Not everyone wants to play for Real Madrid, the Chennai Super Kings, or the New York Yankees, but even so playing sport and keeping fit whilst at school offers tremendous benefits.
For starters, it is possible to make new friends and develop even stronger relationships with current friends. There is nothing more invigorating than forming a bond in order to beat the other team, or joking around about something funny that happened in practice. It is character building and can definitely help youngsters to become better people.
Playing for a sports team can build confidence too, as well as taking participants out their comfort zone. The latter is more important than you may think, particularly if a new sport is to be tried … because at first the quality of play is probably not going to be good! However, continued practice will ensure an improvement and strengthen confidence, eventually convincing the young athlete they can succeed in anything they choose. Sure, people may well judge the brave sports player, but they will quickly come to realise that what other people think simply does not matter.
Getting out on the field, court, or track also promotes teamwork, because players need to try to do everything for the good of the team. So it is a great lesson in not only doing things for one’s self, but for other people’s benefit too.
Playing a sport as a young person definitely has its advantages, helping to build friendships, confidence, skills, and character. Grades will not suffer either. In fact, research has shown that staying physically fit helps to actually improve grades. And who knows, Madrid, Chennai, and New York might not be just pipedreams after all!