Many people across the world play on sports teams.  Sports allow for kids and even adults to not only get to play their sport of choice but also make friends with people on their team.  I have played on several different teams over the years and I enjoyed playing on all of them. Sports can affect kids mentally and physically in very positive ways.  There are valuable lessons learned and skills earned during a child’s journey through youth sports teams.  

Playing sports can help you obtain skills that you will need in your future as well.  Many coaches always say that their job is to not only make us better players but also better people too.  Gabe Kerzmann, a Junior at Pennridge High School, said that, “They have helped me manage my time a lot better in school and in life in general.”  Even as an adult, the skills I learned from playing on a sports team will help me in my future job.  Dealing with criticism and having to deal with rude teammates is going to give you experience in a workplace environment.  Throughout High School, I have found out that when I was not playing sports my grades suffered because I became lazy.  When I play sports, I have to use the smaller amount of time that I have wisely which makes me work harder.  

Playing sports as a kid is more for the social aspect.  Trying to make friends and just being around kids your age. A study was done to show how big of an impact sports teams can make on kids.  In the study they found that 88% of the kids felt an improvement in their health and 73% said that they felt an improvement in their mental health.  Sports teams can affect your mental health by being on a winning team.  Winning is the ultimate goal for a sports team, and it can affect how well the team continues to play and the team’s attitude.  Dylan Najarian, a student at Pennridge High School, explained how his mood is affected by a sports team, “When my team’s form is good, my mood is good.”  Sports can have a very positive impact on a person’s mental health and their mood.  Momentum occurs in sports not only when a team is performing exceptionally well for a period of time, but when the team has a positive attitude that radiates throughout the games they play. 

  The main feature of sports, of course, is how they affect you physically. How sports affects you mentally and the skills you learn are important, but as you get older and more competitive, the physical attribute is more important.  When you are on a sports team and have games and practices constantly, you are forced to exercise.  For school teams, there is practice every weekday so towards the end of the season you are in great shape for that sport.  Dr. Cindy Gellner is a pediatrician who has kids who play sports and she talked about how sports benefit children physically. She said that kids who play sports have stronger muscles and bones, their weight stays under control, and improvement is seen in their cardiovascular endurance.  I run winter and spring track and during the seasons I am exhausted after the practices, but as the season goes on, I feel improvement more and more.  In track and field, you train with your teammates so to make you and your teammates better, you compete against each other to see who gets the faster time.  Teammates help you because it becomes a competition to see who gets better, which pushes you and your teammates.  

To get the most out of sports, I found that playing multiple sports help.  I played on baseball, soccer, and track teams, and they all made me learn different lessons.  When I ran track, I was in the best shape of my life at the conclusion of each season.  During soccer I learned how important teamwork is and being able to communicate with your teammates makes the game easier.  During baseball I learned the most life lessons.  Being on a sports teams allows kids to have fun, be active, and learn valuable life lessons.