A new sports season is beginning and a study carried out within the ATIVA+Saúde project, involving 549 children aged 9 to 13, found an association between practicing sports outside school and healthier lifestyle habits, covering aspects such as diet, sleep, physical activity, screen use, and health literacy. The study was developed by the University of Leiria and Oeste, through ciTechCare, in partnership with the National School of Public Health at NOVA University Lisbon and the Leiria City Council, with data reported by the Jornal de Leiria.
The article argues that the true impact of youth sports may lie far beyond the minutes spent on fields, courts, swimming pools, and tracks. Sport can teach how to create routines, take care of the body, respect rest, manage time, take on responsibilities, relate to others, and, above all, how to both win and lose. The central question posed is whether we are training athletes or developing people through sport.
The article warns against the risk of turning every healthy habit into a new obligation and every training session into an opportunity to demand more. According to the text, the answer does not lie solely in the hands of coaches, but also with families, clubs, schools, and all adults who accompany a child on their sporting journey. A child does not need to be a perfect athlete, but rather adults who help them understand how they can take care of themselves and others.
The text also draws attention to the fact that approximately four in ten children assessed do not practice sports outside school, raising questions about existing obstacles such as costs, transportation, schedules, lack of options, excessive pressure, or lack of motivation. The author argues that the right to sport cannot simply mean ensuring that clubs exist, but rather creating conditions so that every child can find in sport a place where they want to be, learn, and grow. The scoreboard is important, but what remains is what the child learned — that would be the true outcome of youth sports. The author is an ambassador for the National Plan for Ethics in Sport.
