Participating In Childhood Sports
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ENG 1060: College Composition II
September 17, 2014
Participating in Childhood Sports is a Significant Predicator of Young Adults Physical Activity
Many Parents in America today choose to start their child in a competitive sport at a young age. Of the estimated 51 million children ages 6 to 17 in the United States 24 million of them play a sport of some kind. Over half of the 24 million children play a sport on a regular basis. I’d be the last person to discourage children from playing sports. Indeed, I wish many more would move away from their computers, put down their iPods and cellphones and devote more time and energy to physical activities.
Research shows that there are many benefits to having a child play a sport at a young …show more content…
High school athletes are more likely than non-athletes to attend college and get a degree; and be team leaders or even team captains (US Department of Education)
A number of studies provide support that physical activity, sports in particular can have positive effects of personal development among young people. However, evidence shows that having a quality coaching staff is a key factor in maximizing positive effects (GAO 2012). One study found that when coaches receive training in skills and communicating effectively with kids, 95 percent of the children choose to play that sport again. With untrained coaches, the rate was only 26 percent (Smoll and Smith 1992).
Most of our largest sports are seeing major drop-offs in participation. Among children ages 6-12, only 40 percent played sports in any form on a regular basis, down from 44.5 percent in 2008, according to an analysis by SFIA for projected play. Millions of kids and teens are fleeing sports. In just one year, from 2011 to 2012, participation in team sports in any form -- casual, regular, or frequent – fell from 54 percent to 50 percent among 6-17 year olds (SFIA Team Sports Report, …show more content…
By age 15, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity declines 75 percent. At that point, they average only 49 minutes per weekday and 35 minutes per weekend (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008). Only one in three children is physically active every day (Fitness.gov). Among high school students, that figure is 28.7 percent. The prevalence of having been active on a daily basis was higher among male (38.3 percent) than female (18.5 percent) students (CDC, 2012).
Childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled in recent years. The percentage of children ages 6-11 who are obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2010; among children ages 12 to 19, that figure grew from 5 percent to 18 percent (Center for Disease Control). One study found that among 17 developed nations, the US had the highest rates of childhood obesity among those ages 5-19 (National Academy of Science,
ENG 1060: College Composition II
September 17, 2014
Participating in Childhood Sports is a Significant Predicator of Young Adults Physical Activity
Many Parents in America today choose to start their child in a competitive sport at a young age. Of the estimated 51 million children ages 6 to 17 in the United States 24 million of them play a sport of some kind. Over half of the 24 million children play a sport on a regular basis. I’d be the last person to discourage children from playing sports. Indeed, I wish many more would move away from their computers, put down their iPods and cellphones and devote more time and energy to physical activities.
Research shows that there are many benefits to having a child play a sport at a young …show more content…
High school athletes are more likely than non-athletes to attend college and get a degree; and be team leaders or even team captains (US Department of Education)
A number of studies provide support that physical activity, sports in particular can have positive effects of personal development among young people. However, evidence shows that having a quality coaching staff is a key factor in maximizing positive effects (GAO 2012). One study found that when coaches receive training in skills and communicating effectively with kids, 95 percent of the children choose to play that sport again. With untrained coaches, the rate was only 26 percent (Smoll and Smith 1992).
Most of our largest sports are seeing major drop-offs in participation. Among children ages 6-12, only 40 percent played sports in any form on a regular basis, down from 44.5 percent in 2008, according to an analysis by SFIA for projected play. Millions of kids and teens are fleeing sports. In just one year, from 2011 to 2012, participation in team sports in any form -- casual, regular, or frequent – fell from 54 percent to 50 percent among 6-17 year olds (SFIA Team Sports Report, …show more content…
By age 15, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity declines 75 percent. At that point, they average only 49 minutes per weekday and 35 minutes per weekend (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008). Only one in three children is physically active every day (Fitness.gov). Among high school students, that figure is 28.7 percent. The prevalence of having been active on a daily basis was higher among male (38.3 percent) than female (18.5 percent) students (CDC, 2012).
Childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled in recent years. The percentage of children ages 6-11 who are obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2010; among children ages 12 to 19, that figure grew from 5 percent to 18 percent (Center for Disease Control). One study found that among 17 developed nations, the US had the highest rates of childhood obesity among those ages 5-19 (National Academy of Science,