Do Sport Build Character - Essay Example

Do Sports Build Character al Affiliation Do Sports Build Character Participation in sports has been a major part of many people’s lives in society. Sports have both positive and negative influence on developing the character of individuals. Sports experience can build character only if the environment is structured and the stated goal is to develop an individual’s character. The setting of sports and physical activity provides opportunities for people to learn disciplines, respect, commitment, and strategies.

A good example of a type of sports that develops an individual’s character is athletics. For one to become an athlete like Usain Bolt, for instance, he or she needs to be dedicated to his training mentally and physically too. The perseverance involved is considered a good character (Coakley, 2009).Research has found that students who are actively involved extracurricular activities in school have better attendance and lower discipline cases too. They also have lower drop-out rate in school and also less drug use.

Most students who complete college education have suggested that the curriculum should include physical education to provide the knowledge of sports to the youth. In lower educational backgrounds, sports create the interest of pupils to attend schools, thus, making their school attendance better. In addition, research shows that sports participation negatively correlates with negative behavior. Research has also demonstrated that most players did show their moral reasoning character. For instance, 70% of softball players think that it is not right for a softball pitcher to intentionally throw at a better player who hammered the previous time (Stanislavsky, 2013).

These positive effects of sports all prove that sports build people’s character positively. During training, coaches should employ various strategies to ensure they are also developing the character of players. They should reinforce how character is displayed through sports through things like fair play and sportsmanship and how moral values can be applied in other aspects of life. They should also model how to behave in cases where they are faced with challenging situations. However, over-engagement in sports could lead to injuries especially emotionally where participants do not achieve what they thought they would.

It could also make other people to neglect studies or other important responsibilities.ReferencesCoakley, J. (2009). Sports in society: Issues and controversies. (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.Stanislavsky, K. (2013). Building a character. London: Bloomsbury Academic.