Playing a high school sport could be the key to success as an adult
Playing a high school sport could be the key to success as an adult.
Youth who participate in school sports not only are more likely to go to college, but also earn more money as working adults, whether they played on the football team or faced opponents one-on-one on the tennis court, according to a Harris Poll of 2,232 U.S. adults. Participating in sports appears to have long-lasting benefits well into adulthood. 64 percent of those who participated in youth sports went on to some form of higher education, compared with 45 percent of those who were not on a team. In addition, youth athletes are more likely to have capped off their education with a four-year college degree (20 percent vs. 14 percent), compared with those who didn't participate and are also twice as likely to have some form of post-graduate education (12 percent vs. 6 percent). Participation in athletics is also associated with higher incomes. Fifteen percent of adults who participated in athletics have a personal income greater than $100,000, compared with just 9 percent of those who did not participate.
Learning to compete on the stage of high school sports is a big transition for youth athletes and is often perplexing for their parents. In The Double-Goal Coach, Positive Coaching Alliance founder Jim Thompson articulated two goals of sports: winning on the scoreboard and the more important goal of using sports to teach life lessons. Now in The High School Sports Parent, Thompson provides guidance and practical, easy-to-use tools to show how parents can maintain a Second-Goal focus to: - Help their teen thrive and become a Triple-Impact Competitor who makes himself, his teammates, and the game better - Navigate the complicated high school sports landscape - Use high school sports endless procession of teachable moments to teach and reinforce positive character traits - Deal effectively with common dilemmas faced by high school sports parents Done right, high school sports is a meaningful development experience that athletes will remember for a lifetime. But that requires sports parents who understand their role and play it to the hilt. Research-based and reflecting Thompson s 25 years of pioneering work in youth sports, The High School Sports Parent is a roadmap for the tumultuous trip that parents embark upon when their children transition into high school sports.