Does being on a sports team in school better prepare you, compared to those that don’t, job-wise, social interaction-wise, marriage-wise etc.? Are there studies that support any of these ideas that do not come from sports related organizations?
I suspect it wouldn’t be hard to find anecdotal evidence from individuals who gained such benefits from being on sports teams in school.
But could “studies” establish causation as opposed to just correlation?
I hesitate even to post such an unhelpful response, but you could consider it a thread bump.
Sports are a way people form connections that can lead to job opportunities down the line.
Agree.
I’m a former sports coach and the mantra when I was learning that trade was “sports builds character” and team sports are a metaphor for working together…
Yeah, maybe. And for some people I’m sure that’s true. But I think you can easily find other people who got the same thing from being on the debate team or performing in their high school’s musical. Or being a stagehand for their high school’s musical. You could also find people who played individual, rather than team sports and got good life lessons.
And surely there are many people who participated in sports and it just made them better assholes and bullies. All this to say, there’s a reason I departed that line of work. I think the “sports builds character” stuff is much over-played. To me, the important thing for kids is that they find SOMETHING they like, get a little obsessed with and build skills and knowledge. Could be a musical instrument, skateboarding, riding unicycles… Anything that gets a person engaged with learning without someone else making them do it. I suspect that kind of thing more likely correlates with being good in the workplace and personal satisfaction.
These are just some of the straws grasped at whenever someone is asked to justify athletics in education. It’s easier than just admitting that without sports a lot more kids would find nothing of interest at school.
Yes, I’ve heard that. Is it true?
The OP is specifically asking for studies that don’t come from sports organizations as opposed to anecdotes. We all know why they are supposed to be good for you.
I googled a bit and couldn’t find any actual data at all. There were plenty of what are basically opinion pieces and nearly all of those are from sports related magazines and journals or just one person’s experiences.
I can say the same thing of people I knew in the gifted program at school, or honor society. I think anything that gives kids a reason to think they’re superior to other kids, it’s going to produce assholes and bullies. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if sports has a greater share given the higher profile.
Yes, this. Sports can be good for kids (I played soccer and think it was good for me) but so many other activities can do the same thing
But how does that differ from any other social activity?
nevermind
It is attractive to different people. I doubt there’s anything unique to sports, but i also think “sports can be part of a balance diet”, if you know what i mean.
But so can strawberry Frosted Pop Tarts.