How playing team sports can benefit your kids

Just as school is important in helping your kids develop intellectually and socially, playing in team sports can also teach them valuable life skills that they can apply in their day-to-day lives. Recent research suggests that there are many benefits to playing a sport at a young age with team sports especially encouraging further mental and social growth.

From improving self-confidence to developing communication skills, your child may benefit from playing in a team sport in many ways. Explore how playing a team sport can make a positive impact on your child’s life below.

According to Health Direct, research has found that there’s a link between developing self-esteem and playing sports in children. Team sports can build your child’s confidence thanks to praise from the coach, cheers from the crowd and encouragement of parents. Whether it’s recreational or competitive, team sports actively encourage your child to achieve their very best and feel better about themselves. The social nature of team sports benefits children through support from teammates, coaches and parents.

In fact,  The Sport Journal found that youths who’ve participated in a sport prior to university report “higher levels of self-esteem and happiness” compared to teens who haven’t irrespective of whether they achieved success (perceived) in their sport or not.

Building confidence and positive self-esteem is integral to your child’s development, as it may help them engage in more experiences, create relationships, and simply become happier adults. It also helps them to trust in themselves and actively learn from their mistakes. By playing team sports, your child is more likely to believe in their own capabilities and become confident all parts of their life, beyond the playing field.

Kids learn fast from experience and playing in a team sport can provide many constructive opportunities for them to learn how to work and play with others. Being able to cooperate in a team is a valuable and transferrable life skill, not only in a sports environment but also in school and later on, in the workplace. Getting a head start in learning how to work as part of a team may help your child grow socially as well as understand key values that’ll apply throughout their lifetime.

Playing in a team sport requires discipline, emotional maturity, and leadership. It means learning to follow the rules, adapting to team culture, and making quick decisions when necessary. In football, for example, this could mean passing the ball to a teammate and trusting them to take the shot. Whether it’s working around other’s opinions or understanding each other’s roles in the team, playing in a team sport will always present challenges for your child to learn from.

Of course, the physical health benefits of playing a team sport are just as important as the developmental benefits. A few physical children’s health benefits of playing sports, as cited by Better Health, include:

• Reduced risk of obesity
• Increased cardiovascular fitness
• Healthy growth of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and bones
• Improved coordination and balance
• A greater ability to relax physically, and therefore avoid muscular tension complications such as headaches and backache

In particular, playing sports during childhood can help your child develop life-long habits of being physically active, thereby keeping them healthy and well into adulthood. In fact, according to a research article from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, children who grow up playing sports are 10 per cent more likely to remain active as adults. 

Like any other activity involving teamwork, playing team sports means building essential communication skills. Making new friends and understanding how to communicate effectively with others are soft skills your child can learn all while playing in a team sport. 

According to a research study published in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, the social nature of team sports (compared to individual activities) may improve psychosocial health in children. This suggests playing sports can better prepare your children for social interaction with others and interpersonal growth. Not only that, harnessing social and communication skills can help your kids develop healthier relationships in all parts of their life, outside of their sports team, including at school, at other recreational activities, and even within your family.

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