Thesis+Based+Research+Assignment

 I chose this research path because I’m interested in the impact that athletics have on an adolescent’s life. I’m interested in the differences between students who participate in athletics and students who do not participate in physical activities, specifically in the social and academic fields. In addition to the obvious physical benefits, how does involvement in athletics improve an adolescent's life, both socially and academically?  Is there a difference between an active student and a student who is not active? If so, what specific areas are impacted by this activity or lack of activity? Why?
 * Rationale for Research / Introduction **
 * Why did you go down this research path?**
 * What driving question guided your research?**
 * What more specific questions had to be answered before finally answering this driving question?**

Participating in athletics as an adolescent has a positive influence socially and academically, and also acts as a deterrent against negative influence.
 * Thesis Statement**

1. Finding #1... sports act as a deterrent against negative influences a. Support: E42, E43, E44, E45, B31, B10, B11, B13, B14, B17, B20, B30, B27, B28, B21, B24 2. Finding #2...involvement in athletics helps facilitate good social well being a. Support: B9, B11, B13, B14, B21, B26, B30, B32, B37, C37 3. Finding #3...those who participate in sports are more likely to do well in academics a. Support: A7, B19, B25, G51, G52, G53, G54, G55, H56, H57, H58, B24, B27, C37, A2, A1 4. Finding #4...being part of a team, or group, helps kids to improve their self esteem a. Support: B18, B20, B16, D40, B21, B22, F48, B28, C34 5. Finding #4...a coach acts as a positive role model for their athletes a. Support: B31, C35, C34, D38, D37, E42, E43, E44, E45, F48, F50
 * Findings/Proof of Thesis**

As a result of conducting this research, perceptions I have had about the influence of sports on a child/adolescent's life have been reinforced. Sports offers children an arena of competition and social interaction which is otherwise inaccessible, an arena that kids who do not participate in sports are not able to experience. Involvement in athletics helps to build real-life skills, like time management and handling disappointment appropriately. Also, a coach serves as a positive role model for their athletes. Sports provides a role model which is not present in the lives of students who do not participate in athletics. Research skills that I need to improve are finding rubrics to make sure that I meet all criteria. Before I completed this research, I knew a lot of the information that I found, but I hadn't made the connections. For example, I never thought of my own coaches as role models but I do look up to them, as do my peers.
 * Process Reflection**

This research has helped me to delve into my project more. Not only do sports have a positive influence on student's social and academic lives, but they also deter negative influences. Athletics are beneficial on the whole in that they help to improve the student's character and also helps to protect it.
 * Connection to Overall Project**

A. Griffin, Robert S. //Sports in the Lives of Children and Adolescents//. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998. //ebooks//. Web. 29 Sept. 2009. < [] books?id=CZHnJ8RPvvsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false>. l. “a majority of young people stated that they wanted to be remembered as athletic stars rather than brilliant students” (29) 2. “if forced to choose, both high school boys and girls preferred success in sports over success in the classroom” (29) 3. Griffin feels that sports have an adverse effect on academics(38). 4. “sports doesn’t seem to do anything for grades and academic aspirations in schools where academics are emphasized and rewarded over and above sports…” (46) 5. Griffin also feels that females, by their nature, will become so competitive in athletics that it will detract from their everday lives 6. “Girls might increasingly see themselves as having to be number one even if it detracts from other areas in their life, including academics” (91) 7. “boys tend to find failure in sports to be more aversive than failure in academics” (29) 8. The quotes and research studies which Griffin applies all seem to be partial to his own opinion, which is that sports adversley affect children and adolescents, at least in the academic field

B. 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. <[] 5298.html>. 9. Reasons children listed for participating in athletics include fitness, to win/succeed, make new friends, spend more time with friends, and to improve or learn new skills 10. Ahletics creates an "area" where children can recieve the attention and stimulation they need for positive actions 11."According to researchers at the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University, kids who participate in organized sports do better in school, have better interpersonal skills, are more team oriented, and are generally healthier" 12. Athletics stimulate a wide range of the human body and psyche, and athletics benefits each of these fields 13. 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 14. "Participation in sports provides opportunities for leadership and socialization" 15. Athletics facilitate the understanding of rules and structure in children and adolescents 16. Team sports suppress selfishness; athletes work "for the good of the group" 17. Sports also naturally foster competition, "but within a restricted and safe system where the consequences of losing are minimized" 18. Benefits of female participation in athletics include improved self esteem, healthy body image, and "significant experiences of competency and success, as well as reduced risk of chronic disease" 19. Female athletes also "do better academically and have lower school dropout rates than their nonathletic counterparts." 20. Females also experience other benefits of a different variety; less likely to become pregnant, less likely to begin smoking, more likely to quit smoking, more likely to do well in science, and more likely to graduate from high school and college than their non-athletic counterparts 21. "sports engage the child as a complete human being: all facets-not just physical, but also social, cognitive, and psychological-are engaged harmoniously in striving toward peak fulfillment" 22. "sports involve youths working in an ongoing community composed of their peers as well as their peers' families" 23. Physical benefits include fitness, stress relief, mastery of skills, and healthful habits 24. Personal benefits include "valuing preparation, resilience, attitude control, leadership, identity, balance, time management, long-term thinking" 25. "Valuing Preparation" is meant to say that athletic children learn one does not need to be brilliant/extremely talented to do well in academics/athletics, but that hard work and self-discipline are also admirable and lead to great success 26. Resilience in sports teaches kids how to deal with disappointment in an appropriate manner 27. The addition of athletics in the lives of children or adolescents forces them to manage their time...students without this need to manage time wisely will be overwhelmed when they have less time to complete tasks 28. 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 29. Long term thinking is instilled in children by means of goals! (not soccer goooooaaaals, figurative goals!) 30. Social benefits include "relationships with other kids, teamwork, diversity, relationships with adults, and participating in a community" 31. The presence of adult coaches in a child's life presents a positive role model figure 32. Athletics exposes kids to a larger variety of children than they would be exposed to in school alone, which facilitates tolerance and acceptance, ability to work with kids different from themselves C. Flippu, Lucy Rector. "The Benefits of Team Sports." //Education Magazine// 2009: n. pag. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. 33. Significant especially currently, in the face of the obesity epidemic, to be active 34. Sports teach kids to keep their egos in check, and to work for a whole, a team, rather than just for oneself 35. The coach serves as a positive role model D. American Family Physician. "Another Benefit of Sports Participation." //Gale// //Group//. Pediatrics for Parents, May 1999. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. . 36. High schoolers obviously benefit from regular exercise, but other benefits result 37. Students who participate in sports also have high self esteem, "earn better grades, and generally stay out of trouble" 38. The University of Arizona did a study which found that "high school athletes are more likely to stay in college and earn higher grades than peers who don't" 39. However many positives are concluded about athletisism, the aforementioned study also concluded that high school athletes are more likely to use drugs and alcohol 40. 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" E. Sutton, Kyanna. "Raising Our Athletic Daughters." //Family Education//. Family Education Network, 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. . 41. "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" 42. Athletic girls are less likely to take destructive risks 43. "Girl athletes have one of the lowest rates of tobacco use among any sector of the high-school population" 44. Female athletes are less likely to abuse drugs or get pregnant 45. Female athletes are more likely to abstain from sex for a longer amount of time, and have fewer sexual partners in their lifetime than girls who do not participate in athletics F. "The Benefit of Athletics." //Special Olympics//. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. . 46. athletics offers athletes the opportunity to learn through skill development and competitive settings and to be involved in large social settings 47. In the case of the Special Olympics, athletics provides an oppurtunity which would otherwise not be available to the athletes 48. Athletics fosters a positive, supportive environment for all types of athletes 49. By virtue of participation, an athlete can learn self discipline, independent thinking, and lifelong fitness skills 50. By challenging the athlete, a coach can help them to learn and grow G."Athletics V. Academics." //Math and Reading//. N.p., 9 Oct. 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. . 51. Athletes benefit from doing well in school and vice versa 52. Academics instills a focus in students which helps them in their athletic fields as well 53. The school rule which requires athletes to maintain a certain GPA motivates them to do well in classes so that they may particpate in their sport 54. Many sports are games of tact, logic, and memorization: all of which are skills that can/must be applied in a classroom 55. Practicing mathematics (logic) and memorization in classes facilitates faster thinking, which is beneficial to the student in their athletic spheres H. Vallas, Kate. "Balancing Academics and Athletics." //Skidmore News//. College Media Network, 24 Oct. 2008. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. . 56. A negative aspect of athletics is their hectic schedule which often forces them to travel and miss class 57. This, however, forces students to manage their time as efficiently as they possibly can, which is an extremely useful skill 58. Because athletes are not always present for lessons and lectures, they must learn to teach themselves and must focus more so than other students to earn good grades