Colman Noctor: Let's open competitive sports to all teenagers

Many young people feel excluded by a sports culture that expects them to train twice a week and to 'give their all’ to the team

Young basketball player sitting on the bench.

Colman Noctor

CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Along with the obvious benefits of exercise and movement to our physical health, sport offers opportunities in terms of life lessons, teamwork and persistence, which can be invaluable to our development. Australian academics Young and Payne conducted a large-scale review of the research findings and found that community sports participation not only improves the physical health of young people but can also enhance their psychological and social health outcomes.