positive ways for the rest of their lives.
Social Relationships
Students who participate in sports often forge close friendships with others on the team. These relationships are essential for mental, emotional and physical health throughout the high school years. Students bond together over a common passion, and the time they spend together at practice and games builds tight bonds that often last long after high school is over.
Time Management
Practice and games take up plenty of a student’s time, leaving much less for school work and other activities. Athletes must learn time management skills if they are to get everything finished. One student athlete told Growing Up in Santa Cruz, “It definitely helps time management-wise. It affects when I have to do my schoolwork, and when I have to practice.