Sentence:  The Outdoor Education Project took cognizance of the fact , so often overlooked , that athletic activities stressed in most school programs have little or no relationship to the physical and mental <WSD>needs</WSD> and interests of later life . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior