This much we know is true: sport is one of the most important socio-cultural learning experiences for girls. Aside from the known health benefits yielded by regular participation in sports and physical fitness, there are countless intangibles girls can take away from sports. These lessons will last a lifetime, long after the final high school soccer game or swim team race. Our almost four-decades-long commitment to making sure every girl has the opportunity to learn these lessons has uncovered some universal truths everyone must know. They are:
• High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.
• Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
• Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports.
• Females who participate in high school sports are more likely to complete college than those who did not participate in sports.
• As little as four hours of exercise a week may reduce a teenage girl’s risk of breast cancer by up to 60%; breast cancer is a disease that afflicts one out of every eight American women.
• Through sports, girls learn important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and confidence.
• Female athletes who participate on one or two school or community sports teams are significantly less likely to smoke regularly than female non-athletes.
• Sports are an asset to American families, fostering communication and trust between parents and children.
• More than three-quarters of working women feel that sports participation helps enhance their self-image.
• Girls’ involvement with sports is related to higher levels of family satisfaction, in both single-parent and dual-parent families.
• High school female athletes have more positive body images than non-athletes.