Sports and Education: The Postive Influence in Our Lives

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In a world where technology is increasing exponentially, the demand for better education and activities within them must be higher. In most areas of the world, sports have such beneficial statistics in relation with academic performance that it can’t be ignored. In all my years of participating in sports throughout school, I have noticed all of the important skills and life-lessons I have acquired over the years. For example, by participating in Soccer and Marching Band in high school, my time-management, leadership, and listening skills have increased. In relation to my career in playing sports, some of the life lessons that I’ve learned are: practice makes perfect, never give up, hard work and determination equal success, and that once you make a commitment to something you have to follow through and complete it. All of the life lessons that derive from sports are being brought into the classroom and have been proven by scientific studies. For example, “Longitudinal studies have shown that children and youth participating in sports, who obtain valuable life lessons, exhibit: higher grades, expectations, and attainment; greater personal confidence and self-esteem; and attain an increasing amount of academically oriented friends” (Hanna 1). When schools offer students more opportunities to participate in sports they will learn valuable life lessons which will be applied to their everyday life.
Despite the positive effects that life lessons conjure up in the classroom, sports increase brain function which has a much greater impact on overall academic achievement .A sport in its own nature is learning and the actual definition of learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience. A multitude of learning outco...

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...t women who played sport in high school were 73 percent more likely to earn a college degree within six years of graduating high school than those who did not play sport. This advantage held up even for students facing socioeconomic challenges to graduating college (Hanna 2).

Works Cited

Kravitz, L. (2010). Exercise and the brain: It will make you want to work out. IDEA Fitness Journal, 7(2), 18-19.

Martin, Karen. "Sport and Physical Activity Enhance Children's Learning." Brain Boost. Government of Western Australia, May 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Eitle, Tamela, and David Eitle. "Race, Cultural Capital, and the Educational Effects of Participation in Sports." JSTOR. American Sociological Association, Apr. 2002. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Hanna, Kathi. "Psychological and Social Benefits of Playing True Sport | TrueSport." Www.truesport.org. USADA, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

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