KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In a article published Tuesday in the Journal of the America Medical Association doctors found playing sports could lower the likelihood of experiencing depression and anxiety as an adult. But experts here in Knoxville believe they are already dedicated to this work.
"I had a conversation with a young man yesterday about using sports as an outlet," Emerald youth foundation Sports Director Sanford Miller said.
Miller spends many days making sure kids who play sports have what they need to be successful.
"Take a gift that god has given them and use that to the betterment of their future," he said.
The study published this week found it found during a 14 year span, those who experienced childhood trauma and played sports were less likely to test positively for depressive symptoms.
"By using some of those things affecting you on a negative aspect and turn them to a positive," Miller said.
It's a conclusion child trauma specialist Melissa Rose said could really change the narrative for kids everywhere.
"Specifically for kids exposed to trauma, its really good for them to get their mind off of things," she said.
However the study and Rose point out a caveat.
"With sports there's a lot of times they are expensive, there's uniform fees," Rose said.
Expenses Rose said could amount to hundreds of dollars.In fact just last year the Aspen Institute found only 34% of children in families making less than $25,000 played sports at least one day in 2017.
Rose believes this is a problem.
"I think we could do better as a community to make sports more approachable," she said.
Making sports approachable is something Miller said Emerald works to do every single day in East Tennessee.
"Whether its a gym, a swimming pool, a football field or a soccer field, just give them an opportunity to put whatever it is behind them," he said.
He said Hopefully through doing so trauma rates will go down, and the number of mentally healthy adults will go up.
"It's a true meaning of what we're trying to do in the city," he said.