Abstract
Sports have been around for decades, and they have been known to be a way of bringing society together. Even mores so, sports have been know to be a way of bringing youths together. The youth are young, agile and able when it comes to sports participation thus why when you look through the history of sports till now; the majority of those who participate in sports are the youth. Sports are known to be socially acceptable around the globe, thus their popularity thus far. The impending discussion is one centered on youth sports, asking the question as to whether youth sports programs are good or bad. Literature as regards youth sports programs and youth participation in sports will be looked at in a bid to try and shed light on the question. Even so, the writer tends to take a stand as to the fact that youth sports programs are good and thus should be encouraged. In light of this stance, most of the literature incorporated into the research will go to support the presupposition that youth sports programs have more of a positive than a negative effect.
Background
Sports have been a part of society since time immemorial. Sports know no age limits, and people start engaging in sports while they are still young children. Sports are common in countries all over the world, but more so in the United States. The United States has been one of the countries that avidly support sports and the participation of youths in sports. In the United States, the organization of sports programs started early, precisely in the twentieth century. This time period saw adults, and other organizations plus agencies put common effort together in a bid to sponsor sports, and other extracurricular activities which were deemed as overall wholesome for the youth and children (Bredemeier, 2003). During that time, the initial reason behind the sponsorship of sports programs was to keep the youth and children from engaging in other activities that could invariably get them in trouble.
Schools also at that time were not left behind when it came to the sponsorship and encouragement of youth sports programs. Schools had their own reasons for sponsoring sports some of which included: providing an avenue of educating youths as regards sports thus building effective sports skills, and providing an opportunity whereby the youth could be found engrossed in controlled yet competitive activities. In essence, the schools felt the need for sports education, and for giving the youths activities which were wholesome, keeping them out of trouble. Their motives in some ways correlated with those of organizations, parents and agencies. Even so, schools, parents, youth welfare workers and others who sponsor youth sports programs do not always agree about the benefits that such programs accrue or the objectives that instituted programs should behold (Bredemeier, 2003). There are always disagreements here and there between the two parties but in essence, all stakeholders of youth sports programs in society seem to agree with the notion that youth sports programs are: wholesome for the youth; they help build the character of those youths who participate in them; they take up the extra time that the youths may have on their hands; they help build the character of youth and they are a good way of helping the youth transition safely to adulthood.
Before the year 1954 in the United States, sports programs specifically targeting the youth were mainly organized by society’s social agencies. The agencies that took up to organizing sports programs for the youth included those such as: YMCA, YWCA, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other boys and girls clubs (Bredemeier, 2003). The youth through such organizations or rather social agencies got the opportunities to participate in organized sports.
With the advancement of technology, the growing love of sports in America and the growing competitiveness in the sports arena has made abound the current opportunities for youth participation in sports. Nowadays, there are numerous sports programs that the youth can participate in. Additionally, the sports programs have moved from being organized by social agencies as aforementioned and now, sports programs are mainly sponsored by adult programs and schools. Since the expansion of youth sports programs, the participation in such programs by the youth has been tremendously high.
It is a given as just aforementioned that youth participation in sports has seen an increase. Unfortunately though, the participation of the youth in such sports programs is unequal across both gender and social classes of society. When it comes to social classes, those youths which grow up in middle and upper classes of society, with parents or guardians having monetary and other resources to spare are the ones who have more opportunities to participate in sports. Such parents and guardians who are well off are able to organize, sponsor and encourage the participation of their youths in such sports programs. When it comes to gender variables, female youths historically were left behind when it comes to the participation of sports. Greater opportunities have historically always been accorded to the male youths. Even so the last few years, precisely since the year 1972, there has been an increase in the rise of girls participating in youth sports programs. This rise has been as a result of increased opportunities for involvement in the sports programs; the increased value of sports as part of development of youth and the importance of sports in terms of increasing the fitness levels for girls (Bredemeier, 2003).
Sports programs and the participation in the same have thus continued to grow throughout history. In the impending discussion, all arenas as regards youth sports programs will be discussed. The types of sports programs that are usually in existent will be discussed and in addition, the motivating factors that make youths to be engaged in youth sports programs. A literature review of the positive and negative aspects of youth sports programs will be given, emphasis being placed on the positive aspects of youth sports programs as the writer holds the stance that such sports programs are good/positive. Additionally, the writer will highlight some personal aspects as regards the good that can be accrued from youth sports programs. Recommendations as regards how youth sports programs can be enhanced and thus be a positive influence among the youths will be given. Finally, a summation of the key points from the preceding discussion will be given in the conclusion.
Types of youth sports programs
Youth sports programs especially in the United States are associated with different athletic programs. Such athletic programs provide a routine program for athletic practice and competitions for the youth. Sports differ in various ways including: the level of competition, length of the season the sports run for, the cost of the sport, the qualifications of the coaches and officials who direct the sports and additionally, the skill needed by the sports men and women to play the sports among others. There are many types of sports programs that are usually in existence in the United States, some of which include: agency sponsored programs, national youth service organizations, club sports, recreation programs, intramural programs and interscholastic programs among others. Among these types of youth sports programs, some are normally community based, and others are school based. Additionally, the sports programs that normally see the highest participation amongst the youth include: agency sponsored programs and recreational programs (Bredemeier, 2003). These two types of youth sports programs normally see more youths involved.
Motivation for youth sports programs participation
As aforementioned, sports have been around since time immemorial. Additionally, the participation of youths in such sports and sports programs has been steadily rising over time, with male participation been overall the highest followed by female participation as aforementioned. The overall question here is what motivates youths to participate in youth sports programs? What benefits do they accrue from the participation of youth sports programs? What are the driving factors influencing their participation? Such questions, trying to identify the motivating factors driving youths to participate in sports programs have been the basis for research for years. There have been several researches conducted, in a bid to find all this out.
One of the researches conducted that tried to get to the root motivating factors for youth participation in organized sports programs was conducted by (McElroy & Kirkendall, 1980). The two researches conducted their research on a population of 2,000 youths of both genders, male and female. The researchers asked these participants to select one out of four listed reasons as their most important reason for participating in sports. The researchers at the end noted from the answers that the four were the most common reasons for youth participation in sports. 13.5% of male and 4% of the female youths named winning their reason for participating in sports. 51% of the male youth and 48.3% of the female youth said that personal performance was the driving factor for their participation in sports. 24.4% of male and 37.6% of the female said that fair play was their motivating factor to youth sports programs participation. Finally, 11% of the male and 9% of the female said that they participated in sports because it was an avenue whereby everyone was included (McElroy & Kirkendall, 1980).
Another research was conducted by (Ewing, Seefeldt & athletic footwear association, 1990) as an investigation into the reasons why youths participated in sports programs. A questionnaire was given to male and female from different cities in the United States and it asked questions regarding to the reasons why they participated in sports. From the results of the research, the researchers saw that the youth liked to participate in sports programs because through them, they are able to learn new skills in terms of sports; they are able to improve the sports skills they previously had and additionally, the fact that sports are fun.
Finally, another research was conducted by (Frankl, 1998) to determine the chief reasons as to why youths participated in sports. The research was conducted in forms of questionnaires that were distributed among the youths of different ages and ethnic backgrounds. Additionally, these youths were already enrolled in some types of sports. The range of sports that they were in included: basketball, baseball, football, softball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis and others. After the questionnaires were asked of the participants, the researcher found the chief reasons for youth participation in sports programs to be: the first, to have fun; the second, to learn new skills; the third, to win (Frankl, 1998).
Clearly, from the above, there are many reasons as to why youths participate in sports, and some of the biggest reasons as seen include having fun, learning new skills and winning among others. These reasons are the driving forces behind the rise in youths participating in sports. Now that we have seen the type of sports programs that are available, and some of the common reasons as to why youths participate in sports programs; it is now time to look at literature review indicating as to whether these sports programs are good or bad. As aforementioned, the researcher is in support of youth sports programs being good, or positive, and thus a majority of the literature review will be in support of this thesis.
Literature Review
There has been a magnitude of research conducted that indicates as to whether or not sports are good or bad or in other words, have negative or positive effects. The following section looks at some of the researches conducted in relation to this. Research conducted by (Côté & Fraser-Thomas, 2007) indicates that youth participation in sports programs can have three positive effects on the youth. The researchers postulate that this participation improves the physical health of youth, helps in the psychosocial development of youth and finally, helps the youth learn critical motor skills. Youths who participate in youth sports programs can accrue benefits associated with their physical and psychosocial health. This is because when the youth are involved in these sports programs, physical activity is involved. Such physical activity helps in cardiovascular fitness, weight watching and control, building muscular strength, endurance and flexibility and additionally, in ensuring a healthy bone structure. Additionally as shown through research, those physical activity habits that the youth develop while young see them through on to adulthood. This means that if the youth stay active in such, they will be less likely to develop diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression and cancer later on in their adult life. Once more, participation in youth sports programs as indicated by these researchers helps to facilitate citizenship, social success, positive peer relationships and leadership skills among others (Côté & Fraser-Thomas, 2007).
Another research done by (Brustad, 1993) indicates that youth sports programs facilitate the development of social skills among the youths. This is because the requirements for participating in sports from a moral and social sense do correlate with the rules stipulating how individuals are required to function in society. Even so, the research indicates that for sports program to foster positive social developments, the sports experiences derived from those programs must also in essence be positive. Sports foster an understanding of competitiveness, which in essence also occurs in normal societal settings, and an understanding of individual roles within a group. An understanding of individual roles is also applicable in daily society for everyone has a role to play in society, and they play their roles as part of the larger society (Brustad, 1993). Thus according to the research conducted, sports programs go a long way to helping youth acquire the necessary skills which are also applicable in society, thus a big part of their social development.
Finally, (Donnelly, 1981) did research which showed that youth sports programs are good in that they foster the moral development of youths. The social interactions that are characteristic of sports help enhance the moral development of youth. Research by (Donnelly, 1981) especially finds evidence that delinquent behavior that seems to be a part of youths these days is curtailed if there is participation in sports programs. In research, (Donnelly, 1981) found that the rate of school drop outs and delinquent behavior might be higher were it not for the availability of youth sports programs. Sports are seeing to discourage delinquent behavior in that when the youths are solely dedicated to the sports, they have less time to spend with other deviant friends thus their attention is drawn away from delinquent behavior. Additionally, sports normally emphasize certain values such as teamwork, effort, achievement all positive behavioral aspects which go a long way to deterring delinquent behavior (Donnelly, 1981).
Youth sports programs have also been seen to have their own negative aspects. Research shows that despite the increase that has been seen in terms of youths being involved in youth sports programs, diseases such as obesity are prevalent especially in developed countries whereby youth sports programs are prevalent. Additionally, other negative aspects of youth sports programs as seen from research include sports related injuries, and a high rise of eating disorders among sports men and women. This is according to a research conducted by (Anshel, 2004). From a psychosocial aspect, youth sports programs normally put a lot of pressure on athletes. This is in terms of athletes feeling pressured to win their games and when they don’t, feelings of low self esteem and low self confidence may be prevalent. In addition, youths who participate in sports programs and do not perform up to par may feel detached from teammates and in addition to feeling venerable in front of their teammates (Wankel & Mummery, 1990).
Discussion and recommendations
It is evident as seen from above that youth sports programs are both positive and negative. Even so, it is clear that the positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects that may be in existence. Overall, the fact that youth sports programs can contribute to the health of youth no matter how small a population, is something to reckon with. This along garners my support for the fact that youth sports programs are positive and should thus be encouraged. The cases of obesity that are prevalent I believe are among those youths who do not participate in any health related activities, such as these sports programs and thus cannot reap the benefits. If all the youths took initiatives to enroll in such programs, their health would undoubtedly improve as shown by research. Additionally, youth sports programs develop the moral and social aspects of youths. This is important in this day and age when many youths do not portend a good character. Sports programs keep youths in line, in terms of promoting positive behavior such as team work, responsibility and others. In addition, youth sports programs take up the extra time that a youth may have at hand and channel that time to positive activities. In regards to all these aspects, I portend that youth sports programs are overall good, and should be encouraged even more as this will ensure the development of youths who are health, responsible and socially adept for their societies. It is with this stance that youth sports programs are overall good that I postulate the following recommendations that would go a long way in helping sports programs help the youth. One of the recommendations I would give in regards to this issue is that sports programs should expose youths to sports which they can be engaged in for the long haul. This will ensure that they keep physically fit for most of their life. In addition, youth sports programs should be programmed in such a way as to meet the needs of all youths, and not just those of a certain gender or class. This will result in overall positive aspects for the society. Youth sports programs should look for ways to open up more opportunities for even children to be involved in sports as this will have an overall positive effect on their growth and development. Lastly, youth sports programs should employ coaches and instructors who will instill positive behavior in youth. Such positive behavior includes: responsibility, independence and leadership among others. With these skills being instilled in them, they will contribute positively to society.
Conclusion
Youth sports programs as seen have been in existence for a long while now. The development of youth sports programs at the beginning and as aforementioned was to help promote positive behavior among the youths, and initially keep them out of trouble. Additionally, it was seen that the youth participate in youth sports programs for a variety of reasons. In the literature review, it was noted that youth sports programs have both positive and negative effects on the youth, but that the positive initially outweigh the negative. Thus in conclusion, youth sports programs should be always encouraged and improved so as to meet the needs of the youth.
References
Bredemeier, B.J. (2003). Youth Sports Programs. Illinois: Human Kinetics Publishers.
Brustad, R.J. (1993). Youth in sports: Psychological considerations. Washington, DC: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
Côté, J, & Fraser-Thomas, J. (2007). Youth involvement in sport. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Donnelly, P. (1981). Athletes and juvenile delinquents: A comparative analysis based on a review of the literature .Adolescence, 16, 415–431.
Ewing, M. E. & Seefeldt, V. (1990). American youth and sports participation: A
study of 10,000 students and their feelings about sport. North Palm Beach, FL:
Athletic Footwear Association.
Frankl, D. (1989). Sport participation and moral reasoning. New York: Macmillan.
McElroy, M. & Kirkendall, D. R. (1980). Significant others and professionalized
sport attitudes. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 51, 645-653.
Wankel, L.M., & Mummery, W.K. (1990). Risks and benefits of youth sport specialization. Journal of Leisure Research, 22, 167-182.
