More and more teenagers are passing on the opportunity to play sports — and that’s not good!
It’s a bit unsettling to know that while most teens ages 13-17 are physically able, only about 40 percent of them are active in any sports activity , competitive or recreational. Unfortunately, the downward trend may likely continue because today’s young people are being lured into “activities” that require only the movement of a hand, such as video games, social media or web surfing.
If you’re a pre-teen or teen and you haven’t played a sport yet, now’s the perfect time to give it a try! Beyond the simple enjoyment of playing, there are several other good reasons to join a sport. Below are just seven of them.
1. You’ll be healthier. Sports require you to move your body, and it’s a commonly known fact that exercise is good for your health. According to the Mayo Clinic, physical activity helps control weight, combats health conditions and diseases, improves mood, boosts energy and promotes better sleep. The health advantages of participating in a sport far outweigh the dangers of actual injury.
2. You’ll be smarter. Many studies reveal that playing sports can actually boost your brainpower. A report from the Institute of Medicine stated: Children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active.
This shouldn’t be too surprising as exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and blood flow to the brain stimulates brain growth. Plus, playing a sport actually does require you to think on your feet and strategize, keeping your mind sharp and alert.
My child plays lacrosse, basketball, volleyball and soccer” beamed a mom I recently met, “How about your kids?” she asked, curiously. “We don’t do team sports”, I replied, feeling a bit awkward.
Team sports are a fixture of North American culture and often touted as important part of childhood experiences. Team sports can positively contribute towards building community, cooperation, problem-solving and leadership skill. They can also help combat childhood obesity, improve child eating habits, improve mental health and reduce risky behaviour in youth. Lots of good stuff!
Despite all the positive aspects of team sports, I don’t register my kids in them. Why? Read on to find out, but first here’s a quick definition of team sports (for kids and youth) that I wrote for the purpose of this blog post.
Team Sports: An activity in which kids or youth are placed into teams by adults with an intent to compete and win against another team. For example, soccer, hockey, rugby, football, baseball and volleyball.
1. Team Sports Discourage Families from Being Active Together
Team sports don’t promote and empower families to be active together. These days many moms and dads are being relegated to the role of chauffeur and junior athlete manager, often putting aside their own needs to exercise and stay active. I’ve got to be honest, I’m not one for sitting on the sidelines for an hour (or more) watching my child run after a ball. The truth is I want to play too!
Three-quarters of parents that bring their child to team sports don’t play the sport regularly themselves. – Statistics Canada: Kids’ Sports When parents finally have time to be active, its the kids that are too busy. “I wish my sons were here to ski with me”, lamented a father I met on a ski lift. His sons couldn’t join him because they were committed to a weekend of hockey practices and games.
Families are so busy these days, spending less and less time together. Instead of spending those precious weekend and after-school hours, rushing to-and-from practices and games, choose to spend those hours being active together.
