Sport for Life!

Main aim:

- provides youth workers and youth educators with background information
and practical tips designed to help them use sport and outdoor activities as an educational tool in their work with young people with fewer opportunities.
- to help funding bodies and European institutions become more aware of
the need to promote sport activities with a strong educational dimension as an important tool
in the process of social inclusion.

Sport as an aim… or a method?

With so many philosophical and practical similarities, it would be easy to conclude that there
are few real differences between Sport and Youth Work. In many ways, they are two branches
of the same tree. However, the most important difference between them lies in their specifi c
objectives and the methods they use to reach them.

Methodology

Encouraging a healthy lifestyle – sport teaches youngsters to respect their bodies and to
work to preserve their physical and mental health. It establishes positive patterns which can
be followed for a lifetime.
• Offering a positive way to spend free time – youngsters in the fewer-opportunity group
often lack positive outlets for their energy and positive environments where they can enjoy
themselves and have fun. Sport offers a fun alternative to inactivity, boredom, and, in more
extreme cases, to fi lling in time through negative anti-social activities (e.g. substance abuse,
criminal activity, etc.)
• Breaking through social isolation – sport provides a context where young people can be
together, spend time with friends and meet new people. Sport can function as an icebreaker
– a non-threatening way to bring people into direct contact with one another. This can be
expanded to making contact with people from other groups and cultures and thereby working
against racism and xenophobia.
• Creating a sense of personal identity – participation in sport allows youngsters to become
more aware of their talents, strengths and weaknesses. It also allows them to experiment and
challenge their own borders. All of this contributes to the beginning of a sense of value and
knowing who they are.
• Creating a sense of belonging – by taking part in sports, young people create their own
subculture (on group level, team level, etc). Sport gives them a chance to share experiences
which in turn develops helps youngsters share common ground. This can give them feeling
that they are truly a part of the group and develop a sense of community.
UNDERSTANDING SPORTS
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• Changing thinking patterns from “me” to “we” – sport often puts young people into
situations where they can see how their actions affect others and how the actions of others
affect them. This is an important part of the socialization process, teaching values like team
work, co-operation and respect as well as demonstrating the importance of leadership. This
can stimulate youngsters to become more responsible and help them shift their attention from
themselves to other people around them into new situations can be fun rather than a threat.