Participation in
Sports: Keeping your Kids out of
Trouble
Jonny Nava
Period 3
Mrs. Kutzner
AP Language and Composition
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Many students in school participate in various sports. More than 60 % of teens in the United States have participated in at least one sport in their lifetime. Have you been a participant in sports? Sports have been known to build confidence, teamwork, and sportsmanship, but some argue that sports lead to delinquency. That however is false due to the fact that statistics show that sports actually motivate teens to stay out of of trouble, by: doing well academically, staying out of trouble in school, and keeping other teammates out of trouble etc. While there is a large percentage of teens staying out of trouble because of sports, the other percentile is falling victims of delinquency. Although participation in sports do keep teens out of trouble, they also do much more than that. Sports serve more than just a physical purpose, such as teaching teamwork. Individual sports like wrestling stimulate a team environment for teens to challenge themselves, support each other and cheer each other on. Sports also provide additional role models positive adult influences in a teen's life through coaches and athletic staff. Teens who participate in sports are guided by state rules and regulations, as well as school rules they must follow to be satisfactory. This
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consists of a minimum grade point average, not failing any classes, and being held to a higher standard for citizenship in their school and community. Participation in sports builds teamwork, self esteem, confidence, keeps you in shape, and keeps teens out of trouble, as it motivates them to stay focused on their academics in order to be eligible to participate in sports.
Participation in sports is a very important factor for teens to stay out of trouble. While participating in sports you have very little or no time at all to be involved in the many troubles this world has to offer. Teens are so focused on trying to complete other tasks and doing positive things, they don't have as much time to get into trouble(Dossie).
Teen delinquency has always been an issue, but now they start to blame sports as one of the main causes. Although sports may not keep one hundred percent of teens out of trouble, they still overall keep most teens out of trouble. Some believe that delinquency isn’t caused by sports, but rather because of the amount of free time they have. According to Borden et al (2005), most teens that get themselves into trouble do so because of the amount of free time that they have (Cotton). Because of sports taking up the free time they have, they
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have to almost no time to get into trouble. In many schools, some of the programs engaged in after school hours are specifically targeted at reducing the amount of free time that a teen has. If they had a sport to play that would keep them busy for an extra two hours after school and a game to play one day on the weekend would keep them out of trouble(Carroll). Being a participant in sports has really changed me. By playing sports teens, sometimes may feel a sense of accomplishment. It may also build self esteem. Sports may challenge their abilities and may contribute to them doing well in school. I have been playing sports all of my life, and I can really say they motivate me to stay out of trouble also even more your high school years if you are trying to achieve a scholarship for athletics.
Academics plays a great factor for participating in sports. In order to be eligible to play your sport you have to do well in school of course. In addition if you are trying to achieve a scholarship, academics is what colleges are looking for, and that combined with the talent you have with your sport you can achieve great accomplishments, such as: go to the school of your dreams, or go professional. Many schools only allow students to participate in extracurricular
