The Utah State Board of Education believes that the “goal of physical education is to develop healthy, responsible students who have the knowledge, skills and dispositions to work together in groups, think critically, and participate in a variety of activities that lead to a lifelong healthy lifestyle.” (schools.utah.gov/curr/pe)
While high school sports have always been seen as a way for students to get a leg up, if you will, into college, there are other practical benefits of kids of all ages playing sports in general, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (nfhs.org).
Those benefits include learning self-discipline, building self-confidence and developing teamwork, as well as learning fair play and work ethic and developing skills for practical situations.
“Research tells us that students who are physically active for 60 minutes a day have higher self-confidence and more active synapses in the brain, experience a decrease in chronic illnesses, and are less likely to be absent from school,” according to the Utah State Board of Education. “Such students are ready for career and college success. Time given to physical activity in school must not only be incorporated, but also be of the highest
quality.”
High school sports also motivate students to set better attendance records and study harder, which also raises their grade point average, according to the NFHS.
The Utah High School Activities Association (uhsaa.org) also notes that participation in sports fosters the following:
• Promote sportsmanship and safe competition through standardized eligibility rules
• Provide interscholastic sports, music, theater and speech
• Create learning laboratories where practical life situations, teamwork, sportsmanship, winning and losing, hard work,
leadership and cooperation are taught
• Nurture self-realization and build
self-confidence
• Promote, through participation, higher
academic achievement, better attendance,
lower drop-out rates and positive citizenship
Taking those points a step further, the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition Science Board (PCSFN), through various studies, found that physical activity is key to improving the overall mental and physical health of the nation.
Mental, emotional and social health benefits of participating in sports include:
• Lower rates of anxiety and depression
• Lower amounts of stress
• Higher self-esteem and confidence
• Reduced risk of suicide
• Less substance abuse and fewer
risky behaviors
• Increased cognitive performance
• Increased creativity
• Greater enjoyment of all forms
of physical activity
• Improved psychological and
emotional well-being for individuals with disabilities
• Increased life satisfaction
Physical health benefits of
participating in sports include:
• Improved bone health
• Improved weight status
• Increased cardiorespiratory and
muscular fitness
• Reduced risk of cancer and
diabetes
• Increased physical activity
levels
• Improved cardiovascular fitness
• Decreased body fat percentage for girls
• Increased overall quality of life
Additional benefits include:
• High school athletes are more likely to attend and graduate from a four-year college
• Improved teamwork, social skills and social responsibility
• Improved life skills (e.g., goal setting,
time management, work ethic, empathy,
negotiation)
• Increased empowerment, personal responsibility, and self-control
• Improved educational and occupational
skills (e.g., determination, perseverance,
grit, resilience, critical thinking)
• Higher levels of academic achievement
• Greater leadership qualities
• A decrease in direct, indirect, and personal health care costs (collectively, up to $28
billion per year)
• A stronger long-term labor market
• Reduced stress
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