Having had both of my boys on various sports teams, I have seen them grow up into fine young men and part of that I definitely attribute to their participation in sports. There are many, many good things about being part of something bigger, and I’ve listed some great reasons to be on a team.
1. Learning that nobody is perfect
Teaching this has been a struggle at times. Children need to learn at an early age that everyone is different and that all players have different skill levels. I’ve seen both of my kids being critical of other kids who may not have been as talented as them in certain aspects. This always drives me crazy. At 15 and 13 I think they’ve finally realized that no one is perfect at everything and that they will make plenty of mistakes as well, so it’s not okay to criticize other players for their errors.
2. Learning to compete
We all know how competitive the workplace is and kids are never too young to learn about healthy competition. I feel like competition comes more naturally to boys, so having girls in competitive sports really helps them to feel like they can achieve their goals. and exceed expectations of what they think is possible.
3. Working together
I guess this one’s pretty obvious. Learning how to work with others is essential to growing as an individual. Being able to get along with people and being part of a team is invaluable experience for later in life.
4. Maintaining physical fitness
Ongoing exercise from a young age will get kids in the habit of staying active and keep them in good shape for the future. Kids who are lazy and inactive tend to stay that way so it’s important to get them started young with physical activity.
5. Learning to love sports
Sports can be wonderful outlet and to be able to play is one of the greatest gifts in life. I played sports as a child and to this day I’m still a huge fan of all sports. Loving sports gives people a common interest and going to baseball, football, basketball and other sports games are very enjoyable experiences.
6. Learning respect for coaches and mentors
Almost all of our kids are going to grow up and work for someone. Coaches and other mentors are very much like bosses to our children and learning to have respect and following instructions helps them get used to the idea of having another person in charge of them. They might not like it at times, but it’s part of life and we all have to get used to it.
7. Gaining self-esteem
Success can be very addicting and early success in sports can help your child build the confidence and self-esteem they need for the future. Each time they make a good play or get a hit they are adding another building block to that core.
8. Learning to achieve goals
Each play in a game, each hit, and each out is a separate goal that players have to achieve. The game itself, a tournament, or a championship are each goals that are built upon. Kids need to learn this invaluable lesson about setting out to complete a task and finishing it.
9. Building life-long friendships
My kids still hang out with kids they played sports with a few years ago and I know quite a few people who are still friends with old team mates. It’s wonderful to have friends with whom you’ve shared competitive struggles and exciting milestones. The memories will last for a lifetime.
10. Spending time with family
Sports are a great way to bring families together for outings at the game. Moms, Dads, Grandparents, and other relatives love to come out and see the kids play and sitting in the bleachers watching the games is a fantastic chance to catch up with those people you haven’t seen lately, or just to spend time together. With our busy and hectic lives, ball games are the perfect opportunity to slow things down, relax, and just hang out and enjoy ourselves.
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Having competed in youth baseball for most of my childhood I completely agree with you. All ten of the reasons you’ve listed are right on the money. Playing baseball as a kid helped me in so many ways even today. It’s really the first opportunity you get to work with a team. And to learn what it’s like to be on a team with other kids who are different or who you may not like at first. You learn to get along and put the team first, and this is an important life lesson.
Hi Mike. Thanks so much for stopping by my page and for your insights on your experience with playing baseball. Thanks for adding the part about kids who may be different or who you may not like at first. Those are great things to consider. 🙂
Hi,
I love this list. I really agree with you that sports are great for kids.
I personally think that healthy competition is really good for kids(and adults) development.
As you say, it helps them in the real world. I think that it helps people learn that if they work hard and practice regularly they can improve no matter how challenging something is.
Human beings are capable of some very difficult things and I attribute a lot of those things to competition.
Even with business, healthy competition yields stronger businesses.
Cheers,
Robert
Robert, thanks so much for visiting my page and for your comments. I appreciate it! 🙂
I agree with everything you have said. I grew up playing a sport every season of the year. baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse. One thing you learn is how to lose. When you compete with everything you have and you lose its incredibly hard. It always drove me mad. I can still remember to this day losing a football game and going home and throwing passes into a net in my backyard for hours after a loss. The idea of participation trophies really pisses me off today. Our KIDS need to lose then need to understand sometimes you gave it your all and it was not good enough. You have two options in life which translates from sports. You either quit or you spend your time getting better and earn everything. This is what sports taught me. I received a participation trophy once. I snapped it in half n put in the garbage. I wasn’t good enough to win the conference. I worked so damn hard after every loss its what still drives me today. Losing sometimes is the best motivator. Maybe I was too competitive but that drive gave me a full ride to play lacrosse in college. Losing sucks, you only get better from a lost!
Kurtis, thanks for your thoughts and for visiting my page. I completely agree about the participation trophies. The winner should get a trophy and that’s it. The losers should learn to lose. Congratulations on your full ride to play lacrosse. I’m hoping that one or both of my boys can do the same in one of their sports. 🙂
my advice for your boys regardless of their sports is to always have a reality check. They might be the best on their team or in a certain league. They need to play travel teams and go to different camps and be on other teams. Its the only way to really know what level of skill they have and what their weaknesses would be.
This might be bad but my mom use to tell me after a game i played bad or scared in she was going to buy me a pink helmet if i continued to play a like….well we will say girl, yeah she said played like a girl. so you can help motivate! just know how to motivate your boys haha
I love this! Our kids are 3.5 and 2, and my husband and I are really looking forward to getting them involved in team sports. We both grew up with parents who encouraged them, so we know first hand how awesome it is.
What’s your opinion on the Dad being the coach for the team? I’ve often wondered if it’s beneficial or detrimental for the child… or do you think it depends on the child’s personality?
Hi Marlaine, thanks for visiting my page. I think Dads can be great coaches. The key is patience. You can’t expect much when they are just starting to learn so being kind and positive is the best way to make them love the game. You’re going to love it! 🙂