Cognitive outcomes stemming from youth sports involvement through adolescence suggest worthwhile benefits. With aerobic exercise comes greater cognitive flexibility and an improved working memory (Ludyga et al., 2018). Reduced reaction times are also indicative of youth sports' profound impact on brain development. As mentioned previously, increased production of growth factors (regulating neuron growth and survival, synaptic plasticity, and axonal pruning and regeneration) also result from increased aerobic activity, implying a relevant relationship between sports from an early age and cognitive growth (Chaddock-Heyman et al., 2018).
Youth sports involvement is also said to have a positive relationship with neurodevelopmental disorders. Regular exercise enhances additional cognitive and behavioral deficits. Abnormal structural development of white matter fibers surrounding the Corpus Callosum intensifies the cognitive and behavioral deficits for individuals with ADHD, Autism, or Schizophrenia without the relief regular exercise (Chaddock-Heyman et al., 2018).
Metacognition also benefits from incremental physical activity. Youth sports invite children to think about how their actions influence the games they play in. Explicit instruction of where skills can be improved during practices additionally reinforce an effort to grow metacognitive processes. Young players who strive toward this development will transition into adolescents well-equipped to succeed athletically, academically, and socially (Álvarez-Bueno et al., 2017).