Promoting Better Health
Strategies

Youth Sports and Recreation Programs

Youth sports and recreation programs are one of the primary approaches through which communities can increase physical activity and fitness among young people. Youth sports refers to organized athletic programs that provide a systematic sequence of practices and contests for children and adolescents. These programs are typically sponsored by nationally affiliated sports organizations (e.g., Amateur Athletic Union, Little League Baseball, United States Tennis Association, United States Youth Soccer Association), community centers (e.g., YMCA, YWCA), and local recreation departments. Youth sports experiences differ greatly in competitive level, length of season, cost to competitors, qualifications of coaches and officials, and skill levels of athletes. Community centers and recreation departments also offer recreation programs that are not competitive, such as instruction (e.g., in swimming or martial arts), group activities (e.g., aerobics workouts), access to fitness equipment (e.g., weight lifting, stationary bicycles), and “open gym” (e.g., running on a track, shooting baskets).

Communities should support and coordinate youth sports and recreation programs so that they provide a variety of sport and recreational activities that meet the needs of all young people, regardless of age, sex, race/ethnicity, or ability. Programs that only offer a limited set of team sports and do not also provide noncompetitive, lifetime fitness and recreational activities (e.g., running, bicycling, dancing, swimming) do not adequately serve the many young people who are less skilled, less physically fit, or not attracted to team sports. Communities also must develop and offer adapted sports and recreation programs that meet the needs of young people with disabilities.

:Help provide access to community sports and recreation programs for all young people.

Although sports and recreation programs for young people exist in most communities, it is extremely difficult to start and even more difficult to sustain these programs in certain communities, such as public housing and inner-city neighborhoods, Native American lands, and rural areas.^17,21 The nation should ensure that all young people, irrespective of their family’s income or the community in which they live, have access to youth sports and recreation programs and the equipment and supplies needed to participate in such programs.

Many young people are not able to participate in youth sports and recreation programs because they have no means, or no safe means, of getting to the programs from home or school and getting home afterwards. Sports and recreation program directors cite this transportation problem as one of the most critical barriers to youth participation in their programs. Transportation difficulties affect a wide variety of young people, including those who live in low-income, urban communities and those who live in rural areas, as well as those who are part of single-parent families and those who have two parents who work. This barrier should be overcome to make sports and recreation programs accessible for all of our young people.

Community recreation programs have attempted to address the transportation problem in a number of ways, including

• Having the public bus system take children to local swimming pools at no charge.
• Purchasing buses to transport children to and from program activities.
• Taking vans with physical activity equipment (i.e., mobile recreation units) into neighborhoods that do not have access to physical activity facilities.
• Establishing sports leagues near public housing communities to eliminate the need for transportation.

 Enable youth sports and recreation programs to provide coaches and recreation program staff with the training they need to offer developmentally appropriate, safe, and enjoyable physical activity experiences for young people.

The quality of any youth sports and recreation experience depends on the competence and supportiveness of its adult program leaders, particularly the coaches. Approximately 2.5 million adults generously volunteer their time each year as coaches of youth sports teams. The commitment of these individuals provides a vital source of support for our young people. However, many coaches have no formal education in coaching techniques, first aid, injury prevention, or emergency care.¹⁷ A variety of excellent sport-specific training programs and standards for coaches, as well as National Standards for Athletic Coaches,³³ are available.

Training for coaches should emphasize teaching young people not only about sports skills and lifetime physical activity, but also about responsibility, leadership, nonviolent conflict resolution, sportsmanship, integrity, and cooperation. It is important that all youth coaches be offered and encouraged to take formal educational courses offered by local recreation departments or sports-specific organizations. Better-trained coaches will enhance enjoyment of the team sports experience for young people, increase retention rates among participants, and help to reduce sports-related injuries.