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Smoky Mountain Blog

Now in their 90th year, the Harlem Globetrotters are an indelible part of American sports and culture. Known for their incredible athleticism and outrageous antics, the Globetrotters have delighted fans from all around the world in over 26,000 exhibition games. In June, this one-of-a-kind team will return to Rocky Top Sports World for a special Smoky Mountain basketball camp! Read on for everything you need to know about this can’t-miss event.

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.

Here at Rocky Top Sports World, we like to keep up with the latest information and studies about youth sports. One trend that we thought was worth investigating was sports specialization in kids. Increasingly, many parents are encouraging their children to intensively train in only one sport from a very young age. Does this early specialization actually give young athletes an edge? To find out, we took a look at a comprehensive study from the Sports Health journal entitled Sports Specialization in Young Athletes. We’ve summarized and analyzed their findings below.

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.

Here at Rocky Top Sports World, we offer some of the best athletic facilities in the Southeast to players and teams from around the country. In addition to our top notch courts and fields, we also strive to maintain a positive atmosphere that keeps athletes coming back again and again. If we had to sum up the culture and standards we aim to foster at our sports complex in Gatlinburg in one word, it would be “sportsmanship”. In this article, we will examine what sportsmanship means to us and what we expect from athletes, coaches, and parents who visit Rocky Top Sports World.       

Becoming more active is something that most people strive for as they begin a new year, and it is an especially important goal for kids. One of the best ways to get your child moving is by having them join a sports team. Along with having fun with friends, there are many great benefits for playing a team sport. Here are just some of the advantages of joining a Smoky Mountain sports team:

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:

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