Sports are universally accepted as a positive outlet for the energies of young people, and are respected for the recreational value provided for the whole family in any community. In academic settings, sports and other extra-curricular activities have been proven to greatly enhance the learning environment, educational process, and improve student performance.

Sports gives young people confidence, teaches values, and reduces delinquency by providing young people healthy outlets to their energies. Community recreational sport leagues make communities stronger and more enjoyable places to live. Finally, by building a broad based foundation for sports, this will produce the future pool of players, coaches, fans, and sponsors for professional and national teams.

Sport is a classroom

While sport is an outstanding and vital investment into the community, it also serves as an outstanding classroom for the future of a nation – the young people. Sport represents young people’s lives. Sport is the showcase where young people are given the chance to develop what is of interest to them, at this point of their lives. Sport is the stage where young people have the opportunity to perform and display their talents and character to the world.

Sport offers these kids the opportunity to learn the essential qualities and values of hard work, dedication, teamwork, self-discipline, and abiding by rules. These qualities are essential for the success of an individual, but also for the success of family, community and nation. Sport allows the opportunity for young people to gain confidence in order to accept the greater challenges of life ahead. In short, sport is an outstanding instrument to build and shape character of young people and a nation.

The future of a nation is its young people. Today’s young athletes are tomorrow’s professional athletes, coaches, teachers, professionals, businessmen, and government leaders. Now is our brief opportunity to invest our time and resources into their lives while they need us, while they are still young and developing.

Now is our opportunity, and even our responsibility to make time for them, and be there for them. It is our duty to lead by example and model to them the virtues of selfless sacrifice and dedication to others by sacrificing and dedicating our time and our resources to them. Such opportunities will ultimately benefit both youth and society by providing healthy outlets for their energies. The unfortunate alternative may be idleness, despair, crime, drugs and alcohol.

School based sport programs enhance the educational process

Education is the key to the success of the young people and of the nation of Kazakhstan. Today’s students of Kazakhstan have the potential to become tomorrow’s world leaders in the introduction of new technologies, goods, and services in global markets. This mandate can only be accomplished through hard work, dedication, and excellence in academic preparation.

Studies have demonstrated that extra-curricular activities such as interscholastic and intercollegiate sport programs are an extremely valuable asset to the educational process. They provide an outstanding channel for the energies of students and generate greater enthusiasm in the learning process. This results in a more outstanding environment for the educational, social, and moral development of young people. Sport is a vital component of the educational process.

Guiding values and principles of school and university based sport programs

School, university, and recreational sport programs should be an instrument to provide fair and friendly athletic competition to young people, in order to provide an atmosphere conducive to the social, academic, and athletic development of the student athlete.

The spirit of the school league should be one which models to students, parents, and the community the virtues of honesty, integrity, abiding by the rules, fair play, and protecting the interests of young people.

Academics must be the priority for student athletes. Student athletes must maintain acceptable academic standards and the highest standards of conduct in order to be eligible for participation. In short, the highest value must be the students education and to protect the best interest and well being of the student athlete.

Proposed Organizational Structure

The Ministry of Tourism and Sport and Ministry of Education should provide the budget necessary for successful implementation of these programs. The development of community recreational leagues would be done cooperatively with local city governments.

Various leadership positions will be filled at the discretion of the consultant. These would include administration for school leagues, university leagues, and recreational leagues. This project will include the development and implementation of a system for recruiting, training, licensing, and scheduling of referees to service these leagues.

To ensure the success of these leagues, the administration of school, university, recreational, and professional leagues must remain completely separate and free of potential conflicts of interests. Regulations must be implemented and enforced which will ensure compliance with the educational objectives of school and university leagues. This will protect the credibility and positive image of school and university based leagues.

Community recreational sport leagues

Community based sport leagues is an outstanding project for building stronger communities. For kids, sport provides healthy outlets for their youthful energies, teaches values for life, helps shape character, and instills kids with confidence. Community based sport leagues provide a focal point where families can come together for a common goal of watching and supporting their children as they participate in such leagues. This fosters interaction and connectedness, which helps pull communities together and promotes the desire for citizens to get involved and help in the community.

Community based sport leagues are good for the community. They are a worthwhile investment in the young people. Community based leagues will be successful only as people in the community take ownership of such programs and help make them a reality through sacrifice for the sake of the youth. Communities must recognize the value of such community based programs and be willing to invest time and energy through volunteerism. This is how leagues become self sustaining. This is how communities become great places to live.

Parks and Recreation Model

In the United States, city and municipal governments have a division for Parks and Recreation. This department is responsible for the development of community parks, maintenance of grounds and facilities, and for the development of community sport programs which are held at park facilities. Baseball leagues, soccer leagues, American football leagues, and volleyball leagues are offered for children of the city. Additional leagues are also offered for adults as well.

The Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for the availability of facilities and organization of the leagues. Individuals and community organizations often direct the leagues voluntarily in the spirit of giving something back to the kids and the community. Participants pay a fee to enter the leagues. These fees and additional donations from community trusts and organizations help finance the leagues.

Parents often serve as volunteer coaches for these leagues. Only referees receive pay for their work. These community based leagues provide children with healthy outlets for their energies. This consequently improves the community morale, and reduces juvenile crime and substance abuse as young people are occupied with healthy activities for their energies.

Additionally public parks may offer walking trails, running tracks, areas for walking pets, playgrounds for children, small fishing ponds, archery courses, skate parks, ice skating rinks during the winter, and outdoor amphitheatres for community concerts. The city park becomes an ideal location for families to spend time together to relax after a hard days work. This also fosters community interaction which fosters close knit communities. This results in greater civic pride, community responsibility, and promotes civic volunteerism. This makes cities more desirable for living, thus being more attractive to new business and investment.