SPORTS THERAPY

Sports Therapy

[Name of Student]

Sports Therapy

Introduction

Some scholars have argued that sports today are the most important thing in the world. or if not the most, then an important cultural phenomenon in all countries of the world. As cast here, athletics played an integral part in cultivating an enlightened citizen and thus offered venue through which to demonstrate and celebrate him,4 his empire, and their strength. Sport provided a vehicle through which to differentiate this elite race5 of men and to enhance their vitality. He found that sport, like other industry, culture, and even war when deemed necessary, maintained a healthy international emulation that showcased struggles between races of men and the pursuit of power and vigor; they offered battlefields for nations to strengthen their national body, their race through competition. Exemplars distinct from laymen, athletes and leaders in other fields were to reflect the best the nations had to offer. Therefore, all the issues related to Sports Therapies will be discussed in detail.

Discussion

In the 2009-2010 school year, there were about 7.6 million children in the U.S. who played school sponsored high school sports. During the same time period, there were about 1.2 million girls who played high school contact sports (i.e., volleyball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and water polo). Indeed, contact sports are an integral part of American culture. Although aggression is present in contact sports, aggression is a learned behavior and depends on how behaviors in the environment are perceived. According to Akers' social learning theory, behaviors are reinforced over time according to the intensity, duration, and frequency of the social learning experiences. However, aggressive behaviors in sports may be perceived in either a positive or negative manner. For example, on the one hand, coaches may use aggression

and physical pain in order to shape the behaviors of athletes and to hold them accountable

for doing their jobs in a disciplined manner. This may develop trust among the players and, over time, reinforce a common social identity. On the other hand, according to Knapp, coaches may expect the players to use aggression to dominate and to hurt the opposing players. This may lead the players to inflict physical pain upon their opponents in a less than ethical manner (e.g., by punching the opponents) because Akers claims in his social learning theory that deviant and conforming behaviors are simultaneously learned and modified through the same cognitive and behavioral mechanisms, aggressive acts in contact sports simultaneously teach children both prosocial and anti-social behaviors (Coakley, 2004, 56).

Research has indicated that there are many benefits in playing sports, which include improving one's self-esteem, reducing one's levels of stress, depression, and aggression, improving one's leadership skills, improving one's motor skills, math skills, and strategic thinking skills, learning self-discipline, learning how to deal with disappointment and frustration, and learning the value of teamwork. However, other research has indicated that participating in contact sports may be teaching children not only to tolerate aggressive acts but to perform them; in other words, according to Pappas (2002) and Pappas, ...