Final+Research+Paper

The Benefits of Athletics in Student Life A thousand people crammed within the confines of a local swim club, eleven thirty on a blazing night in July, and pandemonium ensues. The underdog relay for the twelve & under girls’ age group has won for the Oreland Swim Club. To win, they had to defeat the elite Manorlu team, whose members have been trained by professional coaches at private schools. The ecstasy and strength of heart that exudes the entire team which has won as a result of this relay is epic. The spirit and athleticism at play are admirable, outstanding. One experiences a sense of genuine pride and awe for the talent on display, and it’s clear the amount of work that culminated in this event was laborious. Even the six & under age group gladly shakes hands with their opponents after races, though they’ve sworn all week that Manorlu is their fatal enemy. It is clear that athletics has the ability to apply discipline to the lives of children in various stages of their lives, to instill determination and sportsmanship in the youngest of children, and to inspire all. Participating in athletics as an adolescent has a positive influence socially and academically, and also acts as a deterrent against negative influence. The presence of sports in the lives of adolescents and children acts as a deterrent against negative influences. When a positively reinforced sphere is accessible to children, they will benefit from and enjoy spending their time participating in athletics and will be less likely to desire to engage in inappropriate behaviors. M.D. Jordan Metzl agrees: “ Ahletics creates an ‘area’ where children can receive the attention and stimulation they need for positive actions” (Metzl). If this area were not available to athletic children, their talents would go to waste untouched and they would be more likely to seek attention in different ways. Very possibly these means would be negative, and the potentially successful, athletic students might compromise their goals and succumb to a lesser influence. Additionally, these athletic children will be in a group of their peers who are also benefitting from this positive environment. They will therefore be more likely to spend time with this group outside of the positive arena. This infers that these athletic children will be less like to be attracted to groups which cause trouble or engage in activities that are less than reputable. Females, in particular, seem to benefit especially from participation in sports. According to //Family Education// Magazine, “Girls who participate in sports are less likely to drop out of school, more likely to go on to college, and more likely to graduate from college” (Sutton). The connection between girls who are actively involved in athletics and those who attend and graduate college is not to be ignored, or dismissed as a meaningless statistic. Sports instill a parallel to real life in its participants: If one plays by the rules, they will benefit from it. This positive message is translated to the lives of student athletes because they are aware of the negative implications of bad behaviors and know to avoid them. Those who participate in sports are naturally goal-oriented as a result of their participation, as it is always the desire for a sports team to win, to improve their record, to do better than they did before. Perhaps females are singled out as particular benefactors of athletics because of their history. Whereas women used to be expected to bear children and then to stay at home and care for them, equal opportunities are now available for women to take advantage of. Athletic women seem to be taking advantage of these opportunities: “Girl athletes have one of the lowest rates of tobacco use among any sector of the high-school population" (Sutton). One can infer that these athletically involved women are applying their sport strategies in their everyday lives. This is evident, as women are making healthy choices and putting forth an enormous amount of effort in the athletic field due to motivation. That motivation is transferred to other aspects of their lives, including their work and social lives. They are focused on a goal and not willing to let negative influences or laziness keep them from achieving that goal.  The determination common in many athletes also not only deters dangerous behaviors, but translates to the classroom: Female athletes also “do better academically and have lower school dropout rates than their nonathletic counterparts" (Sutton). Those who don’t have the same positively reinforced arena of athletics available to them are more likely to be involved in dangerous activities. This is due to the fact that their focus is not a beneficial activity, so they will have to find the fun and enjoyment their active counterparts find in athletics elsewhere. It is not uncommon for such girls to engage in promiscuous sexual behaviors, and to break Constitutional laws in the dangerous consumption of drugs and alcohol. A study completed by the State University of New York in Buffalo "discovered that female high school athletes have sex later and less frequently than nonathletic women" (American Family Physician). It seems as though women who are or have been athletic are more wholesome and prudent than their less active counterpart: “Female athletes are less likely to abuse drugs or get pregnant” (Sutton). Athletics influence female participants to make good decisions which will positively reap positive benefits. The presence of a coach in all sports teams provides an adult to look up to—an automatic role model—children benefit from this outlet. They aspire to attain qualities akin to their role model, to embody their good behavior. Therefore, the coach who acts as a role model to their athletes also helps to deter negative behaviors and influences. Surely the athlete does not want their role model to think badly of them, so they will be much more likely to pursue positive behaviors and take actions to improve their skills in the playing field. These actions will be taken in the hopes of impression their coach. Not only will they avoid bad behaviors, they will seek out optimistic behaviors that will make their coach notice them, like being the lead scorer, or putting forth as much effort as is humanly possible. This positive incentive can easily translate to a classroom, where a student will have the same attitude towards class work in the hopes of attaining a goal, be it for their coach, their parents, their teacher, or themselves. By participating in athletics, one learns skills which translate to learning. Student athletes are constantly traveling, therefore they must learn to be independent learners (Vallas). When games and events interfere with classes, students must learn to teach themselves missed material which they have become responsible for. Because athletes participate in games and practices which occupy much of their time, they must learn to use their free time in the most productive way possible. In addition to time management, “participation in sports helps to teach how to react positively to real life situations, like how to deal with success and failure in appropriate ways” (Metzl). Another life skill, being able to deal with disappointments and successes will help these people to deal with their emotions in an appropriate manner, whether it is in the workplace or in the home. Students also reap social benefits from being involved in athletics. Athletics helps to facilitate friendships, as well as to teach children how to act and react in an appropriate manner in social situations. Participation in sports helps to teach how to react positively to real life situations, like how to deal with success and failure in appropriate ways (Metzl). By instilling sportsmanship in a child or adolescent, one helps to mold them into a better person. One wants to be around someone who is courteous and humble much more than a child who has not learned how to accept defeat gracefully or to win without being self-important: That is the value of sportsmanship. Being a part of a group of accepting people helps an athlete define their own identity: “Being part of a group and belonging to something helps kids and teens to identify with their peers and to feel more comfortable with their own identity as well as their identity within the group/team” (Metzl). Sports provide children with the opportunity to develop socially. A student who participates in athletics will no doubt gain an advantage over their peers who do not. While other creative options are available to children and adolescents through out all stages of their development, arguably none are more helpful than athletics. Artistic outlets, for instance, do not provide the same benefits. Painting a ceramic cat does not glean the same results as participating in a youth soccer league. These benefits particular to athletes include developing real life skills, being in a social environment The overall benefits of participating in a youth athletics team or program outweigh the benefits of an artistic outlet. The athletic child will learn how to deal with disappointment through losses, and will learn how to win properly: with sportsmanship, and without excessive gloating or demonstrations of disproportionate pride. Participating in athletics as an adolescent has a positive influence socially and academically, and also acts as a deterrent against negative influence. The process of developing from a child to an adolescent lends itself to mischief and bad decisions. The most a parent can do is try to raise their child to make proper judgments, and to have good values. Albeit, no matter how a child is raised, rebellion is unavoidable. Often, children stray from the values their parents have tried to instill. The presence of athletics in a child’s life reinforces those values. Through the sphere of sports, children are introduced to positive role models who are not their parents in the form of coaches. They also learn to interact socially with their peers and to work equally as hard in their academics as they do on the field. All are skill which will continue to benefit these athletic students for the rest of their lives. Works Cited Metzl, Jordan D, MD, and Carol Shookhoff, PHD. "The Benefit of Youth Sports." //The Young Athlete: A Sports Doctor's Complete Guide for Parents//. N.p., 2002. Web. 29 Sept. 2009. .

American Family Physician. "Another Benefit of Sports Participation." //Gale Group//. Pediatrics for Parents, May 1999. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

Sutton, Kyanna. "Raising Our Athletic Daughters." //Family Education//. Family Education Network, 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

"The Benefit of Athletics." //Special Olympics//. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

"Athletics V. Academics." //Math and Reading//. N.p., 9 Oct. 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

Vallas, Kate. "Balancing Academics and Athletics." //Skidmore News//. College Media Network, 24 Oct. 2008. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .