Why Sports Are Important

September 23, 2020 Best Kids Solutions

Being an educator for over 20 years and with most of that time being a physical education teacher I have seen the benefits of sports and why sports are important firsthand.

Sports are important because they can help teach life lessons through sports experiences. Along with encouraging life lessons, sports can also help improve physical and mental health through movement. Sports are additionally important because they help students academically as well as they are just good old fashion fun.

For more great information check out our article A Complete List Of The Best Exercises For Kids

Here are some of the reasons why sports are important for everyone!

1. Sports Help Teach Life Lessons

One of the primary reasons why sports are important is because the help teach life lessons.

Many people can testify to how sports experiences have taught them all different types of lessons that have transferred into everyday life.

Sports lessons turn into life lessons very easily. Here are some examples:

Sportsmanship- “A fair and generous behavior or treatment of others”. This life lesson can easily be taught during a sports experience and then put into practice during everyday life.

Perseverance- “Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success”. This is a very important life lesson that is taught during sports and in my opinion, is the most important lesson that can be taught. There is one trait that is adherent in almost every successful person and that is perseverance. Far too many times people that haven’t learned this extremely important life lesson give up on their dreams or goal too soon because they did not understand the power of perseverance.

Respect- “A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements”. This is another crucial life lesson that is necessary for success. Sports is a great way to teach this as many times to feel respect for someone you must be a part of a collaboration that requires all people to perform successfully to achieve a goal. Through sports, people will understand that when respect is given people tend to perform better. It also allows people to see the importance of earning respect through appropriate and thoughtful actions.

Honesty- “The quality of being honest”. This is a lesson that many times sports can get wrong. Unfortunately, some people will sidestep this lesson to win a competition or game. Although, this is counterproductive because people will soon find out that winning in this manner does not have the same effect and ruins the feeling that comes with winning. Most people realize that winning must be earned and doing so without honesty or integrity is not truly winning. The good news is that regardless of the person’s path they will eventually comprehend the lesson in the end and learn the life lesson that playing sports intended.

Cooperation- “The process of working together to the same end”. Playing sports teaches this lesson almost like osmosis. When playing team sports, cooperation is present at almost every level of the lesson. Working together toward a common goal is at the essence of all sports philosophy. When people experience this through sports it is easily transferred into their lives and many times with great success.

Leadership- “The action of leading a group of people or an organization”. Many times while participating in sports an individual is made to step up and grow into their true potential for the team to succeed. This can inspire a person into a leadership role. People take these experiences of leadership through sports and transfer them into their work or personal life. They see their true potential as a leader and help make their lives as well as other’s lives better through good leadership. Also, something that can get misinterpreted is that the opposite of a leader is a follower. This many times can have a negative condition that if you aren’t a leader you are insignificant. This is simply not true! If your calling is not as a leader you are then a collaborator. This is just as necessary and important as a leader. Without strong collaborators a team or goal many times will not succeed.

Success requires sacrifice- This is a hard one to teach without sports. Without sports as a guide in learning this lesson many people learn it too late. Athletes find out very quickly that without the sacrifice of hard work and practice that winning does not exist. When people realize how hard people must work to become successful they either step up their game or go a different direction.

It is easy to see how people who have played sports have an advantage as it gives a person a wide verity of life lessons that first happens on the field or court then eventually transcends into everyday life.

2. Sports Help With Physical Health

It is really hard to beat sports when it comes to helping physical health.

The constant and competitive movement that occurs with sports does wonders for the body.

Here are some ways that sports can help your physical health:

Weight Control– Anybody who has ever played soccer, wrestling, football, baseball or really any sport knows how much energy is expended when participating in these very active sports. Whether it’s practicing for a game or participating in the game itself you expend a lot of calories moving your body in order to successfully complete a task in any of these sports. The best part about playing sports or participating in an activity is that you don’t even know that you are burning calories, you’re just having fun. By participating in sports in a consistent manner you will find that because of the large number of calories expended during the activities weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight is very probable. Also, people see the benefit of healthy weight as it improves their ability to perform in the sport which in turn encourages them to continue with their ideal weight. Sports are definitely a great way to lose weight or to maintain an ideal weight for everyone.

Lowers Hypertension- Very similar to sports helping to maintain an ideal body weight, physical activity in sports due to its consistent movement helps stimulates the heart to beat faster which can improve blood pressure. According to the Mayo Clinic, “regular physical activity makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. If your heart can work less to pump, the force on your arteries decreases, lowering your blood pressure”.

Stronger Immunity- In this day and age of Infulenze and Covid-19 having a strong immune system is crucial. When your body is active and getting exercise through sports your immune system can be benefited. Harvard Medical School has said, “Exercise may contribute even more directly by promoting good circulation, which allows the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently.” Although, everyone needs to be careful with the length of time one is participating in sports activities as excessive exercise or movement can actually diminish the immune systems. Give yourself time to recover and your immune system and sports performance will improve.

Stronger Muscles and Bones- One of the most recognized benefits of sports is building a stronger body. When your muscles are used on a consistent basis they brake down. When given the appropriate recovery time the muscle fibers rebuild which strengthens the muscles. When muscles around bones and joints are strengthened they protect them from injury which allows the body to function efficiently.

As you can see, when it comes to physical health sports adds many benefits and can contribute to a healthy lifestyle for both the young and the young at heart.

3. Sports Help With Mental Health

Sports help in a lot of ways but one of the best ways it can help is by improving Mental Health.

Participating in sports is a great way to focus on something positive and because of the many benefits that sports provide such as, comradery, teamwork and good social settings sports can really help someone improve their mental health and outlook on their life.

Here are some other ways sports can help improve parts of someone’s mental health:

Fights Depression- Many times people that are struggling with depression have to rely on antidepressants in order to feel healthy. According to a publication from the University of Bern, “the involvement in sport and physical activity partially encounters the same neurophysiological changes as antidepressants. That is why a large number of meta-analyses showed a positive effect of sport and physical activity on depression.”

Minimizes Stress- Physical movement has been long known for its beneficial effects on stress reductions. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) has said, “when stress affects the brain, with its many nerve connections, the rest of the body feels the impact as well. So it stands to reason that if your body feels better, so does your mind. Exercise and other physical activity produce endorphins—chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers—and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress.” When stress is lowered the body and mind are better prepared to handle what life throws at us and sports is a great way to manage stress.

Mental Toughness- Sports is a great way to help encourage mental Toughness. Mental toughness is a sports psychology term that according to the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology is “having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to: generally, cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer.” When you are mentally tough, it will help you deal with the stresses that can occur. Sports do apply controlled amounts of stress which if not overdone it can help a person practice dealing with stress which will make it easier to deal with overtime. This can result in mental toughness.

It’s Okay To Make Mistakes- One of the best teachers in life is making a mistake. While practicing for a sporting event many mistakes are made. Sports teach us that when someone makes a mistake and that mistake is corrected during practice the athlete has just learned a crucial lesson and it will eventually improve their athletic ability. Sports help us understand that without mistakes the lesson can not be learned. It allows us to understand that mistakes are not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. When we turn our thinking around and understand that mistakes can be a good thing in some situations our mental health can only improve.

Increases Self-Confidence- Participation in sports can increase self-confidence in many ways. When someone is praised for making a good play or positively encouraged to keep going when they make a mistake self-confidence is bound to improve. As well as, when a person is actively playing in a sport they are more likely to be physically fit which can also increase self-confidence. Canadian scientists have found that sixth-grade students boys and girls who were more physically active had considerably higher levels of self-esteem. Whether it is through verbal praise, being physically fit or learning from our mistakes sports can definitely help improve self-confidence.

4. Sports Help with Academics

Education is one of the most important things to help improve lifestyle and happiness.

Sports are a surprising way to help improve a persons education and increase the benefits of schooling.

According to the University of Rochester, “Studies have shown that exercise increases blood flow to the brain and helps the body build more connections between nerves, leading to increased concentration, enhanced memory, stimulated creativity, and better-developed problem-solving skills. In short, playing sports helps your brain grow and makes it work better.”

A study from the University of Kansas City looking at the performance of students in grades 9 to 12 grade showed more than 97% of student-athletes graduated high school 10% then more than those students who had never participated in sports athletes were also known to have better GPA outcomes than non-athletes.

From the book, Educating the Student Body it states that available evidence suggests that mathematics and reading are the academic topics that are most influenced by physical activity. These topics depend on efficient and effective executive function, which has been linked to physical activity and physical fitness.

Jim Fitzsimmons, Ed.D, director of Campus Recreation and Wellness at the University of Nevada, Reno, says, “What we know is students who exercise regularly—at least 3 times a week—at an intensity of eight times resting (7.9 METS) graduate at higher rates, and earn, on average, a full GPA point higher than their counterparts who do not exercise.”

5. Sports Are Fun

The great thing about sports is that they are just fun to play!

All of these benefits that are stated above are being initialed by children and adults alike on their own.

People are getting all these amazing health advantages and they just think they are having fun.

It’s like a child begging there parents to eat their vegetables!

As the old saying goes, “time fly’s when you are having fun” and each minute that is spent moving while playing sports is a minute that is benefiting a person mind, body and soul.

After reading this, I hope you can see how sports can really be a great way to improve yourself and just have a little fun while your at it.

Please Comment Below

If you have another reason that sports are helpful or if you would just like to leave a comment, please do so below!

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