The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay
Children benefit in both body and mind when they participate in after-school sports, a new study says.
Kids in after-school sports show measurable advantages in brainpower, mental health and physical fitness, researchers reported in the journal Exercise, Sports and Movement.
“We show that children and teens who participated in after-school sports consistently demonstrated better psychological and physical health outcomes than those who didn’t,” senior researcher Nicole Logan said in a news release.
Results showed that kids in after-school sports had improved:
- Ability to plan, organize and think quickly
- Language comprehension skills
- Grades and other academic outcomes
- Social awareness
- Physical health, including strength, flexibility, daily energy burn and resting heart rate
These benefits should extend to all kids no matter what their background
Source: HeatlhDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/after-school-sports-an-overall-boon-to-children-and-teens-study-shows