• Posted May 12, 2026

After-School Sports An Overall Boon To Children And Teens, Study Shows

Children benefit in both body and mind when they participate in after-school sports, a new study says.

Kids in after-school sports show measurable advantages in brainpower, mental health and physical fitness, researchers reported in the journal Exercise, Sports and Movement.

These advantages remained even after researchers controlled for social, economic and demographic differences between kids, the study found.

“We show that children and teens who participated in after-school sports consistently demonstrated better psychological and physical health outcomes than those who didn't,” senior researcher Nicole Logan said in a news release. She’s an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island.

For the study, her team analyzed data from an ongoing developmental study of children growing up in the New York City area.

They compared 391 children and teenagers who participated in after-school sports with another 391 who didn’t take part in sports, looking at academics, cognitive function, mental health and physical fitness.

Results showed that kids in after-school sports had improved:

• Ability to plan, organize and think quickly

• Language comprehension skills

• Grades and other academic outcomes

• Social awareness

• Physical health, including strength, flexibility, daily energy burn and resting heart rate

These benefits should extend to all kids no matter what their background, Logan said.

“An important aspect of this study is that even after controlling for socio-demographic determinants of physical activity, we still observed widespread benefits for fitness, muscular strength, flexibility, social awareness skills, executive function and academic performance,” Logan said.

“Given that health disparities persist for many families, our results show that we should encourage equitable access to sport and physical activity to promote healthy child development,” Logan said.

The study has been recognized by the American College of Sports Medicine as a 2025 Paper of the Year.

“This paper stood out for both its scientific rigor and its clear societal relevance,” Jennifer Heisz, editor-in-chief of Exercise, Sports and Movement, said in a news release.

“The findings provide meaningful evidence that participation in after-school sports is associated with benefits across cognitive, mental health and physical domains, underscoring the importance of expanding equitable access to school and community programs that support brain and body health,” she said.

More information

Stanford University has more on exercise, students and better grades.

SOURCE: American College of Sports Medicine, news release, May 7, 2026