Involving your child in sport is a great way to teach them many important lessons and values.  That will benefit them now, through adolescence and as an adult.  The situations, challenges and triumphs encountered on the sporting field relate directly with many of the situations, challenges and triumphs they will face in everyday life.  And, gaining these experiences through sport, where they are supervised and in a supporting environment, will help your child deal with them more constructively in later years. In this article, we’ll look at some of the specific things your child will learn by participating in sport.

1. Exercise Is An Important Part Of Life

When we exercise regularly we feel good, stay fit and avoid many common health problems such diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and much more. By getting your child into sports when they are young they will be more likely to lead a healthy active lifestyle as an adult.

2. Focus On Being The Best You Can Be

We can’t all the best at everything, and constantly comparing ourselves to others is a sure path to disappointment, unhappiness and unhealthy competition. Focusing on improving our own performance and investing time to work on any potential weaknesses, gives us realistic and meaningful goals that don’t rely on other people.

3. Time Management

When your child plays organised sport, it gives them another important thing in their life they have to manage. This requires planning, sacrifice and discipline. If there is a game on the weekend maybe they might miss a friend’s birthday party or a trip to the beach. But if they have made a commitment to the team they will have to learn to manage their time between school, social and sporting duties.

4. The Importance Of Teamwork

Throughout life we are always depending on others and others are always depending on us. This quality of working together towards a mutual goal is crucial. This might sometimes means sacrificing your own game as part of the overall team plan (such as playing a defensive role on an opponent so your forwards can score). Of course, there will be times when you can be in the limelight also and this is what teamwork is all about.

5. Setting and Working Towards Goals

Every season, game and training session gives children opportunities to set and achieve meaningful goals. Maybe it is to be the competition champions, or improve their personal performance. Whatever the goal may be, sport teaches children that they will have to work, invest time and discipline to achieve goals that are important to them. This lesson will be an asset in every aspect of life, whether it be… Getting good grades in school Learning a new skill such as an instrument, language or how to drive Getting a job, promotion or building a business There are no shortcuts to success, and learning this a at a young age will benefit your child for years to come.

6. How To Listen

Learning how to take instruction from coaches, mentors, referees and teammates is a natural part of all sports. To improve we need listen and learn from others. Your child will also learn how to respectfully question authority and how to have patience if they disagree with the final decision of the coach or referee

7. Learn From Mistakes

We all make mistakes. In fact, the more mistakes you make the more success you generally enjoy. Everybody makes mistakes in sport and learning that this is ok and not the end of the world is a valuable lesson that every child should learn. Sports shows us that when we make mistakes, the best way to deal with them is to

• Accept the mistake
• Evaluate
• Practise
• Improve

9. How To Communicate and Socialise

Communication is a vital part of sports, especially team sports. Being able to express your point of view and understand others is a skill that is naturally developed through playing sports. But it’s not just verbal communication that your child will learn. How to interpret non- verbal communication and control their own body language are also skills often learnt on the sporting field.

10. Following Rules

In our society, we all have to follow rules. Whether that be laws, employee policies, school rules or any other form of rules. By playing sport your child will learn to have respect and play by the rules in all areas of life.

11. Accountability

Every time you step into the sporting arena there, whether in an individual or team sport, there are a certain efforts and actions you are expected to provide. Being accountable and dependable is a quality that people will come to treasure in your child as they grow older.

12. Graceful Winner

It’s important not to gloat or put others down when we are successful. This is a key trait taught in junior sports

13. Lose with dignity

On the other hand, when things don’t go our way we need to be gracious in defeat. Congratulate the opponent, shake their hand and focus your energy on what you can improve to try get a better results next time.

14. Greater Confidence

Getting involved in sports is a great way to help shy kids come out of their shell. Making friends, experiences victories and loses together, making mistakes and learning new skills all helps to build a child’s confidence, which will then be carried into other areas of their life.

15. Controlling Emotions

Emotions can run high in sporting competition. Even junior sports. Learning how to control these emotions, and keep a clear, calm mind so you can perform under pressure is key attribute that your child can learn through playing sport. As you can see the benefits of playing sport and great and varied. Even if your child was to learn one or two of these important life lessons through participating in sport it will greatly benefit them in their journey through life.

Does Your Kid Want To Play Sports?

Australian Sports Camps offers three day sports camps for kids aged 6 – 16 for a wide range of popular Australian sports. If you want to minimise the costs involved for your child to try a sport then our sports camps can be a perfect way to try before you buy. For over 30 years we developed Aussie kids to be some of the best in their chosen sport while having a tonne of fun and meeting new friends at the same time. The best way for kids to try lots of different sports is through School Holiday Sports Camps, where they can spend 3-days learning each sport in a fun, organised program, without having to make a commitment to a whole season. Book a camp today.