Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Children playing a sport (soccer). Image source.
Middle childhood seems to be a great time to introduce children to organized sports, and in fact, many parents do. Nearly 3 million children play soccer in the United States (United States Youth Soccer, 2012). This activity promises to help children build social skills, improve athletically and learn a sense of competition. However, it has been suggested that the emphasis on competition and athletic skill can be counterproductive and lead children to grow tired of the game and want to quit. In many respects, it appears that children's activities are no longer children's activities once adults become involved and approach the games as adults rather than children. The U.S. Soccer Federation recently advised coaches to reduce the amount of drilling engaged in during practice and to allow children to play more freely and to choose their own positions. The hope is that this will build on their love of the game and foster their natural talents.
Sports are important for children. Children's participation in sports has been linked to:
Higher levels of satisfaction with family and overall quality of life in children
Improved physical and emotional development
Better academic performance
Yet, a study on children's sports in the United States (Sabo & Veliz, 2008) has found that gender, poverty, location, ethnicity, and disability can limit opportunities to engage in sports. Girls were more likely to have never participated in any type of sport (see Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). They also found that fathers may not be providing their daughters as much support as they do their sons. While boys rated their fathers as their biggest mentor who taught them the most about sports, girls rated coaches and physical education teachers as their key mentors. Sabo and Veliz also found that children in suburban neighborhoods had a much higher participation of sports than boys and girls living in rural or urban centers. In addition, Caucasian girls and boys participated in organized sports at higher rates than minority children (see Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)).
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). Participation in organized and team sports (percent) by gender. Source: Sabo & Veliz, 2008.
Total girls \((n=1051)\). Total boys \((n=1081)\).Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\). Percent of students participating in organized sports, by gender, race and ethnicity. Source: Sabo & Veliz, 2008.
Girls – Caucasian \((n=425)\); African-American \((n=106)\); Hispanic \((n=124)\); Asian \((n=55)\)
Boys – Caucasian \((n=435)\); African-American \((n=127)\); Hispanic \((n=123)\); Asian \((n=99)\)
Finally, Sabo and Veliz asked children who had dropped out of organized sports why they left. For both girls and boys, the number one answer was that it was no longer any fun (see Table \(\PageIndex{1}\)). According to the Sport Policy and Research Collaborative (SPARC) (2013), almost 1 in 3 children drop out of organized sports, and while there are many factors involved in the decisions to drop out, one suggestion has been the lack of training that coaches of children's sports receive may be contributing to this attrition (Barnett et al., 1992). Several studies have found that when coaches receive proper training, the drop-out rate is about 5% instead of the usual 30% (FraserThomas et al., 2005; SPARC, 2013).
Table \(\PageIndex{1}\). Top Reasons Children Dropped Out or Stopped Playing Organized/Team Sports.
Girls
Boys
I was not having fun
38%
I was not having fun
39%
I wanted to focus more on studying and grades
36%
I had a health problem or injury
29%
I had a health problem or injury
27%
I wanted to focus more on studying and grades
26%
I wanted to focus more on other clubs or activities
22%
I did not like or get along with the coach
22%
I did not like or get along with the coach
18%
I wanted to focus more on other clubs or activities
18%
I did not like or get along with others on the team
16%
I did not like or get along with others on the team
16%
I was not a good enough player
15%
I was not a good enough player
15%
My family worried about me getting hurt or injured while playing sports
14%
My family worried about me getting hurt or injured while playing sports
12%
Source: Sabo, D., & Veliz, P. (2008). Go Out and Play: Youth Sports in America. East Meadows, NY: Women’s Sports.
More recent statistics show that while almost 58% of children 6-17 years old engage in physical sports, there are many disparities based on age, gender, ethnicity and SES (Hyde et al, 2020). Based on questions asked in the National Survey of Children's Health 2017-18, it was found that kids between 10 and 13 were most likely (61.1% to participate while the youngest kids were the least likely (57%). Girls were less likely to participate than boys were. White children were most likely to participate, and education and income levels played a role as well.
Welcome to the world of esports:
According to Discover Esports (2017), esportsis a form of competition with the medium being video games. Players use computers or specific video game consoles to play video games against each other. In addition to playing themselves, children my just watch others play the video games. The recent SPARC (2016) report on the "State of Play" in the United States highlights a disturbing trend. One in four children between the ages of 5 and 16 rate playing computer games with their friends as a form of exercise. Over half of males and about 20% of females, aged 12–19, say they are fans of esports. Since 2008 there has also been a downward trend in the number of sports children are engaged in, despite a body of research evidence that suggests that specializing in only one activity can increase the chances of injury, while playing multiple sports is protective (SPARC, 2016). A University of Wisconsin study found that 49% of athletes who specialized in a sport experienced an injury compared with 23% of those who played multiple sports (McGuine, 2016).
Physical Education:
For many children, physical education in school is a key component in introducing children to sports. After years of schools cutting back on physical education programs, there has been a turnaround, prompted by concerns over childhood obesity and the related health issues. Despite these changes, currently only the state of Oregon and the District of Columbia meet PE guidelines of a minimum of 150 minutes per week of physical activity in elementary school and 225 minutes in middle school (SPARC, 2016).
Clearly the pandemic created unprecedented challenges in teaching PE. Through qualitative interviews with teachers in 8 international contexts, Howley (2021) found that the inequities seen across the board were apparent in this domain as well. It required flexibility and establishing rapport with students as well as socioemotional support in order for the teachers to find a way forward. The pandemic and lockdown have ended. However we need to think about 1. the ways in which children's health was impacted as moderated by these challenges in physical education for those two years, and 2. how those lessons learned can be carried forward in examining inequity and implementing PE curricula across the world.
