Why do you do sports? Research shows there are many benefits as well as negative effects when the youth play sports. Overall sports can improve your health, you can do better academically, and can cut down on stress, but sports can cause life long injuries and build to much pressure on one’s young body.

With the several benefits of sports, they offer many health benefits. Sports will help with your fitness and weight goals.“I do sports to stay healthy,” sophomore Sam Granner said.  They also encourage healthy decisions such as not smoking or drinking.”I think sports have been very positive for students because it gives them opportunities to do something they enjoy doing,” sports director Matt Alexander said.  Your team counting on you to show up and work hard is plenty of motivation for you to get to the gym day in and day out. “I do sports to stay in shape to be more involved,” sophomore Sierra Parker said.

Another positive benefit, sports can help you academically. “I think sports can help you academically because it gives you the sense of what it takes to succeed and it helps improve work ethic,” Alexander said.  Many people think sports are a distraction from school, but this is actually the opposite. Sports require memorization, repetition and learning skills that are directly relevant to classwork. “They’re fun and they keep me in shape you learn life skills,” freshman Emma Templeton said. The determination and goal-setting skills sports require can be transferred to the classroom. “I do sports because it teaches me hard work with other people and teaches me good characteristics of life that you need for the rest of your life.” junior Jake Redler said.

Taking part in physical activities can also reduce stress. When you take part in sports you make close bonds with new people and make friends. “It relieves stress,” sophomore Cambry Miller said. Friends are your very own support system, so by making friends in activities you have more of a boost of confidence. “Being in a sports gives you the chance to meet new people and be part of a team,” Alexander said. If you’re having a bad day you can call up your teammates to give you a pickup. Freshman Kylie Neal says she does sports because she can “spend time with friends.”

Only 40 percent of teens are active in sports or activities. The amount of teen taking part in these activities are decreasing drastically. Sports success leads to many hours of training and practice which increases the risk of burnout and injuries. “There are the chance of injuries, but people are willing to risk an injury for something they enjoy doing,” Alexander said. The overuse of a muscle for an injury accounts for 50 percent of all reported sports injuries.The risk of injuries during sports rise. The intensity of sports can lead players to torn ligaments, muscle aches and other injuries. Within the Atlantic High School District during fall sports, there have been six injuries removing the player from the season.

Sports can turn into a high-pressure and anxiety-filled job for the youth. The escalating pressure to play well can increase stress and make children feel bad and lose confidence if they make a mistakes or lose.“I don’t do sports because i’m just not good at them,” junior Nicole Elits said. Research shows even players who win most of the time may lose the joy in participating because of the pressure they place on themselves. “It is very time consuming and can be difficult if you don’t manage your time well so the biggest thing is that you use every minute of your class time, and after school get your work done,” Alexander said.

“I think a student should be out for any kind of activity,” Alexander said. Although sports may be fun for you, they may be too much for another person to handle. Some people wish to play in sports but can’t participate. Sports have many benefits along with some negativities. Why do you do sports?