Why do kids play sports? Peter Barston still asking

Back in January, I wrote a piece for the New York Times about Peter Barston, a young man from Darien, Connecticut who had spent many hours studying the reasons kids play sports.

Peter, 15, put together a survey listing 11 potential reasons. The top answer again and again was the simplest: To have fun. As the article noted, i=t was the top response from football and basketball players, from boys and from girls, and from players in each grade from fourth to eighth. In the basketball survey, 95 percent of boys and 98 percent of girls cited fun as a reason for playing, nearly twice the number who mentioned winning.

I just got a note from Peter telling me he has added two more sports to his research: baseball and softball programs in Darien.

Here's what he found this time around - essentially more of the same.

In the softball survey, the top five reasons given by youth players:

1. To Have Fun
2. To Make Friends
3. To Improve My Skills and Learn to Play Softball the Right Way
4. For the Excitement and Challenge of Competition
5. To Be Part of a Team and Learn Teamwork

"To Win" was No. 9.

In the baseball poll, here are the most cited reasons:

1. To Have Fun
2. To Make Friends
3. To Improve My Skills and Learn to Play Baseball the Right Way
4. To Stay in Shape and Get Exercise
5. To Be Part of a Team and Learn Teamwork.

"To Win" was No. 8.
"To Earn a College Scholarship" was No. 10.
"Because My Parents Asked Me To Play" was No. 11, dead last.