Teamwork Jon Butler, executive director of Pop Warner, a nonprofit organization that encourages football, cheer and dance participation, says team sports build remarkable bonds. Contact sports like football build even stronger bonds than non-contact sports, he believes, as teammates literally “have one another’s backs.” Football requires each player to execute his assignment on every play to help bring the team to victory. Butler says this ingrained teamwork may be why the greatest correlation among Fortune 500 CEOs is their prior participation in team sports.
Physical Fitness Boys and girls who play youth football engage in hours of exercise. Pop Warner leagues require 20 hours of conditioning with no pads and no contact, according to the league's website. Football involves plenty of running and helps combat rising childhood obesity levels by luring young people from their television sets and video games.
Character Children who play football learn discipline, suggests Steve Siebold,
