10 Reasons Why Kids Should Play Team Sports

Having kids participate in sports is without a doubt very beneficial. Sports will keep kids busy and keep them physically active. With that said, the best sports for kids are team sports.  When kids participate in team sports like football, hockey, soccer, basketball, and baseball they will learn several life skills that they will carry into teen and adulthood.

Here are 10 Reasons Why Kids Should Play Team Sports:

Social Skills

When playing team sports kids will communicate and interact with other kids and adults (coaches). One of the most important traits children need to develop are their social skills. The best way to develop your child’s social skills is by having them participate in team sports. In team sports, kids will have to communicate with coaches and teammates on a regular basis.

Fact: If you want your child to become more social you have to put them in social situations. 

Teamwork

Team sports will require kids to work with their teammates towards one collective team goal. They will learn how to practice, encourage, and motive their teammates on a regular basis. Team sports will require each individual player to do a job in order to have team success. Kids need to learn about teamwork when they are young because they will need to be able to work with other people as they grow older.

Fact: Teamwork is needed in school, sports. work, and in every aspect of life. 

Physically Fitness 

Childhood obesity is running rampant across our entire country. Obesity is contributed to poor dietary habits and constant inactivity. Playing team sports will keep kids physically active. Team sports will force kids to become better athletes because they will be executing a variety of different exercises during practice. They will strengthen their body and the constant exercise will help reduce stress and build their  self-esteem.  Let’s not forget that physical fitness will help develop coordination as well. Kids that play sports will have better balanced, core strength, posture, and overall coordination than a kid that sits and plays video games all day long. When parents allow their children to become obese, they are setting them up for failure.

Fact: Exercise is the best way to naturally relieve stress. 

Keeps Kids Busy 

Team sports will keep kids busy and around other kids that are on the same path. Participating in team sports will put your child in a safe and structured environment. They will be learning a variety of different skills that they will take with them as they grow older. I much rather have my kid come home from school and go to practice, rather than come home and play video games all night long. Kids that participate in sports on a regular basis are less likely to drop out of school and do drugs.

Fact: When kids have nothing to do that is when they get themselves into trouble.

Dealing with Adversity

One of the most important things to do is to challenge your child.  Team sports will require your kids to push through adversity. It will force them to go to practice every single day. They will learn how to push through things when they are tired or frustrated.  As we all know life is full of adversity, so lets train our children how to deal with adversity through team sports.

Fact: Life is full of adversity. If we don’t teach our kids how to deal with adversity we are setting them up for failure. 

(See Also) Handling Sudden Change and Having Resilience

Develops Competitiveness

Life is full of situations were you have to compete. One of the worst traits you can have is the unwillingness to compete. In today’s world if people aren’t willing to compete they will find themselves getting the short end of the stick on a regular basis. Being competitive isn’t just about being better than everyone else.  Kids need to learn to challenge and compete with themselves to become better every single day. Every single successful person I know is competitive. They are not just competing with others, they are very driven and are always competing with themselves.  When kids grow older they will need to be competitive in school, sports, and in life. It’s a competitive world out there. Team sports is the ultimate platform for preparing your children for a very competitive world.

Fact: Life is a competition. Kids need to learn that they will have to compete for everything in life. 

Friendships

I’ve played team sports my entire life. To this day, I am still in contact with many of my former teammates. When you participate in team sports you go through so much with your teammates. You practice and work hard together all year long.  This creates a bond that no other activity can replicate. Playing team sports will develop relationships that will last a lifetime.

Fact: There is no better way to grow a friendship than through team sports.

Taking Instruction/ Better Grades

In order to be successful in life you will need to learn how to take instruction. Participating in youth sports will teach kids how to take orders from someone of authority. When kids are receptive to instruction, they will be able to learn very quickly and they will be able to handle a heavy workload. Team sports just doesn’t exercise your muscles, sports exercises your brain as well. Team sports actually increases a child’s learning ability.  It’s a known fact that student athletes perform better in the classroom.

Fact: Student athletes average .50-.70 higher grade point averages than students that do not participate in sports.

Winning and Losing

Playing team sports will teach your kids how to win and how to lose. In every competitive sport there will be a winner and a loser. Sometimes kids will be on the winning team and sometimes they will be on the losing team. Team sports will teach kids how to come off a defeated and continue to work hard.  When a team works hard and it translates into a positive result, there is no better feeling. Team sports will make kids realize that when you work hard good things will happen.

Fact: In life you will win some and you will lose some. Team youth sports will teach kids that from an early age.

Teaches Commitment

Team sports will teach kids about how to be a part of something bigger than themselves. When you sign up to play a team sport, you are required to go to practice every single week. Team sports require commitment, discipline, and hard work from all the players. Kids will have to come home from school and do homework, eat dinner, and then go to practice. It’s a lot of work for the kids and the parents. Going to school, doing homework, and then going to practice is pretty much a full time job for the kids. This is great practice for when they grow older and hit the work force!

Fact: Balancing studies, family, and sports is quite challenging. Becoming  a student athlete will teach kids about time management and commitment. 

(See Also) 7 Awesome Reasons Why Kids Should Play Football

Those are our 10 reasons why kids should play team sports. Tell us your thoughts in the comments below…