The importance of extracurricular activities for our youth just cannot be underestimated.

Not only do sports or activities such as band or cheerleading give our youth something to stay entertained and make friends, but several studies also support the notion that there are educational benefits to extracurricular activities.

The social aspect of playing a sport or participating on a team allows our future leaders to make friends at an early age and bond together the way our city’s current leaders have to when a problem needs a fast solution. It also gives them another opportunity to attend college by earning an athletic scholarship on top of an academic one.

Although a little dated, a study completed by the Institute of Education Sciences in the 1990s shows the strength in those statements.

At that time, 50.4 percent of students participating in extracurricular activities had zero unexcused absences, compared to 36.2 percent of non-participants. The numbers also showed that 30.6 percent of those in at least one extracurricular activity had a GPA of 3.0 or above, compared to 10.8 percent of non-participants.

The numbers seem to be pretty telling.

Being a former high school athlete, I remember never wanting to miss school because I knew I’d have to get to football or basketball practice that afternoon anyways. Plus, I knew my coaches would know whether or not I was in school and would want to know where I was if I missed.

Most of our area coaches do a good job of keeping their athletes in check.

For example, Selma head football coach Leroy Miles always has his sheet of players’ grades near him, so that he can see who can take the field and who shouldn’t.

The Aspen Institute’s Project Play, which was launched in 2013 and is dedicating itself to reshaping youth sports in the United States, lists other positives to taking part in extracurricular activities.

The organization’s website references a study from the Women’s Sports Foundation from 2004 that says female high school students are less likely to be sexually active, use drugs or suffer from depression if they are participating in a sport of some kind.

The website also says that high school athletes are more likely than non-athletes to attend college.

As a non-expert on this kind of thing, I’d say that it only makes sense. Athletes have more to put on a job resume as well, especially if they served a team captain or obtained some kind of award.

Extracurricular activities play a huge role in the lives of our youth. Statistics prove it and they give our children a chance to have fun while learning how to work as a key cog in a team of moving parts.