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The Andy Biddle Youth Sports Foundation is a charity which funds youth sport in Sutton Coldfield, so why does sport matter for young people?
Youth Sport is proven to have a catalogue of benefits and is exceedingly important for young people. Our charity aims to provide funding for youth sport so that many young people have access to its benefits. The health benefits comprise of physical, mental and social.
Physical Benefits
Being active as a young person and being engaged in sport can have an array of physical benefits. Some of these include:
Increased cardiovascular fitness
Blood flow improvement
Reduced risk of obesity
Strengthened stamina
Improved bone health
Increased spatial awareness
Mental Benefits
Participation of young people in sports can have positive psychological effects too. Improving confidence and self-esteem are two huge benefits of exercise for young people. Your body also releases endorphins, which can relieve pain and stress. The stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, are reduced, which can help combat anxiety and depression.
Social Benefits
Sport has a multitude of social advantages for young people. Foremost it encourages a young person’s interaction and communication with people outside their household, which then can build strong peer relationships. A young person's sense of local identity and belonging may improve, when playing sport with a team or being surrounded by competitors in the same sport for example. Even a young person’s trust levels and selflessness may be positively altered, due to participating in sport.
How much physical exercise should young people be doing?
If you are unsure on how much physical activity a young person should be doing, the NHS advise that those aged 5-18 should participate in two types of physical exercise each week. These are aerobic activity and exercise to strengthen muscles and bones. For greater and more in depth detail on this topic visit Physical activity guidelines for children and young people - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
The Andy Biddle Youth Sports Foundation aims to promote the participation of young people under the age of 18 in amateur sport. These benefits prove just how important youth sport is and why it is at the heart of our charity.