Let The Children Play – Why Support Youth Baseball?
I’m new to blogging. However, I understand that bloggers refer to key, foundational posts as "cornerstone content." In my opinion, the cornerstone content for the 4Bases4Kids blog should be my rationale for starting the program. In other words, I need to explain why I am doing this and why the reader should care. My first piece explained why I was starting this quest and why I included fundraising for youth baseball and softball. The second discussed my baseball background, answering the "OK I'm going on a quest, but why baseball?" question. My third post outlines my itinerary and hopefully garners enough interest so that readers will want to follow my progress. To complete the foundation, I need to explain why I think we need to support youth baseball. Is there an issue with youth baseball in low-income and inner-city areas that requires focus and donations? The knee jerk answer is "of course, don't low-income and inner-cities need help in any number of areas?" While that is the assumption, there is also evidence that indicates that youth athletics in these areas need support. The evidence indicates: Lack of activity causes physical and mental hardships in children. However, participation in athletics including community sports leagues (including baseball leagues) is shrinking. A significant part of the attrition is due to more expensive private club teams that are cannibalizing the traditional leagues. Registration and other participation fees make up a large percentage of local community league's revenue. Lower-income kids are more likely to stop participating in organized sports than middle and upper-income kids — likely due, in part, to these high costs. Some organizations work in low-income and inner-city areas but need increased funding and awareness. Active Kids Do Better in Life Yes, you’re likely thinking, “tell me something I don’t know,” but let’s start at the beginning. The Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative summarizes the benefits of sports activity in the chart below. If we want kids to avoid obesity, drug use, risky sex and pregnancy, we should encourage them to exercise. If they do, they are also more likely to do better in school, attend college, earn more financially and be more productive at work. Additionally, active children have a lower probability of disability, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. “Indeed, the physiological health benefits of sport participation are well documented. Sport participation for as little as 2–3 hours per week can result in significant cardiovascular, metabolic, and musculoskeletal adaptations independent of age and gender, and is associated with a 7% lower risk of obesity in adulthood for girls. Numerous studies have also shown the social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of sport participation. In addition, compared with school-sponsored physical education, youth sport programs provide a broader community support for addressing the physical inactivity and childhood obesity epidemics by engaging children and adolescents in addition to parents, coaches, and families." Benefits to Society I've always considered myself to be relatively compassionate. I'm one of those "do things for the good of humanity" sorts…