Custom «Leaders Among Our Youth» Essay Paper Sample

Introduction

For success in life, today's youth need to develop leadership skills. Based on literature review, programs that claim to help the youth develop positive attributes towards sporting activities have been developed. These programs have been known to enhance leadership and life skills of their participants. This essay will examine how sports develop leaders among the youth.

Sports and leadership development

Programs like team-up for youth, national recreation and park association and sports PLUS Global have been developed as strategies for developing programs to enhance leadership and personal growth in youths. These programs recognize the use of sports as powerful tool for translating leadership skills to the youth and as the building blocks for designing sports based youth. Based a review of empirical data, Iso-Aloha in 1986 concluded that participation in athletics may contribute to later success in leadership by reinforcing of critical behaviors. A study by Snyder and Spreitz in 1992 of more than 4,000 high school males led them to conclude that participation in athletics increases the potential ability to lead (Howell, J. C., 2010).

Teamup for youth's mission pioneers innovative strategies which support the healthy development of the youth by strengthening and also expanding after school sports. Sports help the youth to break down barriers and develop communications skills which are necessary to become a good and great leader. Sports also help the youth to become leaders due to active learning. Kids are forced to learn by leading rather than by just talking about it and another great aspect are that the lessons learned on the field are also applicable elsewhere (Ellington, T., 2010).

According to Bnet, attending recreational activities like camps helps to develop youth leadership skills. Drama, individual sports basic business training and drug abuse prevention prompt the youth to grow their character as well as their leadership skills. At these recreational camps, the youth can learn self awareness, communication skills, ethics and interpersonal skills associated with leadership (Ellington, T. 2010).

Conclusion

According to Howell, leaders are developed within the context of their past experiences as specific set of skills are developed in order for a person to be an effective leader. The skills are nurtured in youths especially by participation through sports.