The role of sport in the society, and more particularly in
schools, has been debated for many decades. There are divergent point of view
on the value of sport, with proponents on one end of the continuum hailing
sport as having the same goals and objectives as all of education and on the
other end those who purport that sport is an entertainment enterprise that
should be separated from education altogether.
A Brief Historical Perspective
According to WIKIPEDIA, Sport is all form of competitive
physical activities which, through casual or organised participation, aim to
use, maintain or improve physical ability and provide entertainment to participants.
“Sport” comes from the old French word meaning “leisure”,
with the oldest definition in English from around 1300 being “anything humans
find amusing or entertaining”. The Chinese term for sport, “tiyu” connotes
physical training. The Modern Greek term for sport is “athlitismos” directly cognate
with the English terms “athlete” and “athleticism”.
Others meanings include gambling and events staged for the
purpose of gambling; hunting and games and diversion
The debate continues as to the value of sport in education.
Sport is ingrained in society as both an educational fixture and an
entertainment enterprise. The argument continues as to whether or not sport
holds valued benefits for its youth and young adult participants and therefore
warrants a prominent place in the educational system.
Youth Participation
Youth Sports present children with opportunities for fun,
socialization, and forming peer relationships, physical fitness, and athletic
scholarships. Activist for education encourage youth sports as a means to
increase educational participation. Youth Sport Participation is now popular in
Nigeria. Sport like Chess, Draft, Volleyball, Tennis, Basketball, Handball,
Beach Soccer, Cricket, Golf, etc. are becoming popular in Nigeria, With the
help of Government and Sponsors Sport can be major source of revenue in
Nigeria.
Benefits of Sports to a Child's
Development
A wide spectrum of outcomes has been attributed to
modern-day sports and play. Critics have condemned sport for fostering
excessive violence, an overemphasis on competition and winning, and the
exploitation of individuals. Sport proponents have extolled the value of sport
as a contributor to health, personal fulfillment, and community integration.
It is important to look at how sport has the potential for
producing positive outcomes in educational and noneducational settings for
children and youth. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has proposed a model for
systematically assessing the potential positive outcomes of sports and the
conditions necessary to produce them. The Csikszentmihalyi model is based on
the premise that four main types of consequences are of importance when
examining and/or evaluating any sport activity. Two of these consequences are
present at the individual level: personal enjoyment and personal growth; and
two are at the community level: social harmony/integration and social
growth/change. In relation to this model, an ideal sport activity is one that
contributes in significant ways to all four types of outcomes.
Leonard Wankel and Philip Kreisel have identified five
factors that should be present for a child or youth to experience the benefit
of personal enjoyment in sport: personal accomplishment, excitement of the
sport, improving one's sports skills, testing one's skills against others, and
just performing the skills. These factors are thought to contribute most to the
enjoyment of sport.
Personal growth includes a variety of physical and
psychological factors. Physical health can be maintained and improved through
sport participation by enhancing the cardiovascular system; improving blood
pressure and cholesterol levels; increasing muscular strength; improving
muscular endurance, flexibility, and bone density; and weight management.
Because sports are a major type of activity in which children and youth are
involved, it is considered a viable method of promoting good health. Lifetime
sports, such as golf, tennis, swimming, and cycling, are especially beneficial
in meeting nationally established health objectives. Early childhood
participation in sport can minimize the emphasis on competition and focus on
skill instruction. However, sports may not be a sufficient substitute for
physical education programs in the schools. Quality physical education
curriculums that have developmentally appropriate physical activities which
provide the necessary foundations in motor skill, movement acquisition, and behavioural
development can enable children and youth to become successful participants in
organized sport.
Numerous studies support the positive relationship that
exists between psychological well-being and regular involvement in physical
activity, especially in the areas of reduction of anxiety and depression.
Conditions to maximize such outcomes are usually associated with individual
preferences related to activity type; environmental factors; level of
competition or intensity of activity; and individual versus group format.
Sport has also been shown to serve as a mechanism for the
transmission of values, knowledge, and norms in creating social harmony. The
specific values conveyed may be those of the dominant society, or they could be
those of a subgroup. Therefore, sport could contribute to either
differentiation and stratification or to integration into the overall society.
Evidence indicates that different sports appeal to different social
stratifications in the society and may reinforce cultural or societal
differences. Sport also may serve to transmit general societal values, which
leads many sport authorities to believe that sport has positive value for the
participants in building character, discipline, a strong work ethic, and the
ability to work in teams. The research literature supports the importance of
de-emphasizing winning and competition and thereby moving young people into
positive and enjoyable experiences. Unfortunately, the trend has been toward a
more competitive, "win-oriented" framework, which has created
increased aggression and violent behaviors among spectators and youth
participants. This has led to many national forums at the high school,
collegiate, and community levels to reassess the sport culture.
Positive outcomes related to socialization and social
integration are also dependent upon appropriate leadership, as well as the
creation of a climate for this to occur within the sport experience. Changes
within sport and change in the general society have a symbiotic relationship -
general societal changes affect sport, and changes in sport can also affect
society.
Conclusion
Youth sports participation can have many benefits for the
individual and for society. However, it is evident that sports can produce
negative consequences if quality programs are not developed. Schools and
communities can strive for the highest standards by educating and training coaches,
deterring the professionalization of youth sports programs, and abiding by the
guidelines established by national sport governing bodies, so that sports
programs have optimal benefit for all youth, regardless of age, gender,
ethnicity, or ability.
