Impact of Soccer for Success Measured in Latest Participant Survey
Results compiled by Lafayette College students and CUYS externs Lucy McShane and David Mizrahi.
Supported by the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Soccer for Success is a youth developmental curriculum that uses soccer as a tool to provide children with social skills, physical activity, and mentorship opportunities. The goal of the program is to help them develop into successful individuals.
At the end of every Chester Upland Youth Soccer (CUYS) Soccer for Success season, site directors administer a post-season survey to assess the emotional, social, and behavioral changes in participants. Here are the most interesting findings from Fall 2022 and Winter 2023.
Within the program 88% of the families involved qualified for free or reduced lunch. The others declined to answer that question.
There was a fairly even gender distribution with 53% of the group identifying as female, and 47% identifying as male.
42% of the children are in kindergarten to second grade, 50% of them are in third to fifth grade, and 8% of them in sixth to eighth grade.
African Americans accounted for 60%, Caucasians 19%, Hispanic/ Latino 14%, and 2% preferred not to answer.
When asked:
“After participating in Soccer for Success, like the game of soccer more”
79% responded “yes”
21% responded “kind of”
“After participating in Soccer for Success, make healthier choices when deciding when to eat or drink”
92% responded “agree”
3% responded “neutral”
5% responded “disagree”
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I understand the importance of being properly hydrated”
100% responded “agree”
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I understand the importance of getting enough sleep."
92% responded “agree”
4% responded “neutral”
4% responded “disagree”
“After participating in Soccer for Success, I enjoy working with my teammates more”
96% responded “agree”
4% responded “neutral”
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I try harder to stay away from violence and fighting."
92% responded “agree”
8% no response
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I try harder in school."
92% responded “agree”
8% no response
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I feel better about myself."
88% responded “agree”
12% no response
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I enjoy the idea of physical activity more than I did prior?"
88% responded “agree”
12% no response
"After participating in Soccer for Success, I want to participate in more sports and activities?"
83% responded “agree”
17% no response
Additional Research Supporting the Benefit of Exercise on Children's Health
We are committed to bettering children's lives physically and mentally. We look to outside research to confirm the benefit of exercise and other strategies we implement. Below please find quotes taken from outside sources that help support the potential benefits of participating in Soccer for Success:
“Studies based on U.S. samples have shown that engagement in sports is concurrently related to higher levels of psychosocial maturity and social competence” (Fletcher et al., 2003)
“Young people who participate in athletics are healthier, less likely to be obese and more successful academically, as they are better able to concentrate and behave and therefore complete high school and attend college” (Up2Us Sports
“Mentored youth are more likely to aspire to and attend college, more likely to take leadership roles in school and extracurricular activities, and more likely to regularly volunteer in their communities” (“The Mentoring Effect,” 2014)
“Young athletes do better in school, devote more time to studying, think more about their future, aspire to attend and graduate college, and have lower suspension and expulsion rates” (“The Benefits of Youth Sports,” 2017 National Council for Youth Sports)
“Youth sports may help participants develop skills, both cognitive and non-cognitive. Cognitive skills include problem solving and analytical skills,and the returns they generate in the labor market are well-documented in the economics literature. Non-cognitive skills include motivation, conscientiousness, perceptions of self-worth and social skills—factors that have each been estimated to positively impact earnings and/or employment There is also an increasing awareness of the importance of non-cognitive skills—including motivation, conscientiousness, perceptions of self-worth and social skills—for labor market outcomes” (Dunifon and Duncan 1998; Kautz et al. 2014; Heckman et al. 2006; Deming 2017)
“Researchers* estimate the average benefit-cost ratio for SEL interventions is 11 to 1. This means that, on average, for every $1 invested in Social Emotional Learning programs, there is a return of $11 due to improved health and increased work and earnings, as well as reductions in substance abuse, crime, and incarceration.” (Clive Belfield et al., “The Economic Value of Social and Emotional Learning,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis 6 (2015): 508–44)