It’s National Youth Sports Week! This week is a great time to focus on the importance of youth sports and encourage kids to get active. Kids and teens ages 6 to 17 need at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity every day. As part of their 60 minutes, they need muscle- and bone-strengthening activities on at least 3 days a week. Playing sports is a great way for kids and teens to work towards their 60 minutes because many sports include muscle- and bone-strengthening components, like throwing or jumping. In addition to helping kids get the physical activity they need, sports participation can help kids build their self-esteem, learn to set goals, and develop social skills. The sports setting is also a great opportunity to support the mental, emotional, and social health of youth.
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating National Youth Sports Week! Here’s how you can help:
- Check out our 10 tips to support youth mental health through sports to help coaches, parents, and organizers of youth sports programs create environments that help kids thrive.
- Share the National Youth Sports Strategy, a federal roadmap with actionable strategies that parents, coaches, organizations, communities, and policymakers can use to create safe, fun, inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and accessible sports opportunities for all youth.
- Explore the National Youth Sports Strategy Partner Promotion Toolkit for tips on sharing the National Youth Sports Strategy.
- Use the sports-specific Move Your Way® campaign materials to help parents and caregivers understand the benefits kids and teens can get from playing sports and find tips to help them get their kids involved.
- Use our ready-made sample messages, graphics, and GIFs to promote the Move Your Way® campaign materials for parents.
We hope you’ll use these resources to help promote youth sports in your community. Together, we can work towards the National Youth Sports Strategy vision: that one day, all youth can have the opportunity, motivation, and access to play sports!