Participating in a team sport is a very good way of improving children's concentration in class and their self-regulation skills, says a new Canadian study.

To be more attentive in class and better able to learn, children should participate in an extracurricular sport from a young age, especially a team sport, says Linda Pagani, a researcher at Montreal's Sainte-Justine children's hospital in Canada and a professor at the Montreal University's School of Psychoeducation.

Her research was presented in Chicago on November 11.

Linda Pagani and her team said that the aim of their study was to answer two questions: does participation in extracurricular activities in kindergarten predict fourth-grade self-discipline? And do kindergarten self-discipline characteristics predict fourth-grade participation in sports? These predictive characteristics include classroom engagement, physical aggression, impulsivity and emotional distress.

The researchers studied the data on 2,694 children born between 1997 and 1998 retrieved from the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Child Development based on questionnaires filled in by teachers and interviews with parents.

Their results indicated that children who had better behavior in kindergarten were more likely to be involved in sports by age 10, and that those children who were involved in a team sport from kindergarten had greater self-regulation skills in fourth grade.

"By the time they reached the fourth grade, kids who played structured sports were identifiably better at following instructions and remaining focused in the classroom," explained Pagani.

She also suggested that team sports give a sense of belonging to a specific group with a common goal that helps children understand the importance of respecting rules and honoring responsibilities.