Youth sports produce a range of long-term benefits for developing children. Many of the skills required by mindful physical activity overlap between brain structures. Behaviors and outcomes elicited by youth sports are interdisciplinary and can be applied beyond athletics to various contexts including academic and social realms; especially as children transition into adolescence. An athlete my whole life, I’ve grown physically and mentally through my experiences with fitness. This website is a vessel for sharing the research-based, wholistic and healthy development that results from participation in youth sports.

Considering the heavy influence of parents’/caregivers’ lifestyles and decisions on children’s development, exposure to a pro-sports environment from a young age impacts a child’s perspective on youth sports. The nature-nurture balance plays a huge role in one’s feelings for exercise. A pro-sports environment reflects a nurture-heavy childhood, whereas hereditary traits and physical development begin to play a larger role in one’s attitude surrounding athletics as they enter adolescence (Huppertz et al., 2016). As an individual’s sense of self develops, changing features through puberty alter decisions that were once made with an overwhelming nurture-heavy influence.

Between ages 7-18, influences begin to shift away from one’s surrounding environment towards inherited genetic attitudes (Huppertz et al., 2018). Despite this change, childhood nurturing of perspectives surrounding exercise continues to factor into inclinations to participate, even though this impact might be lesser. Adolescents develop into young adults with their inherited exercise behaviors dictating their choices more. The decision to participate in sports is often reinforced by the physical development endured during this time. While biological traits exceed childhood environmental experiences (in both males and females), enough of an impact is typically made by nurturing sources at a young age to sustain childhood views (Huppertz et al., 2018).

Independent factors play a role in children’s experiences in youth sports and how these impacts prolong through development. From a cultural perspective, a difference in sexes has traditionally served as a deciding factor concerning exercise, where males are more often encouraged. Parental decisions like age of initial involvement, selected sport, as well as the quality of these experiences with coaches & trainers also play into long-term feelings surrounding athletics (Huppertz et al., 2018). As children begin to grow relationships with others, peers start to share the influence of parents as they enter adolescence. Combined with the development of previously mentioned genetic skills (endurance, strength, flexibility, motor coordination, training response), adolescence is a unique, innate process still influenced by childhood environments. 

This project has been shared with the following school districts, in the hopes of making the developmental benefits of youth sports common knowledge:

• Geneseo Central School District

• Mount Morris Central School District

• Avon Central School District

• Livonia Central School District

I appreciate these districts for being receptive of my work and for considering the impacts of youth sports as they prepare available resources and activities for the coming school years. This project was designed to be shared with school administrators as well as the general community, to maintain an emphasis on meaningful movement that reaches beyond physical development.

I’d also like to acknowledge my professors at SUNY Geneseo, specifically Dr. Taber-Thomas for providing guidance and encouragement throughout this project; and helping me to create a thorough, informative website for the local community. My college experience has been incredibly meaningful, especially research prompted through this course. As a future educator, it's important to me that I create a learning environment that fosters realms of development past academics, so seeing the great impact of sports motivates me to incorporate meaningful exercise within my classroom routines.

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