Benefits Of Playing True Sport

Aaron McEwan
Percy
English 102-011
1 March, 2015
Is it more beneficial for today’s youth to be involved in individual sports, team sports, or both?

"Psychological and Social Benefits of Playing True Sport." TrueSport. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
The article elaborates on how youth sport participation allows for the development of lifelong skills at a young age. True Sport continues in their article by explaining the different types of benefits that come with playing sports in adolescent years describing benefits beyond physical ones—academic, social, and psychological skills are developed and enhanced as well. To conclude, the article reveals that sports alone do not build character in youth but that “context and environment” also play an important
"Parents ' Perspectives on the Benefits of Sport Participation for Young Children." Ebscohost.com. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Holt and Keely write about parents and their thoughts of children playing sports; however, this source is not an article, rather a study of parents’ thoughts about their children playing sports. Through Keely and Holt’s study, parents reported that their children gained a range of “personal, social, and physical benefits” from participating in sports because it allowed them to explore their abilities and build positive self-perceptions. Surprisingly, parents appeared to play the most important role in their children 's development by seizing "teachable moments" from their activities and reinforcing certain principles in the home environment. The source also distinguishes itself from the other sources because it shares the thoughts of parents specifically for the disposal of other parents; in other words, the study is like parents writing to parents, a firsthand account of what some parents thought about their kids playing team or individual sports. Although the article never shows a clear bias towards team sports as opposed to individual sports, it gives good insight into the thought process that a parent might take when contemplating letting their child go out for a
Like the other sources, this article is designed for parents of children who are interested in participating in either team or individual sports. Sampsell himself never shows a clear bias towards a child participating in team sports or individual sports, but many of the parents he interviews are biased towards their child’s sport of choice. For example, Sampsell interviews a youth league hockey coach that views his sport and team sports in general as a “community… allows kids… to feel like a part of something.” Clearly, the hockey coach would favor his team sport of hockey to an individual sport like golf. Sampsell continues by sharing the thoughts of an assistant swimming coach at Penn State and his thoughts on individual sports. The coach describes individual sports as “valuing yourself based on your performance against someone else.” You can measure your past performances against current ones and are always at battle with others and yourself in individual sports. Of all my sources, Sampsell’s article most directly relates to the topic and research question of what the best form of sport is for a child: team, individual, or