Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Participation in youth sports is widespread in the United States. The benefits of sport can be seen in health, as well as academic outcomes. However, these benefits are not enjoyed by all learners, especially in the transition to adolescence where childhood obesity is on the rise. Sport systems that focus on elite athletes and sports specialization comes at the expense of the majority of learners. These learners are discouraged to continue participation in organized sport and therefore do not develop the healthy habits for physical activity. The result is that learners adopt sedentary life styles and experience its attendant health problems across their lifespan. By decontextualizing youth sports from the larger curricular aims of education many school programs are doing a disservice to their learners. The singular focus on winning is the objective of commercial sports; while sport in schools should be concerned with physical education, goal setting, team work, and fair play, and other aims to promote physical activity. We argue for a health promotion approach to youth sports that puts all learners on the path to life-long healthy behaviors.