Benefits of Participating in High School Sports
Special post to GreensboroSports.com, courtesy of Naomi Cook
Academics is typically a competitive world.
Many students strive to obtain the highest possible grade point averages (GPA). Moreover, the pressure to achieve excellent grades increases significantly for students seeking to attend a premier university.
It appears that many students today face an overwhelming amount of pressure to succeed. For example, a Pew Research survey showed that academic pressure tops teenagers’ list of stressors: 61 % of the participants say they stress over getting good grades.
There’s nothing wrong with pursuing academic excellence. However, a well-rounded life is crucial to a young person’s physical, cognitive, and social development.
Suppose you’re a teenage student experiencing much stress over academic stuff. In that case, one way to maintain your body and mind’s health is to engage in high school sports.
For instance, a study suggests that physical activity’s volume and intensity directly affect an individual’s heart rate variability (HRV). HRV may be vital for your physical and mental health as a marker of the body’s adaptability. Know more about this on this page.
As a high schooler, you may wonder about the possible benefits of participating in high school sports. This article lists and explains those potential benefits.
Read on to learn more about how sports can help enrich your high school experience and, ultimately, your overall well-being.
Health and Wellness Benefits
Maintaining physical activity is crucial, particularly for a developing body.
High school sports may assist participants in developing training habits, skills, and healthy competitiveness at a young age. Moreover, these outcomes may help young athletes continue their active lifestyles into adulthood, maintaining their bodies’ health.
Here’s a list of sports’ potential health and wellness benefits:
* Young male sports players may be less likely to smoke cigarettes, use drugs, and carry weapons.
* Physically active children may be less prone to obesity. These individuals may also be more likely to have reduced stroke, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes risk.
* Team sports participation may assist in developing physical skills, including functional movement, hand-eye coordination, and strength.
* Physical activity can improve a child’s understanding of competence, health, and self-worth.
If regular physical activity is critical for adults’ health and well-being, it’s also the case for young individuals.
Young athletes can get the cardiovascular and muscular training needed to care for their bodies and brains through sports such as soccer, football, and wrestling.
Academic and Career Benefits
Some students find that participating in athletics helps them focus and do better in class.
Here are some ways playing high school sports may benefit your academics and future career:
* High school students participating in sports, particularly female students, may be less likely to drop out.
* Former student-athletes may be more likely to earn more money in their future careers than those who did not participate in sports.
* High school sports players may be more likely to have higher GPAs when participating in team sports.
* Physically active children have a 15% higher chance of attending college.
There are two primary ways sports participation may impact academic performance.
The first way is simple: usually, school sports participation has minimum grade requirements.
On the other hand, the second way sports affect academic performance is by helping the brain function well.
Students find that studying their sports team’s plays and tactics improves their logic skills in the classroom. For other children, the mentoring they receive through athletics or the bonds they form with their teammates positively impacts their academic performance.
Life and Social Benefits
Students who experience the highs and lows of competition with their teammates throughout an athletic season are more likely to become close friends.
Sports offer various opportunities for social interaction. When playing sports, you may encourage your teammates’ growth, lift them when they make mistakes, and help them achieve their goals.
Moreover, high school sports teams provide participants with an environment where they can bond, form friendships, and establish a support system that may last well into their adult years.
The following list indicates what advantages playing high school sports can give students:
* Greater self-assurance and self-respect
* Stronger peer connections
* Better interaction with parents and a stronger sense of family attachment
* More inclination to vote, volunteer, and keep up with the news
Cooperation and teamwork abilities are crucial at every stage of life. For instance, the capacity to get along with people and collaborate with them to achieve a goal is essential to leading a happy life, from the playground and the sports field to the boardroom.
Student-athletes may develop practical social and life skills while participating in high school sports like tennis, golf, and volleyball.
As a student, you know high school is not always a walk in the park. You also have many daily tasks and responsibilities. Sometimes, these duties grow tough, making it more challenging for you to get through a school day.
Still, there are many ways to ease academic pressure, and playing sports is one of the best ways to divert your attention.
Engaging in organized sports, whether through a local recreational league, youth sports club, or school, can provide you with multiple advantages. These benefits include better physical, cognitive, and social development.
It is worth your effort to engage in sports to develop many excellent life skills and keep yourself mentally sharp and physically healthy.
References
1. Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety and Depression as a Major Problem Among Their Peers
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/
2. Relation between physical exertion and heart rate variability characteristics in professional cyclists during the Tour of Spain
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/38/5/568
3. Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21773-heart-rate-variability-hrv
4. Sports Participation and Health-Related Behaviors Among US Youth
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/351023
5. Why Play Matters
https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/youth-sports/facts
6. Participation in Sports and Civic Engagement. Fact Sheet
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED495209