In addition to parents and teachers, a coach can be one of the most important role models for a child. A great coach has the power to change the trajectory of a young athlete’s life and to impart lessons that resonate for years to come.

Whether they play football, basketball, soccer, or virtually any other type of sport, young athletes need to have good stamina and endurance. Even if you are a pro at making jump shots or an all star on defense, if you get winded 25 minutes into a game, you’re not going to be playing at your full potential.

If you’re a student athlete, we have some good news for you! While juggling your academic and athletic obligations can be challenging, studies have shown that making the extra effort can pay off in a big way. When compared with students who do not play sports, student athletes consistently have higher GPAs, more positive attitudes about school, and more interest in going to college. In short, being an athlete makes you a better student.

While eating healthy is important for everyone, it is absolutely essential for young athletes! Playing sports requires athletes to be at their best, and that means giving your body the fuel it needs to succeed. To help you prepare for your next tournament at Rocky Top Sports World, our team has put together four nutrition tips for young athletes.

It is no secret that playing sports comes with a variety of important physical and mental benefits. Participating in athletics has been linked with everything from healthy weight maintenance to high self esteem. Although it may get less attention, playing sports has also been correlated with another important trait: making better decisions under pressure. Scientists have found that playing sports can focus the brain in a way that often makes athletes better decision makers than non-athletes. Rocky Top Sports World has put together a brief summary of a fascinating study on this topic.

In recent years, youth lacrosse has really taken off in the United States. In fact, lacrosse is the fastest growing high school sport in America! While the popularity of the sport may be a recent trend, lacrosse has been played in North America for centuries. Rocky Top Sports World did a little research to bring you five interesting facts about the history of lacrosse:

Rocky Top Sports World is pleased to report that youth sports tourism is on the rise! As detailed in The Monitor, travel related to youth athletics has become a $10 billion a year industry. Having grown by 20 percent in the last two years, youth sports tourism is the fastest growing part of the travel industry. As more kids get involved in travel sports and attend tournaments across the nation, families are increasingly trying to coordinate their vacations with their children’s sporting events.

When you think of iconic American sports, baseball, football, and basketball probably come to mind. However, recent youth sports participation data shows that soccer is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. In 2016, there were roughly 3 million kids playing in youth soccer leagues. That’s over a million more kids than baseball and double the amount of kids who play tackle football!

Dr. Jason Richardson is uniquely qualified to talk about character building in youth sports. In addition to having a Doctorate in Psychology, Richardson is also a former BMX Racer who maintained a Top-Ten World or National Ranking for the majority of his 15 year career. At the age of 19, Richardson was a Union Cycliste Internationale World Champion, and 13 years later he earned a Gold Medal at the Pan American Games in Rio De Janeiro.  

Martial arts are some of the fastest growing sports in America, especially for children. Whether it’s Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, or Jiu-Jitsu, you are guaranteed to find a martial arts class near where you live. No matter which type your kids choose, training in the martial arts provides a number of important physical and mental benefits.

For years, Monday Night Football games began with the classic question, “Are you ready for some football?” According to a new survey, the answer is still a resounding “yes”! A recent study commissioned by USA Football, the sport’s national governing body, found that football is the fastest growing youth sport in the country. As one of the Southeast’s leading destinations for youth football tournaments, camps, and events, Rocky Top Sports World is thrilled to hear this news! We’ve summarized the survey’s findings below.

Anyone who has played youth sports knows that a coach can have a huge impact on your enjoyment of the game, future in athletics, and life in general. A great coach will inspire you to grow as an athlete and a person, while a bad one can make you want to quit sports altogether. Here at Rocky Top Sports World, we want to encourage the right type of coaching. That’s why we’re sharing this helpful coaching advice from Youth Sports of the Americas, a group dedicated to promoting healthy, safe, and enjoyable youth sports participation.

While we all know that team sports are a great way to have fun, make friends, and stay in shape, new research shows that being involved in athletics can have far reaching benefits for women. A report from CNN details the ways that playing sports can help women succeed in their professional lives. Read on as we sift through the data to see what it is about team sports that is giving so many women the edge.

To mark the beginning of the new year, Sports Illustrated’s “This is Your Brain on Sports” podcast proposed a number of resolutions for everyone involved in the world of youth sports. In this episode, Sam Sommers, the show’s host, spoke with Megan Bartlett, the chief program officer at Up2Us Sports, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making sure young athletes across the country have access to great coaching. Sam and Megan gave a lot of great advice, so we thought we would share their insight in this blog.

Everyone knows that playing sports can be an important part of growing up, but new research shows just how beneficial youth athletics can be. The True Sport Report, sponsored by the USADA, found that playing youth sports fosters tremendous physical, emotional, psychological, and social benefits. Read on for a closer look at all of the advantages kids enjoy when they play sports: