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Home>Blog>ParentingandLearningIssues>HighSchoolIssues

10ReasonsWhyHighSchoolSportsBenefitStudents
ByGraceChen
332
Explorethemanybenefitshighschoolsportsoffertostudents,bothduringthesecondaryacademicyearsandbeyond.

Athleticshavebeenamainstayofthehighschoolscenefordecades.Today,thefieldhasmerelyexpanded,
encompassinganevengreatervarietyofcompetitiveoptionsformaleandfemalestudentsalike.Whilemanystudents
getinvolvedinhighschoolathleticsforsheerloveofthegame,therearesignificantbenefitsfromtheseextracurricular
activitiesaswell.Wehave10wayshighschoolsportsbenefitstudentssomeofwhichstudentsandparentsmaynot
evenrealize.
CommunityRepresentation

Whileclubsportshavebecomeapopularpastimeforbothstudentsandcollegerecruiters,thereisstillalottobesaidfor
playingforyourhighschoolteam.AccordingtoUnigo,studentswhoparticipateinhighschoolsportslearnthebenefit
ofrepresentingtheircommunityonthefieldorcourt.Theseathleteslearnthefunofteamrivalriesandrevelinthepraise
ofajobwelldonefortheirschool.Thisfeelingofcommunityandthehonorofrepresentingthehometeammayrunover

intocollegeathleticsifthestudentadvancesinhissportaswell.

Fitness

Thefitnesslevelofathletesinhighschoolsportsprogramscannotbeunderestimated.Accordingtoareportfromthe
NationalFederationofStateHighSchoolAssociations(NFHS),a2006studyonfemaleathletesfoundthatwhenfemale
studentsaregivenmoreopportunitytoparticipateinathleticsinhighschool,theirweightandbodymassimprove.A
2001surveyfoundthatstudentsagreedtheywouldnotspendasmuchtimeinsedentaryactivitieslikewatching
televisionandplayingvideogamesiftheyhadotheroptionsafterschool.

Studiesalsosuggestthatstudentathletesarelesslikelytoparticipateinunhealthyorriskybehaviorwhentheyare
playingsportsinhighschool.ThesamereportbytheNFHSciteda2002studybytheDepartmentofEducationthat
foundstudentswhospentnotimeinextracurricularactivitiesinhighschoolwere49percentmorelikelytousedrugs
and37percentmoreapttobecometeenparents.Justfourhoursinanextracurricularactivitylikesportseachweek
dramaticallyimprovedthosenumbers.
ImprovedAcademics

AsurveyconductedbytheMinnesotaStateHighSchoolLeaguein2007andreportedbytheNFHSfoundthatthe
averageGPAofahighschoolathletewas2.84,whileastudentwhowasnotinvolvedinathleticshadanaverageGPAof
2.68.Thesurveyalsoshowedthatstudentathletesmissedlessschoolthantheirnonathletecounterparts,withatotalof
7.4daysmissedand8.8daysmissed,respectively.

AnotherstudypublishedintheMedicine&ScienceinSportsandExerciseinAugust,2007foundthatstudentswho
wereactiveinsportslikesoccer,footballandevenskateboardingperformed10percentbetterincoresubjectslikemath,
science,socialstudiesandlanguagearts.Becausesportsofferequalopportunitytoallstudentsatthehighschoollevel,
theseacademicbenefitsextendtoallareaofthestudentpopulation,includingstudentsthatmightbetraditionally
underserved.

TheImportanceofthe3Ps

AnarticleatEducation.comtalksaboutthe3Psstudentathleteslearnthatextendbeyondtheclassroom:persistence,
patienceandpractice.Teammemberslearnthatpracticeisrequired,evenwhentheywouldprefertobespendingtime
withfriends.Theylearnthehardertheywork,thebettertheyperform.Theyalsodiscoverthatbynevergivingup,they
aremorelikelytoachievetheirgoals.Theselifelessonsbenefitstudentslongafterthehighschoolyears,helpingthem
succeedincollegeandafter.

TeamworkandCooperation

AnarticleatWePlayMomsexplainsthatbecauseeveryoneisworkingtowardacommongoalinteamsports,students
learnfirsthandhowtheirperformanceimpactstherestoftheteam.Studentathletesmustfindtheirplace,whetheritisto
bealeaderoftheteamortoplayasupportingrole.

PositiveMentors

Highschoolathleticsarefilledwithpositivementors,fromthecoachesonthesidelinestotheleadersontheteam.
Studentslearntoworkwithawiderangeofauthorityfigures,whoteachthemimportantlessonsabouthardwork,
respectandgoodsportsmanship.Earlyexperienceswithmentorslikethesehelpshapestudentathletesinpositiveways
fortherestoftheirlives.

SocialRelationships

Studentswhoparticipateinsportsoftenforgeclosefriendshipswithothersontheteam.Theserelationshipsareessential
formental,emotionalandphysicalhealththroughoutthehighschoolyears.Studentsbondtogetheroveracommon
passion,andthetimetheyspendtogetheratpracticeandgamesbuildstightbondsthatoftenlastlongafterhighschoolis
over.

LeadershipSkills

Asstudentsadvancethroughtheranksofthehighschoolteam,theylearnvaluableleadershipskills.Seniorathletesare