Social systems and their relationship to physical activity and sports

Abstract

Physical activity and sports have remained throughout the ages and civilizations a means of physical, social and cultural expression and a pillar of interaction in society. It is considered one of the foundations of daily life. In the past, physical activity and sports were the only means to ensure living or rather to ensure survival. It relied on running, archery and swimming. But the amazing development that the world witnessed in general soon led to the creation of new ways to practice physical activity and sports, which is considered today a type of social and cultural activity that affects a large segment of people. In addition, it has become a phenomenon that controls a large extent in the bonds and social relationships between individuals in terms of practicing physical activity. Considering that during his life the individual goes through a crucial stage, which is adolescence, which presents him with acute problems that he has not encountered before, such as the difficulty of dealing with the members of his society and integrating into it, which exposes him to psychological and social crises that may lead him to the inevitable entry into the labyrinths of deviance and dissolution. Physical activity and sports have emerged as a factor that provides adolescents with a central position within their communities and a successful means of channeling excess energy, protecting them from psychological complexes, and ensuring their active participation in developing a sound personality that integrates well with their social environment. This has made physical activity and sports a social phenomenon in its own right, occupying a prominent place in individuals' public and private lives due to its contribution to healthy physical and mental development. It also fosters interpersonal relationships and strengthens social bonds. All of this has led to physical activity and sports occupying a significant place within the educational system, as evidenced by the activities students engage in outside of regular school hours. The purpose of these activities is to provide every student with the opportunity to participate in their preferred sport. Schools have entrusted physical activity and sports with the task of shaping the men and women of tomorrow, equipping them with the physical, psychological, and moral qualities that make them suitable leaders in various spheres of social life and resilient in a world that leaves no room for laziness or complacency. However, the reality of physical and sports activity in our country sometimes testifies that it is going through a very difficult period, whether in terms of the wrong social vision or the social, economic and cultural conditions of the family, which have reduced the pace of the student’s practice of physical and sports activities, or in terms of the conditions and factors that our schools are experiencing, such as the supervision that remains insufficient in comparison to the huge numbers of students, or in terms of the hourly size of the physical education and sports class, which has become disproportionate to the enormity of the tasks placed upon it, or in terms of the equipment and sports facilities that remain insufficient to practice the teaching of its various activities in a normal and fruitful manner. Also, the lack of encouragement and motivation from the student’s peers, as well as their lack of practice of physical and sports activity, was another factor that reduced the pace of the student’s practice of physical and sports activity. Therefore, in this study, the researcher will attempt to address the extent to which these conditions and factors are true and their relationship to the student's actual practice of physical activity and sports, revealing their various aspects and uncovering hidden aspects that have often been overlooked and which have hindered the student's practice of physical activity.