<a href="https://sciencex.com/profile/login/" class="login-link"> Click here to sign in with <svg> <use href="https://medx.b-cdn.net/tmpl/v6/img/svg/sprite.svg#logo_fb" x="0" y="0" /> </svg> or <svg> <use href="https://medx.b-cdn.net/tmpl/v6/img/svg/sprite.svg#logo_google" x="0" y="0" /> </svg> </a> <br> <a href="https://sciencex.com/profile/pwdreset/">Forget Password?</a> <br> <a class="font-weight-normal" href="https://sciencex.com/help/account/">Learn more</a> <br>share this!<br>Share<br>Twit<br>Share<br>Email<br> January 22, 2025 <br> This article has been reviewed according to Science X's <a class="text-info" href="https://sciencex.com/help/editorial-process/" target="_blank">editorial process</a> and <a class="text-info" href="https://sciencex.com/help/editorial-standards/" target="_blank">policies</a>. <a class="text-info" href="https://sciencex.com/help/editorial-team/" target="_blank">Editors</a> have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: <br> <span class="tick-mark"></span> fact-checked <br> <span class="tick-mark"></span> reputable news agency <br> <span class="tick-mark"></span> proofread <br> by Dennis Thompson <br>Want your kid to do well in school? Get them involved in an organized sport, a new study urges.<br>Boys and girls are both more likely to earn a high school diploma if they take part in <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/team+sports/" rel="tag" class="textTag">team sports</a> like soccer or artistic sports like dance or gymnastics, researchers reported in a study published in the journal <i><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/9/1140" target="_blank">Children</a></i>.<br>"Structured sports were shown to have long-term benefits on success, reiterating the importance of encouraging play and an <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/active+lifestyle/" rel="tag" class="textTag">active lifestyle</a> throughout childhood," the study led by senior author Linda Pagani, a professor with the University of Montreal School of Psychoeducation, concluded.<br>Boys in organized sports were nearly 15% more likely to have a high school diploma by age 20, researchers found.<br>Likewise, girls who participated in sports were about 7% more likely to get their high school diploma, and also tended to get higher grades.<br>For the study, researchers analyzed data from a long-term study following the development and well-being of Canadian children from birth to early adulthood. Nearly 2,800 children were included in the study.<br>The research team looked at the sort of sports and physical activity that kids were involved in at age 12, and compared that to their later <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/academic+achievements/" rel="tag" class="textTag">academic achievements</a>.<br>Girls who participated in organized sports had 8% higher grades overall, and those involved in artistic sports had nearly 23% higher grades, results show.<br>Results also showed that girls who engaged in unstructured <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/physical+activity/" rel="tag" class="textTag">physical activity</a> had a nearly 8% decline in their grades by age 18.<br>"Practicing sports with a coach was associated with higher chances of having graduated from high school by age 20 years for both <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/boys/" rel="tag" class="textTag">boys</a> and <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/girls/" rel="tag" class="textTag">girls</a>," the researchers wrote.<br>The structure provided by being on a team might help explain why these kids do better in school.<br>"When supervised by an adult and often in teams, sports allow children to develop key skills in various areas—leadership, behaving in a group, prolonged attention—that can be transferred to academic classes," the researchers wrote.<br>However, not all kids are getting these benefits. Girls were less likely to participate in sports if they came from a <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/low-income/" rel="tag" class="textTag">low-income</a>, broken or dysfunctional home, results show.<br>"Important barriers remain to an active lifestyle in childhood, mainly the financial cost and involvement from parents," researchers wrote. "Notably, many socio-<a href="https://medicalxpress.com/tags/economic+factors/" rel="tag" class="textTag">economic factors</a>, such as family income, family configuration, family dysfunction, and maternal education, had an influence on child active leisure."<br><strong>More information:</strong> The University of San Diego has more on the <a href="https://pce.sandiego.edu/child-development-through-sports/">benefits of youth sports</a>. <br>Laurie-Anne Kosak et al, Active Child, Accomplished Youth: Middle Childhood Active Leisure Fuels Academic Success by Emerging Adulthood, <i>Children</i> (2024). <a data-doi="1" href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/children11091140" target="_blank">DOI: 10.3390/children11091140</a><br> Copyright © 2025 <a href="https://consumer.healthday.com/" target="_blank">HealthDay</a>. All rights reserved. <br>Explore further<br>Facebook<br>Twitter<br>Email<br> Feedback to editors<br>25 minutes ago<br><span>0</span><br>45 minutes ago<br><span>0</span><br>55 minutes ago<br><span>0</span><br>1 hour ago<br><span>0</span><br>Jan 21, 2025<br><span>0</span><br>25 minutes ago<br>45 minutes ago<br>45 minutes ago<br>55 minutes ago<br>1 hour ago<br>3 hours ago<br>14 hours ago<br>15 hours ago<br>15 hours ago<br>15 hours ago<br>Aug 7, 2024<br>Dec 17, 2024<br>Sep 5, 2023<br>Sep 29, 2020<br>Aug 20, 2024<br>Sep 26, 2024<br>22 hours ago<br>21 hours ago<br>17 hours ago<br>16 hours ago<br>Jan 20, 2025<br>Jan 20, 2025<br>Participation in organized sports is linked to improved academic performance in teens, with boys being nearly 15% more likely and girls 7% more likely to earn a high school diploma. Girls in artistic sports had grades nearly 23% higher. Structured sports help develop skills like leadership and attention, benefiting academic success. However, socio-economic factors can limit access to these benefits, particularly for girls from low-income or dysfunctional families.<br> <small> This summary was automatically generated using LLM. <a class="text-info" href="https://sciencex.com/help/ai-disclaimer/" target="_blank">Full disclaimer</a> </small> <br> Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our <a href="https://sciencex.com/help/feedback/" target="_blank">contact form</a>. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please <a href="https://sciencex.com/help/comments/" target="_blank">adhere to guidelines</a>). <br>Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request<br>Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.<br>Your feedback is important to us. 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