Sports and responsibility

Health and fitness is not a 21st century fad or phenomenon as is popularly believed. As long ago as 400 BCE, the benefits of exercise ” mens sana in corpore sano ” were well-understood. œLack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it, commented the Greek philosopher Plato (428-347 BCE). Few people read Plato anymore. Parents are busy, teachers are overworked, and youth are over-stimulated by internet, television, media and advertising. Our brave new hi-tech world encourages sedentary pursuits rather than movement and action. This is not to say nothing is happening in the world of  sports ” except what™s happening isn™t necessarily good. Despite the reality that only two-five of every 1,000 young sports and games enthusiasts will ever turn pro, many parents continue to believe that sports is about pushing children to win sports scholarships. Such parents ” and the coaches to whom they entrust their children ” encourage the development of hyper-competitive, egocentric mindsets to achieve this goal. Even the most well-intentioned gym classes and youth recreation camps develop programmes œfor youth without including them in their design and operations. They seldom ask children about the type of activities they would like to be involved with, and rarely give them a role in running sports programmes congruent with their needs. As a lifelong athlete, I am sad that today™s young generation may well be the first in US history to live shorter lives than their parents. Even though I am at an age when most of my peers are retired or dead, my response to this frightening possibility is to spend most of my waking hours developing a non-profit exercise, sports, play and leadership programme ” Leading2Play ” designed to engage young people in activities which improve their health, well-being and chances of school, business and professional success. This programme enables students from any school or community organisation, with a little training and support from a team of committed advisors, to take the lead in designing and implementing inclusive and enjoyable sports and fitness activities likely to become habit-forming. The programme has been piloted in nine schools with the goal of building a national programme which will have tens of thousands of kids enjoying sports and physical activity by 2020. My hope is it will have great economic and educational benefits and help children develop physically and emotionally. This is not mere wishful thinking because it™s now well-established by numerous studies that participation in sports and games lengthens life expectancy, decreases absenteeism at work, and improves workplace productivity. Similarly, it™s also well-established that children who are physically active do better in maths and reading, concentrate well, can process information faster and perform better in standardised tests. Likewise, researchers Holland and Andre (1987) among several others, have established a strong correlation between sports participation and higher levels of self-esteem, improved race relations, involvement in political/social activity during young adulthood, educational ambition and attainments, greater self-control,…