The Importance Of Participation In Sports

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Recommended: Physical, mental and social benefits of sports

Athletics, for a majority of the student population, provides a very meaningful experience in education. People that participate in athletics will have better self-esteem, social confidence, and more academic achievement. Participating in an athletic program will help the student contribute to the school community, which will help them identify with school values. One factor that may be overlooked in the participation of sports is that it helps students have better physical health. Students who participate in sports learn to respect their health and they will try to stay healthier than students who have never participated in a sport. There are so many numerous reasons to get involved in athletics in the school setting, but there arise …show more content…

There are intrinsic and extrinsic reasons to why they participate in sports. The intrinsic reasons can include playing for enjoyment and the athlete wants to better their skill development. Some extrinsic factors include having a chance to socialize with peers and having a chance to achieve physical and psychological factors (Allison, Dwyer, & Goldenberg, 2005). Even with these positive reinforcements there are people that don’t participate in sports or drop out. The reason people don’t participate can be attributed to external barriers. Male athletes report that their peers and parents have influenced their decision to not participate. They had stated that if their friends did not engage in physical activity, they were more likely to not participate. This is seen more predominantly at the middle school level where peer pressure from friends can cause students to not participate in sports (Allison et al., 2005). As a coach if I want to counter the effects of peer pressure, I need to be a positive role models for students that are conflicted. In my career, I have had many athletes quit athletics because of their friends. I need to make sure that if they love playing sports that I provide them support if they feel that their friends are pressuring them to

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