June 2010 Benefits of Sports: Excellence and Success
In the midst of Flyer’s Fever, Philadelphia has the
opportunity to win a championship that this city has not seen in over 30
years.What is even more amazing is how
this hockey team manages to win.Their determination
and optimism serves up goal after goal, from the start of the first period
until the final buzzer.Sports and games
teach this kind of perseverance and provide many other invaluable benefits.
Sports offer teens the unique opportunity to receive
the attention and respect they desire, while demonstrating and developing their
own natural talents.Participation in
sports provides opportunities for leadership and socialization, as well as the
development of skills for handling success and failure.
Whenever students participate in games, they come to understand how rules work. They experience first hand how rules are needed to maintain order and that each person must follow the rules for the good of the team.
Sports provide a fun and rewarding way for kids to develop their abilities. With effort and trial-and-error they will find something that they like. When they do something well, it makes them feel good about
themselves, while also teaching them about the importance of practice and the neccessity of patience. Developing a skill, like shooting a basketball
or mastering a takedown, entails an understanding that practice is vital
and that improvement is incremental. Repition teaches the
athlete how to master a move and also how to experiment with different
approaches to improve a skill. The results in sports are usually immediate-does the ball go into the basket?Did the opponent fall to the mat? The athlete can change or repeat what
she’s doing and figure out how to get better. Not only that, the whole process
of seeing practice lead to improvement gives kids a feeling of control and independence.
Sports will help prevent alcohol and drug abuse because sports increase awareness of one’s body
and how it responds to different substances. Good athletes value what their bodies can do and want
to maintain those abilities. Being an athlete also gives kids an acceptable
reason for telling their friends no when offered drugs, alcohol, and other high-risk,
unhealthy behaviors, because they do not want to jeopardize their spot on the
team. Because kids can see the difference in their performance sports teach self-discipline, the value of
preparation, and the importance of healthy habits.
Competitive athletes learn the importance preparation, effort, and smart risk-taking. They see that preparation
is key and that raw
physical talent is not always sufficient to win the game. This includes mental preparation, such as focus, and physical
fitness as well as practicing the plays with their teammates in team sports.
They learn to evaluate risk versus reward. Another invaluable lesson is
discovering that mistakes are part of learning; they signal that a particular
approach is unsuccessful and you must try another. Kids also learn to deal
productively with criticism as part of improvement and preparation.
Sports provide an unparalleled model for dealing with disappointment and
misfortune. Young athletes learn to overcome misfortunes, whether it’s rallying a loss or missing an important shot. They find ways to deal with losing and go on, because there’s another
big game next week or next season. They figure out what to do to get what they
want for themselves. They do additional workouts or improve on specific
weaknesses in their game.
Finally, team sports offer kids a rare opportunity to serve as leaders. Kids
can be in a position to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their various
teammates and help to utitilize their strengths and compensate for their
weaknesses. They can minimize conflicts among players. They can reinforce
values, such as fair play, sportsmanship, hard work, and mental preparation, by
speaking up when appropriate and setting a good example. They can also take the
initiative in arranging for team dress on game days (i.e. wearing jerseys to
class) organizing team dinners or team movie nights, and inviting teachers and
administrators to their games.
Athletics provide valuable lessons and offer students the chance to
excel.Excellence in sports will teach
them excellence in all aspects of their lives, making athletics a fundamental part of positive growth and development.
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