Vital Role of Physical Activity and Sport

Honourable senators, I am pleased to stand today to speak to the inquiry about the importance of physical activity and the vital role that it plays. I likely would not have selected this particular scheduling of the subject matter, given recent topics in the house this afternoon, but I feel, nonetheless, it is very important to talk about physical activity and its importance. Let me say why sports matter.

I was delighted that senators came forward with this inquiry because it makes us step back and think about it. Maybe at this age, sports are behind me, but probably not. I decided to think about why sports matter.

I have always considered myself sporty. Growing up a tomboy and living with perennially scraped knees, I was either a roughhouser or very clumsy. What I do know is, had it not been for sports, I probably wouldn’t have graduated from high school. I wasn’t a bad student, but the real reason I jumped up in the morning, thoroughly energized for school, was sports: a morning practice, an afternoon game or a lunchtime intramural session.

Our coaches wouldn’t accept students with failing grades. You couldn’t skip class, and if you were caught smoking in the pit, that was it, you were benched.

No smoking in the pit.

For those who played sports in grade school and high school, some of their favourite teachers were guaranteed to be coaches. We remember their names, their behaviours and their sayings. Mrs. McGuffin would yell from the sidelines, “Sandra, keep your elbows down.” Let’s just say getting fouled out of a basketball game happened more than once, so I really needed that reminder.

Years later, I had a chance to meet Professor Marge Holman from the University of Windsor. She was doing fascinating research on the importance of coaching. The jumping-off platform involved studies that for decades tracked kids who did and did not participate in organized sports. You might not be surprised by the results but might be surprised that we don’t take advantage of them.

Over the course of a study that was published in 2015, Geneviève Piché and her team tracked children from kindergarten to grade four. The study found that physical activity in general is associated with better academic performance, including better grades, as well as better concentration, increased attention span and better classroom behaviour.

Project Play from the Aspen Institute summarized their findings on young people in organized sport: In early childhood and adolescence, only 1 in 10 is likely to be obese. Their test scores are up to 40% higher, and they have lower rates of smoking, drug use, pregnancy and risky sex. In adulthood, it’s the following: higher annual lifetime earnings, a more productive working life and a greater likelihood of attending college.

A 2018 study found a higher percentage of high school athletes achieving A grades. A business network study in 2014 found that out of 400 female corporate executives, 94% played sports. Studies indicate that team sports provide stronger benefits for executive function, fostering teamwork, respect and emotional regulation. Children build greater resilience. Team sports help teach adolescents accountability, dedication and trust.

My grade school coach, Mr. Seminuik, used to do a drill that we really hated. You had to turn around, with your teammates behind you, and then you had to fall backwards with your arms outstretched. Your teammates were supposed to catch you. Most of the time, they did. Just like on the court, your teammates count on you doing your part.

This is a great life lesson. If you’re on the volleyball court and the ball is headed your way, you shout, “I’ve got it” or “Mine.” The rest of the team steps back, and you have to get it. The team is counting on you.

At the time of my encounter with Professor Marge Holman, I was the Minister of Community and Social Services for Ontario and had responsibility for women’s issues. We were in the midst of a multi-ministry overhaul of how our government dealt with domestic violence. While most of the government deals with the aftermath — the justice system and the shelter system — we rarely get into the details of or fund prevention.

Professor Holman knew that quality coaching encouraged young women to participate in organized sports and left an indelible mark on their lives. The most important aspects of coaching are self-esteem, self-confidence and a positive body image. Being thin doesn’t matter, but being strong does.

That was really important for young women.

Female athletes are less likely to suffer from loneliness and self-esteem issues when compared to their non-athlete peers. What is the link to domestic violence? What’s the effect of low self-esteem for women? It’s entering into relationships for the wrong reasons and remaining in poor relationships for those reasons, and so often, it escalates into violence. It is much harder to keep strong, confident women with high self-esteem in horrible relationships.

Marge Holman knew that coaches need to understand the role they play in mentoring, team building and building self-confidence in these young girls. Needless to say, we funded her work, which culminated in a Toronto conference that brought coaches together from far and wide.

It should be noted that none of these studies addressed whether winning or even playing well was necessary. What mattered was contributing to the team, being dedicated and wanting to do their very best, even if it sometimes involved getting benched for committing too many fouls.

It’s kind of like I was.

What are other benefits? You cannot be on your phone while you are playing a team sport. You cannot be endlessly or mindlessly scrolling while playing sports. Likewise, you have to look at your teammates in the eye and actually be aware of your surroundings. No headphones are allowed.

What are other interesting benefits? The socio-economic status of kids doesn’t matter when you are playing on a team nor does it matter the culture or colour of your teammate. It is a great unifier — something that our society could use right now.

Our current school system has a shortage of coaches. Some schools no longer offer the same level of extracurricular activities that I was used to. The other day, here in the Senate, I met with a group of parents of French immersion students. The coaching shortage is affecting the traditional public and Catholic school systems, but it’s even worse for school boards offering French immersion and French-as-a-first-language programs.

What do I wish for? I wish for an active program that encourages people to get into coaching, an education system that allows coaches in if the school doesn’t have teachers who are prepared to do this extracurricular activity, boards that offer a program allowing teachers to keep coaching even after they retire, school boards that hire teachers who commit to coaching first and school boards that offer training to teach teachers how to coach in order to get these fantastic results I’ve listed today.

Today, we’re in an environment that makes it very popular for Canadians to keep our elbows up. I want to thank Ms. McGuffin for teaching me many years ago when it was important to keep them down, on and off the basketball court.

Senators Deacon, McBean and Petitclerc, thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk about the importance of sport. It’s important in many ways that we may not have thought of before. Thank you.