At Hinds Energy, we believe in the immense impact that youth sports can have on the community and how much we can help in our kid’s futures. That’s why we do our best to support them in any way we can. We are proud to be the primary sponsor of the Ice House Hawks, Susquehanna Little League, and Montrose Football and were able to help 165 kids to play baseball and provide them with full uniforms and equipment. As an organization, we value community and strive to invest heavily in children’s programs for 2023. Please click here if you’d like to know more about who we are and what we do.
Sport remains the most incredible way to support our kids and help them evolve in many ways. With an extensive list of benefits, we can see how much value goes into supporting our children’s development through sport. That may mean some early mornings and long car trips, but you’ll be introducing not only amazing memories, but vital life skills. Sign up your kids for youth sports today.
The Impact Community Sports Has on Children
Watching our children frolic around on the football field, adorably try and dribble a basketball or suddenly catapult a baseball into the left field are some of the highlights for us as parents. Yet, what we don’t realize is while our kids are simply enjoying their time and learning, we are impacting their development immensely. Not only will their physical health flourish, but they will also be enhancing their psychological health too. It’s a win-win situation. So, along with allowing the kids to release their stagnant energy, make some new friends and understand the importance of working as a team, let’s dig into what the benefits and impact of children’s community sports are.
Benefits Of Youth Sport
Importance of Physical Health
It’s easy to start with the benefit that’s the most obvious. Overall, physical health is a massive gain when entering your children into youth sports. The World Health Organization states those between the ages of 5 – 17 years “should do at least an average of 60 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity, mostly aerobic, physical activity, across the week.” Why? because the benefits of this are:
• Improve muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Improve bone and functional health.
• Reduce the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, various types of cancer (including breast cancer and colon cancer), and depression.
• Reduce the risk of falls as well as hip or vertebral fractures.
• Help maintain a healthy body weight.
Recognizing and Promoting Good Mental Health
With all that has been going on in our lives for the past two or so years, we need to promote good mental health in our kids. The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition Science Board (PCSFN) provides an excellent report on how significant youth participation in community sports can truly be. They have reported that “73 percent of parents believe that sports benefit their child’s mental health.” This works because our youth partaking in physical activities can reduce rates of anxiety, depression, stress, risky behaviors and substance abuse. It also produces higher rates of self-esteem, confidence, cognitive performance, creativity, psychological and emotional well-being for those with disabilities and an increase in life satisfaction.
Elevating Social Skills
Community is one of the most important things in our lives. With technology advancing and many of us needing to stay busy with work and commitments, it can be hard to understand the significance. Not only can sports take the phones out of their hands, but it can promote:
- valuable social skills and responsibility.
- the importance of teamwork.
- improved communication.
- time management.
- goal setting.
- work ethic and empathy.
- leadership qualities.
- enhanced academic performance and more.
Overall, the social skills gained in youth sports are substantial and can positively set your kids up for a great future.
