Youth Soccer and Mental Health

There is a considerable amount of discussion today regarding youth and mental health. The bestselling book by Jonathan Haidt "The Anxious Generation" has put the state of mental health in children front and center specifically as it relates to smartphones, social media, and big tech .

One clear conclusion of "The Anxious Generation" is more time in the virtual world and less time outside in the physical world has had negative effects on children as it relates to mental health.

What does this have to do with the beautiful game of soccer?

When children participate in athletics and move, it's proven to release chemicals like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine to help combat negative emotions. Participating in physical activity releases these chemicals and can greatly improve mood.

Some mental health benefits specific to playing soccer:

• Social Connections. Soccer being a team sport can help create a sense of belonging in youth. It is a sport that requires communication between players. For some kids at first this can be challenging, but over time they can learn to be better and more comfortable communicators. This in turn helps to form healthy social relationships.
• State of Mind. As stated above, athletics and movement have proven to be helpful in boosting a child's mood. Soccer is a game of almost constant team movement. If they love the game or grow to love the game, your kids will be moving without even thinking about it.
• Sleep. Sleep is another topic being discussed today regarding youth and mental health. It is shown that participating in physical activity during the day can help improve the quality of sleep. Simply being outside in the sun is linked to regulating your body's sleep schedule.
• Learning. Playing a team sport such as soccer has been shown to be important for  cognitive development in children. Among other things, learning and repeating the same movements can improve memory and motor skills. Each time a child plays they are putting these skills to the test.

It's never too late to get the mental health benefits from playing soccer. People have started playing soccer as adults with wonderful results. However there are certainly benefits to introducing soccer at a young age. Building the social skills while also building physical and mental health at an early start gives an opportunity to prevent other habits forming later. 

Especially at the younger ages - keep it fun, low key and try focus on learning and moving over results.

Let's put the screens aside for some time, grab a soccer ball and get outside!