LEARNING BY DOING

Rooting for Youth Through Sports

A win-win situation

Sure, it’s nice to win, but the love of the game is what inspires most young people to play. Participating in organized sports has advantages for youth physically, socially, emotionally, and academically. Competing athletically increases strength, improves endurance, and helps to control weight. Young people who play sports also build character and self-esteem.

Studies suggest that young people who play sports are less likely to smoke, drink, try drugs, become sexually active, or join gangs. Further, by learning how to work as a team, young people learn effective communication, cooperation, and good sportsmanship.

Unfortunately, in a youth culture obsessed with sports and sports heroes, and even with having the most high-tech sneakers, too few young people have the opportunity to participate in organized sports. In many communities, sports leagues, facilities, and equipment can be cost-prohibitive. Some neighborhoods are just too unsafe to play outside. Here’s how some programs have leveled the playing field:

Burton’s Chill Program (www.burton.com/chill) gives disadvantaged, at-risk youth everything they need to learn to snowboard: bus transportation, instruction, lift tickets, and all the jackets, gloves, hats, boots, and bindings required. At the same time, young people learn patience, persistence, courage, and pride and get a “peak” at life’s possibilities, learning a skill they may never have dreamed would be available to them. The Chill Program operates in 14 cities across the country and adds new sites every year.

Young people who play Midnight Basketball must attend workshops on issues like drug abuse prevention, HIV/STD awareness, and conflict resolution, before they can get on the court. Midnight Basketball, which operates in 50 cities across the country, helps keep youth off the streets by offering them the opportunity to play organized basketball during late night hours, a time when some young people are most vulnerable to violence and crime. Players are subject to stringent rules regarding attendance and performance in school, as well as service in the community.

No Hooks Before Books (www.nohooksbeforebooks.org) is a Baltimore-based boxing club that combines athletic training with academic development. Boxing is the draw, but the academic development of youth is paramount. Three days a week, young club members receive tutoring in math, reading, and even the basics of law, thanks to a partnership with the University of Baltimore. The club has become so popular, it now hosts a baseball team, a dance squad, a computer lab, and GED classes.

Clearly, some programs are getting youth in the game. So how can you get youth running, jumping, kicking, and passing? Here’s how to get moving.

Tips for engaging youth through sports

• Give awards and recognition for participation and teamwork in sports rather than awards for winning.
  
  
• Model fairness, respect for the rules of the game, and respect for other players; and reward players who do the same.
  
  
• Focus on elements of sports, such as discipline, confidence, and commitment, and teach young people how to apply what they learn in athletics to other areas of their lives.
  
  
• If possible, offer a variety of team and individual activities in the program to appeal to a diverse group of young people. Besides football, basketball, and baseball, consider teaching gymnastics, skateboarding, boxing, ballet, or golf.
  
  
• Make sports equipment available to young people after school and during lunch breaks when they tend to be idle. Getting active can be as simple as tossing around a Frisbee.
  
  
• Collaborate with bowling alleys, skate rinks, and parks and recreation departments to create sports programs for youth.
  
  
• Help kids organize and partner with adults or local businesses in the community to create places to play sports, like a baseball field or a skate park.
  
  
• Collaborate with local sports teams to create programming or mentoring opportunities for youth, or get college athletes to volunteer to coach.
  
  
• Encourage youth to volunteer at sporting events.
  
  
• Help youth organize a celebration for national sports month in May.

Resources

Learning by Doing was developed for the Family and Youth Services Bureau; Administration on Children, Youth and Families; Administration for Children and Families; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY). For more information on ways to engage young people, please go to ncfy.acf.hhs.gov, or contact NCFY at (301) 608-8098.