Top Five Reasons to Play Sports

1. To have fun.
2. To do something I’m good at.
3. To improve my skills.
4. To stay in shape.
5. To get exercise.

Benefits of Sports Participation

Increased Physical Activity
    Short-term physical health benefits associated with your child's sports participation include the following: a reduced percent body fat and improved weight regulation, blood pressure regulation, a more favorable blood lipid profile and a higher bone mineral density. The long-term physical health benefits associated with your child's participation in sports--the effects that carry over into your child's adult life--may stem from one of three possible explanations. First, childhood activity improves your child's health, which, in turn, is beneficial to adult health. Second, having an active lifestyle as a child directly benefits health during your child's adult years. Finally, it's also possible that if your child is active, he/she will become an active adult who, correspondingly, has a reduced risk for disease, relative to a sedentary adult.
Improved Self-Esteem
    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular participation in physical activity in childhood and adolescence can increase your child's self-esteem and lay the groundwork for an active adult life.
Learning Important Life Skills
    Participation in sports and physical activity introduces your child to important life skills, especially communication skills, that they might not otherwise develop until their early adult years.