Life is a sport that starts at a young age.
That’s why you should introduce your child to competition early on. It doesn’t matter what sport you choose, whether they’re swinging a bat or lacing up skates, but regardless there are many benefits of youth sports to consider.
Here are 7 of them…
1. Improves Fitness
This is one of the obvious benefits, but still, a good one when you consider that the rate of obesity is close to 19 percent for those aged 2 to 19.
Controlling weight is a good way to keep related health problems at bay, and it also helps kids get stronger through muscle development. This helps to prevent injuries down the road.
2. Teaches Discipline
With sports, practicing until you get better at something is a necessary challenge. In the process, our child will learn that it takes dedication and discipline to achieve success.
Good discipline also means not hitting someone back or acting out when the game doesn’t go their way, which can be applied to other areas of their life.
3. Social Benefits
There’s a great social aspect of sports, which is one of its greatest appeals. Joining a local team is not only a way for your kid to meet other kids their age in their neighborhood, but it might even lead to you meeting like-minded parents.
Children will learn to get along with all types of people for the good of the team, and dealing with difficult people is a skill in adulthood.
4. Teaches Teamwork
Learning how to work with others on the team to succeed is something a child will use through their professional life. Even if your child happens to be the most talented kid on the field, learning team dynamics will help show them that working together has more benefits than relying on individual skill.
5. Reaching Academic Goals
Despite some belief to the contrary, athletics can actually help your child do better in school. This is because sports can help them become more goal-driven (figuratively and literally.) There’s even a study that backs up this claim, showing how many young people in sports are maintaining high grades.
6. Improved Self-Esteem
When your child is part of a team, other kids will high-five them even if they didn’t reach base during that last at-bat. When they do succeed, you can bet there will be a line-up of kids waiting to prop them up.
A child will come to see their importance to the team no matter what role they play, even if it’s just motivating others from the bench. And they’ll surely feel good about themselves after filling their room with basketball trophies.
7. Overcoming Disappointment
The nature of sports is that even good teams lose badly sometimes. The same goes for life – even if you try your best, you don’t always succeed. Losing can help build resilience in children, helping them move forward from disappointment easier.
Put Benefits of Youth Sports Into Play
If you’re on the fence about enrolling your child in sports, then know there are a number of reasons to do so from their physical development to emotional toughness.
Did you find this article on the benefits of youth sports useful? Now go check out all the other sports-related articles on our site!