The After School Corporation (TASC), which runs sports programs for New York City children, commissioned research into how well the programs were working to achieve positive goals. The results showed the programs were successful in giving children a safe place to play, which many inner-city children would not have otherwise. Beyond that, however, success of the programs depended on finding trained coaches with positive attitudes who were able to inspire the children to achieve individual skill goals, keep them interested with high-energy programs, include all the children regardless of ability, and keep them safe from injury.
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), a research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, studied the extent to which sports programs developed positive moral character. After examining a wide variety of results by independent researchers, ERIC concluded that merely participating in sports was more likely to cultivate dishonesty and hypocrisy than honesty and integrity. What worked were methods that intentionally taught both children and adults about moral conduct. One method was a video watched by coaches and children, in which sports scenarios were depicted and children were asked what decision would show good sportsmanship and moral integrity, and why.
The National Middle School Association (NMSA) reported its research summary on middle school athletic programs as they are, and as they need to be. NMSA found that most middle school sports programs fall far short of the stated goals that such programs be developmentally appropriate, open to all and comply with national standards. During the particularly sensitive middle school years, children are still developing their skills and self-confidence. Therefore, NMSA concluded, sports programs should encourage participation in a variety of sports and be non-competitive, focusing instead on learning new skills and the meaning of fair play and emphasizing enjoyment of sports over the pressures of winning.
Studies of the effect of sports participation on girls, reported on the website America.gov, are interesting because it is possible to see how girls have changed since Title IX was passed in 1972, requiring more sports teams to be created for girls. It was found that girls who played sports had better attitudes, higher grade-point averages, were less likely to become pregnant and more likely to finish college. The caveat obvious in the research was that the sports had to be well-organized and run by adults skilled in both the sport and in working with and motivating children.