Sports help youth to develop physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn to play as a member of a team, learn to play fair, and improve self-esteem. Sports also help students become more independent and feel better about themselves. The result is positive self-esteem and self-confidence, which are extremely important for determining later happiness and success.

Sports also offer an enjoyable, exciting environment in which to learn how to handle both failure and success. Everyone wins and loses some of the time in both sports and other endeavors. Winning feels great and empowering but can also cause a young person to feel pressure and anxiety in the next attempt to win. Losing usually produces feelings of sadness, depression, and disappointment. Learning how to cope with these different feelings fosters good mental health.

Another aspect of sports that contributes to a healthy mind is goal-setting. Young people who have goals are more likely to be self-motivated and are usually able to accomplish more because they know what they need to do in order to get ahead. Without goals, adolescents tend to lack direction and focus. The attitudes and behavior taught to young people in sports carry over into adulthood.

Sadako foundation's Contribution
Before earthquake, sports activities were important part of daily life in Azad Kashmir like any healthy society, but after heaviest disaster, they have totally vanished. Azad Kashmir National cricket championship was a famous annual event but it couldn't be conducted in 2006 because of the same reason. To bring back normal life in devastated area, Sadako foundation sponsored this championship held in the month of January 2007. In all 15 matches, Sadako foundation gave Man of the Match prize to players who came up with best performance. This package included cash prize along with a beautiful souvenir.