Annotated Bibliography: Physical Activity for Urban Students

Physical Activity Programs for Underserved Youth

Hellison, D. (2000). Physical activity programs for underserved youth. Journal of Science and

Medicine in Sport 3 (3): 238-242.

This article briefly summarizes the lack of opportunities there are for “undeserved” youth in urban environments to participate in organized physical activity programs.  The scarcity of youth physical activity programs leads to more time spent unsupervised for youth who already lack supervision.  The author describes the current efforts being made to increase programs such as Soccer in the Streets and Midnight Basketball.  These programs are effective in decreasing crime rates and boosting academic performance but are not especially tailored to meet the learning styles of most undeserved youth.  The author briefly explains his Social and Personal Responsibility Model (RM) that he designed for urban physical education, and how to apply it to urban physical activity programs to make them more effective for undeserved youth.