Ben’s talk highlights the many benefits of playing sports, focusing on how it can lead to greater academic achievement whilst also reducing mental health issues. He uses his personal experience of being a member of England’s Waterpolo National Academy to illustrate his arguments. Ben Rock is a year 11 student at Queen Elizabeth’s School. Ben has been passionate about sport since he started playing waterpolo aged nine and, from then on, has strived to influence people to get involved in all types of sports. He is interested in STEM subjects, especially engineering, while also having wider interests such as playing the piano and learning languages. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx