Do Youth Sports Build Good Character?

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Are youth sports beneficial or harmful to youth development? Are these benefits or disadvantages the same across gender lines? One of the claims of youth sports is that it builds good character. Is this a true statement, why does youth sports build good character? How is character determined and what is it about youth sports that instills character? Can sports foster good characteristics, self-esteem and social skills and are there outside influences that effect the individual young athletes? I hope to answer these questions as well as dig into the differences among genders in youth sports. I also hope to gain insight into the importance of family participation in youth sports and the role the coach and family play in fostering well-rounded…show more content…
From infanthood, our family is who we learn from and is ultimately the deciding factor in how we view ourselves as well as other. When youth players have a strong familial background, it is easier to foster a good dynamic in their chosen sport. One cannot develop characteristics or self-esteem solely from sports. The family has to be involved 100% in and out of the sport. Having a parent as a personal cheerleader and coach can have extremely positive effects on a youth player an ‘in terms of child development, positive parental involvement can help develop important skills such as self-esteem, motivation and social skills’…show more content…
Sports have become an “all or nothing” venture. Many sports, even youth, have moved away from combining real life scenarios, and enjoying the game to hard core competiveness and individual shine. Sports teams have moved on to focus on their “shining stars” and it completely takes away from the prospective benefits of sports. It is not the sport itself that suggest people who do not play sports are better people, but rather it is all about presentation and understanding. When looking at character development and self-esteem in youth sports, we must also take into account the differences between team sports and individual sports. Again, presentation is key. Those who opt for individual sports do not fare better because of the individuality but rather team sports have become a competition between

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