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The Impact of Sports on Youth

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Two weeks ago as I was finishing up a basketball practice at the English School of Nicosia, a child’s parent approached me. He was very enthusiastic that his child was joining PeacePlayers, but then he asked a me a direct question, why is an organization like PeacePlayers involved in sports? That is a great question I thought, but as I began to answer, I realized that I could not possibly answer such an in depth question adequately, it was topic that deserved a longer explanation.

With more and more nonprofit organizations around the world turning to youth sports as a tool for change, people are beginning to realize the immense impact it can have. It is well documented that sports training can contribute to enhancing the health of young players, including the development of personal and social values such as commitment, perseverance, responsibility, teamwork and respect. We emphasize these values in our PeacePlayers basketball practices. Our coaches challenge players to come up with examples in their own lives where they use respect, and have even asked our kids to act out situations where respect was either shown or not shown.

Youth basketball is also important to developing psychological resources such as self-confidence, self concept, self-esteem and self-control. Increasing a child’s confidence is really important, showing him or her that through practice you can make real improvement. We try to focus on a child’s strengths, giving 3 times as much positive feedback for every time we point out what a child is doing wrong. This technique has been shown to increase the child’s self-esteem, and motivation to work harder.

But youth sports not always a positive experience for youngsters. It is vital that the environment in which the kids plays is a positive one, and many times this has to do with the coach. That is why PeacePlayers’s coaches emphasize the importance of providing the players with positive experiences such as having fun, feeling competent and receiving the appreciation of others.



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