The Young Athlete
Chapter One
The Benefits of Youth Sports
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO (A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY)
Sports are for fun, but they also offer benefits and lessons that
carry over into all aspects of life.
When kids are asked why they play sports, here's what they say:
To have fun
To improve their skills
To learn new skills
To be with their friends
To make new friends
To succeed or win
To become physically fit
Kids usually get the benefits they seek from sports and more. Kids
need attention and respect (in that order), but they have few ways
to get them. What is unique about sports is that they offer kids an
arena where they can earn attention and respect by exerting their
natural abilities. Kids are good at sports because sports are
essentially about speed, strength, coordination, vision, creativity,
and responsiveness-the necessary physical attributes are the
attributes of youth.
Given that athletics involves all aspects of the human being, it is
not surprising that pa ... read full excerpt from The Young Athlete: A Sports Doctor's Complete Guide for Parents ebook
