Why Kids Participate in Sport

On February 12 in my American Sport in the 21st Century class we discussed youth sports and the impact that it has on society today. We learned that youth sport was organized in the 20th century and were focused on masculinizing boys. Also, we learned that youth sports were really starting to increase when industrialization had hit the United States. Girls participation in sport was ignored until 1972. In 1972, Title XI was made which had allowed girls to participate in sport and have equal opportunities as boys. The number one reason as to why boys and girls participate in sport is to have fun. Youth sport has four different types of sponsors and those are two public and two private sponsors which breakdown into their own subcategories.

  (Mone Davis)

Youth Reasons to Participate in Sport

Here is a list of some reasons why kids want to participate in sport:

• The number one reason that youth's participate in sport is because they want to have fun
• Want to do something they are good at
• Want to be with friends and make new ones
• Want to get fit and stay in shape
• Want to learn new skills and improve on existing ones
• Want to play and be a part of a team

Reasons Youth Want to Participate in Sport

   (Youth's learning the sport of soccer)

Benefits of Youth Sport

Stated is a list of benefits of youth sport:

• Develops and Maintains Fitness
• Preparation for Adulthood
• Opportunity to Learn Values 
• Teaches Interactive Skills
• Provides Opportunities for Leadership

When I was researching for an article on youth sport, the article I found that caught my eye was a blog that was written on Steve Nash's Youth Basketball Blog. In this blog, a writer named Shelley Boettcher described young students being able to run in the hallways. This can go along with children receiving the correct hand eye coordination that they need in order to play in sport. I tend to think that if a child has great hand eye coordination, they will be more likely to succeed in the sport that they choose. Also, if a child would want to succeed in a sport, they will focus more on the bigger aspects of sport which is for example hand eye coordination and specific techniques. Most youth nowadays play sport to have fun and to benefit from sport. Youth's want to enjoy and explore new things and what better way to do that then through sport? Steve Nash's blog brings out questions and makes the parents think, is this really what I want my child to be doing now or maybe even for the rest of their lives? If you were a parent in a situation like this, having their own kids run around hallways, what would you say? Would things be different for youths if they didn't have a sport to help guide them in the right direction?

Steve Nash Youth Basketball Blog

Julian, An 11 year old Star

This next video that I found was about a youth at the age 11 who is the starting point guard for his high school varsity basketball team. This astounds me and should show youths today a message. This shows that no matter how short you are or your age, if you have a goal or set your mind to things you can do anything. We learned in class that youth sport is a preparation for adulthood and I think this boy learned adulthood pretty fast. He is only 4'5" and is beating high school basketball players who are taller then he is but not all of them are as skilled as he is. This video goes along with what we had talked about in class because it shows that sport can prepare a youth for adulthood and teach skills. If you were this talented at a young age, how would you feel about playing on a varsity team? Would you be proud and brag to others if this was your child?
To learn more about Julian's Story, click here: Julian's Story

Olympic Movement and Other International Sport Events

On March 3 in my American Sport in the 21st Century class we discussed the international sport events that occur around the world. We also discussed the Olympic Movement and briefly about the history of it. We discussed where the Olympic Movement started, which was in Athens Greece in 1984 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. We also talked about ideals in which underly international sports such as the hope that international sports could one day establish relationships. Another example of underlying international sports is to hope that one day international sports could foster cultural understanding and eliminate national stereotypes. Also, we discussed the political aspects of the olympics. Some political aspects of the Olympics are divided into four categories: internal groups, external groups, state actions and IOC (International Olympic Committee) actions.

Olympic Movement

The Olympic Movement is known as the turning point for commercial involvement in sport, which generates over 200 million dollars in profit. For example, the Olympics now have major sponsors such as TOC (Toronto Olympic Club) which generates a revenue of about 20 to 30 million dollars. Amateurism used to be a bigger part of sport until 1992, when it was dropped. The Olympics were held in many places but returned to Athens in 2004. The Olympics now include 201 nations, 301 events and have an audience of 3.9 million viewers. If there weren't Olympics what would us Americans do? During the last Olympic games, the opening ceremony attracted an audience of 1 billion people. The Olympics are definitely a major event in the world and should be considered a national day or holiday due to the huge crowd and attention that it receives. 

(Olympic Rings)

International Sport Events

Listed below are a few International Sport Events:

1. Fifa
2. Cricket World Cup
3. Baseball World Classic
4. ICC World Cup (Cycling)
5. Ryder Cup (Golf)
6. Rugby World Cup
7. Wimbledon (Tennis)
8. Olympics

Political Aspects of Olympics

There are four main political uses of where the Olympics come from and they are:

• Internal Groups-1996 Atlanta Games (assumed to be domestic act by FBI)
• External Groups-1972 Munich Games
• State Actions- Mass boycotts
• IOC Actions- Israel withdrew from participation because of boycotts

                  (International Olympic Committee Logo for the Olympic Games)

Character Building and Nationalism In Sport

On February 3 in my American Sport in the 21st Century class we discussed sports and took a look in the past. In class, we looked deeper into the values of sport such as: character building, character traits, lack of achievement in sports and the types of character that sitting on the bench can build. We also looked at the norms, values and behavior that sports can contribute towards a person. We also discussed nationalism and patriotism, which in sport is the most important aspect to support the idea of sport. Nationalism and Patriotism bring athletes together and also the country's that are supporting the athletes to unite as one and work together to achieve many goals. We had also discussed sport in the past from Pre Colonial America (1400-1500's) to 1800-1850's. There are multiple differences between each era that set them off from one another. There are multiple differences between each era that set them off from one another. We also talked about competition and winning which goes along with Darwinian (only the strong survive).

Character Building

This picture was taken out of the February 9th Edition of the Sports Business Journal. I took this picture out of the February 9 issue because it discusses what we were going over in class on February 3. The saying that is on the picture "it takes talent, hustle and metro card to make it here" goes hand in hand with character building in sport. These athletes have achieved success in order to be where they are, which is playing basketball professionally.  The character that they had to build was to keep their eye on the prize and that was to score a contract with a professional basketball team. Some may say that these athletes are pampered, spoiled and feel as if they are invincible to the law and others. You can visit: True Sport to learn more about how character building can lead up to children believing that they can become professional athletes and work at it until they can't work anymore. Also, this article talks about sport participation and character development and how they go hand in hand with one another.

Also, I found the youtube link that is listed below. This link shows a man shooting and dribbling with sayings popping up here and there that are directed towards character building. The sayings should motivate people to become more into building character with this youtube video of Basketball Character Building. Building character is an important part of developing an athlete because if an athlete has a bad character, most teams, fans and coaches will steer away from that particular athlete. Coaches, fans and teammates want players on their team that have a great character and can lead the team. Having a negative character can build up negativity towards others and affect the salary and business of the professional team itself. This youtube link relates to what we were talking about in class by showing the character that each person should build during a sport related activity. What if a person didn't have the ability to build character in a sport, would that sport be a different experience for him/her? 

Nationalism/Patriotism

(Rio De Janeiro Pin 2016 Olympics)

While I was researching and looking for articles on nationalism and patriotism, I found an article that had just been published on March 11, 2015. This article focuses on Norway and how they have transformed and become prouder of their country. The Norwegians have a national day each year  called Constitution Day. This is their way of celebrating their nationalism/patriotism except they do it in a different way. No matter what way you celebrate your nationalism/patriotism, it still means the same thing. What would things be like if there wasn't any nationalism or patriotism? Would the world revolve around different aspects of life such as careers or salaries? This article goes hand in hand in with what we were talking about in class because it shows that nationalism/patriotism can be viewed in many different ways and mean the same exact thing. No matter how a country celebrates their views on being a nationalistic country, they are still united as one and come together at least once a year to celebrate their pride.

To find out more information about this article, you can click on this weblink: Nationalism Studies 

Pre-Colonial America

Many events have occurred from the Pre Colonial America (1400-1500) to the 1800-1850's. In the Pre Colonial America times, the population spread widely across the country. Not one country had a steady amount or a higher amount of people then the other. Physical activity and sports were very important and often linked to spiritual beliefs. The common sports for the Pre Colonial America times were lacrosse, archery and running. Likewise, people in this era thought that staying fit was a very important aspect of their lives. During these times, many women were not able to participate in sport so they just stayed at home and took care of the children. On the other hand, as you can tell by the image below, the Native Americans were very physical and didn't take lacrosse easily. I can see the competitive edge that these two men have to win and to get the ball. Today, sports are still as competitive and challenging which means that not much has changed from the Pre Colonial America times. Likewise, sports have been around and played for much longer then expected. Now what would people think of the Pre Colonial America compared to sport today? Has sport evolved since Pre Colonial America and in what ways?

(Native Americans playing Lacrosse)

Sport and Government: How are they Connected?

On February 26 in my American Sport in the 21st Century class we discussed sports and politics. We first defined what politics are and it is a social process in which individuals and groups acquire, exercise and maintain power over other athletes. We also talked about government and globalization and how much they can influence sport. For example, a connection between government and sports is that the government can safeguard the public order. An example would be when 911 had occurred, you now have to have clear bags when going into sporting events such as an NFL or MLB game. Likewise, the political use of sport can be exploited by politicians. Many former athletes run for presidency because they know they will be recognized and may be even elected into the office. Some examples of athletes who have ran and been successful are J.C. Watts (Oklahoma Sooners Football), Tom Osborne (Former Head Coach of Nebraska), Steve Largent (Seahawks), Bill Bradley (New York Knicks),  and Lynn Swann (Steelers). On the other hand, sports can also be used as a propaganda vehicle. All countries have used the Olympic Games for this purpose. Sports and the American Flag go hand in hand when referring to a sporting event. The star spangled banner only was played from the 1930's-today.

                                                 (The American Flag)

Candidates and Sport

In the November 3-9 2014 Issue of the Sports Business Journal on page 26, I had come across an article titled: "When the Home Team Plays, Candidates Pay". This article talks about the Broncos and the amount of publicity they received when Peyton Manning had joined the team. Since Peyton Manning joined the team, they have been on television eight times. Mike Coffman, a congressional incumbent, paid $13,680 each for placement in the Eagles-Giants, Steelers-Ravens game which was the lowest rate of any person to advertise in the games. When the Broncos played on October 19, he again paid for advertisement but doubled the pay at $36,000. People who advertise for the Broncos usually pay more for an advertisement and many are shocked that this amount of money was paid and allowed to be advertised for the low price. Another group from Crossroads GPS has taken aim at Senator Mark Udall who paid $85,000 for a thirty second ad for the Broncos vs. Chargers game on October 23. Candidates and PAC's spent more then $14.5 million for sports programs in the fifteen states that have had the most races with the most heat. This article relates to the information that we talked about in class because sport in this position is used as a propaganda vehicle. For example, the fact that the candidates are using advertisements to get their name out is a form of propaganda. Also, government and sports are a close tie to one another. The candidates are using the form of sport to 'show off' their advertisement and themselves.

          (The in-market spending that candidates choose to spend their wages on)

 (Mike Coffman)

                                                        (Mark Udall)

Here is a short link to the advertisement of Mark Udall: "Succeed"

Lynn Swann's Run for Office

Lynn Swann, former Pittsburgh Steeler, ran for office in June 2002. He ended up being the Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for President George Bush in June 2002 to July 2005. After this run, he decided to run again instead for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 but lost. While you may think Lynn Swann if just an average college and NBA player, he was also an Honor Roll student. If an athlete wants to run for office, let it happen. It won't hurt anything but may increase their chances of winning, as we discussed in class about sport and government. Likewise, younger athletes and others should look up to Lynn Swann as a role model because he has achieved great things and goals. If I were in the position of a professional athlete to run for an office in government, I would take the opportunity. It would be a life changing opportunity to go behind the scenes of an election and be apart of that election. Would the whole experience change your life and in what ways? 

Credits to: Lynn Swann

                                                            (Lynn Swann)