Sam
English 111
Cinder Cooper
June 11, 2008
The universal language of all children does not involve talking, it does not require thinking, and anyone can participate. The universal language of children is sports. No matter where you live, what language you speak, or what religion you practice, on the field, court, or track everyone is equal. When kids think of sports, most of them think first of soccer. Youth soccer is one of the largest organized sports for kids in America. The effects of youth soccer have been monumental for many children in the United States. When children are involved in youth soccer they are lifted into a world of fitness, they also gain friends and important social contact. On top of it all, they learn the very important lesson of sportsmanship. With all these perks who could resist an exhilarating game of power and fitness?
Today, with childhood obesity growing at an alarming rate in America, kids are encouraged to exercise and stay fit. What better way to get kids active than to give them something entertaining to do, not just the usual sit-ups and push-ups. Youth soccer is leading the way to a healthier lifestyle for kids all across the country. For every practice a child attends, he is learning ways to live a healthier life, as the coach makes exercise more than a tedious task. Where kids were sitting at home playing X-Box, they are now outside playing small sided soccer games with their friends or just kicking a ball around their own backyard. They learn that exercise can be fun and involves more than just running mindlessly around a school track. Organized games give youth soccer an air of excitement, and have kids waiting in anticipation, whether they win or lose, for the next weekend's game. Most children these days are encouraged to get outside and run. Through youth soccer, kids have a fun way to get moving and stay active, resulting in healthier, more fit kids.
Another effect is that when a child is signed up to play youth soccer, they have also signed up for more than a few new friends. Kids who play on a youth soccer team make many new pals over the course of a season. They get the opportunity to interact with other children their age, outside of the classroom. They meet kids from all over, from different areas, schools, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It gives children common ground to get to know each other. Right off the bat, kids can start passing around a soccer ball and learn about the other members of their team. Their acceptance is based on playing soccer and not where they live or how they do in school. They also get the chance at games and practices to see their new friends in a safe, healthy, protected environment. Youth soccer breaks the mundane routine of everyday events, like homework, and lets children get the important social time they need with kids their own age.
Along with the social effects of soccer, in any soccer club, kids will start to understandthe importance of sportsmanship. Every youth soccer team emphasizes sportsmanship as well as soccer skill. From day one, kids will have every aspect of sportsmanshiprepeated to them like it is gospel, because in athletics, it is. Every time you leave the field, kids are shaking hands with the kids they played against and the referees. They learn that sportsmanship is the best way to act, not only on the soccer field and at other youth sports, but they begin to understand that sportsmanship should be used in any and all aspects of life.
Through youth soccer, kids all over America have come together to bond friendships, and learn a new lifestyle beneficial to everyone. They learn the importance of exercise and being fit. Many kids that are involved start practicing sportsmanship not only on the field three days a week, but everyday at home and in the classroom. It is a lesson they will carry with them their entire lives. Although it seems like a small thing for kids to be involved in youth soccer, they are shaping their lives for the better. When involved in youth soccer, kids will start scoring not only on the field, but also in the game of life.
