The studies surveyed indicate that: * Children and youth who participate in organized sports are higher achievers in terms of grades and dropout rates, as well as related measures of academic achievement, such as homework completion and educational aspirations. * Physical activity, including participation in organized sports, produces intellectual and academic benefits that may have long-term positive effects on life chances. * Participation in physical activity affects key brain functions critical to learning. * Both boys and girls reap the achievement benefits of participation in organized sports. * Participants in organized sports are more likely to attend college and to land better jobs with more responsibility and higher pay. Connect sports-based youth development programs more deliberately to schools and learning. * Require school attendance and/or performance and offer supports to help students meet these requirements.\n Make the case that participation in organized and structured activities is beneficial to child and adolescent development and that participation is more about learning skills and connecting to academics than about competition. * Strengthen teachers', staff's, and coaches' sensitivity to parents' cultural experiences, values, and belief systems as a way to help parents see the benefits of their children's participation in sports. * Educate parents about what makes a quality program.