Research

Importance of Sports

Physical fitness
Sports such as football or baseball involve lots of physical activities. Sports and exercises help in strengthening and toning the muscles and bones in the body. In short, the importance of sports for kids is that it keeps them in an excellent shape.

Team Spirit
When children or adults plays team sports, be it cricket or hockey, they learn to work in groups. They learn that if the team wins, they win and if the team loses, they lose. This way they learn how to work in groups. Thus, the importance of sports for kids is that they understand what is team spirit and thus, when they grow and actually start working, it will help them immensely in building relationships with their co-workers, and also to work in harmony with others.

Mental Strength
Sports makes people mentally strong. Success and failure are both parts of sports as well as life. A sportsman knows that there will be times when he will win matches, there will also be times when he will lose them. A sportsperson knows how to handle defeat and thus, treats success and failure equally. This is an important life lesson too, which sports can teach a person. Besides this, another importance of sports for children or for adults is that it teaches them how to handle competition, and be fearless when facing the adversaries.

Constructive Use of Time
Children and adolescents ooze with physical energy. When they are involved in sports, their physical energies are used up in a constructive way. Teenage is such an impressionable age, if adolescents are given free time they might get involved in wrong activities or may fall in bad company or may also display anti-social behavior. Thus, the importance of sports in society is that it keeps adolescents from becoming anti-social elements, who might otherwise disturb the delicate fabric of society.

Health
Regularly indulging in sports helps in keeping the immune system strong and hence, prevents any kind of disease from occurring. It also increases the appetite of the person. Thus, sports promotes good health. Read more on healthy diet for athletes.

Confidence
Sports inculcates self confidence in a person. When a child or a person excels in a particular sports, he becomes very self confident. Sports inculcates discipline, dedication and responsibility in a person, which he is able to apply in other ares of life as well. This makes him achieve success in every sphere of life, thus, making him even more confident.

Decision Making
In sports, a person has to make quick decisions depending upon the situation that he is in. Thus, a person who is involved in sports is able to make wise and quick decisions in other areas of life as well.

Benefits of Playing Sports

Playing sports is one of the favorite activities of most of us. Apart from being a fun activity, sports offer several health benefits, thus contributing to one's physical and mental well-being. Sports play a vital role in the enhancement of one's personality by being a source of exercise and entertainment. Let us look at the benefits of playing sports.

Benefits of Playing Sports

Sports serve as an excellent physical exercise. Those who play sports have a more positive body image than those who do not. Playing sports often involves physical activities like running, jumping and stretching and moreover a constructive expenditure of energy. Playing sports since an early age strengthens the bones and muscles and tones one’s body. Thus sports provide the body with a complete exercise.

Playing sports improves the Math skills in children. It develops leadership qualities and fosters a team spirit in them. Sports involve competition; they involve winning and losing. This exposes the players to both the aspects of life, successes and failures. Sports build a competitive spirit in children and teach them to be participative irrespective of whether the participation concludes in a victory or a defeat. Playing sports teaches a person to accept both successes and failures in a positive spirit. The most important benefit of playing sports is the sportsman spirit. Playing sports results in the development of a sportive nature, which is helpful throughout one’s life.

Playing sports is very beneficial for the development of social skills in a person. Sports teach a person to interact with people, act as a team. They foster collective thinking and develop planning skills in children. Sports build confidence in children and give them a sense of accomplishment. Sports thus play a vital role in one's social well-being.

Playing sports requires the children to plan thoughtfully. They need to device the best ways to score goals, the best strategies to win and plan carefully towards victory. Statistics show that kids involved in sports activities fare well in academics and their school and college activities.

A constructive expenditure of energy that sports bring out is very helpful in keeping a person happy. Exercise generates happiness molecules in a person’s body, thus contributing to his/her mental well-being. Sports generate a positive energy.

Playing sports serves as an excellent exercise, which has a wide variety of health benefits. It reduces blood sugar level and reduces the risk of blood cholesterol. Playing sports decreases the chances of hypertension and several other stress related disorders. Research has revealed that people who play sports regularly can deal with stresses and strains in life in a better manner. Depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders are less probable in people who indulge in sport activities.

Regular exercise helps increase the overall quality of life. Playing sports acts as a beautiful blend of recreation and physical activity. It is a combination of both enjoyment and exercise.

Technology

Technology has an important role in sports, whether applied to an athlete's health, the athlete's technique, or equipment's characteristics.

§ Equipment - As sports have grown more competitive, the need for better equipment has arisen. Golf clubs, bicycles, (American) football helmets, tennis racquets, baseball and cricket bats, soccer balls, hockey skates, and other equipment have all seen considerable changes when new technologies have been applied.

§ Health - Ranging from nutrition to the treatment of injuries, as the knowledge of the human body has deepened over time, an athlete's potential has been increased. Athletes are now able to play to an older age, recover more quickly from injuries, and train more effectively than previous generations of athletes.

§ Instruction - Advancing technology created new opportunities for research into sports. It is now possible to analyse aspects of sports that were previously out of the reach of comprehension. Being able to use motion capture to capture an athlete's movement, or advanced computer simulations to model physical scenarios has greatly increased an athlete's ability to understand what they are doing and how they can improve themselves.

Advantages Of Sports

Many teens in high school want to try out for sports. A lot of them try because they think it will make them popular or get them more dates. While this may seem like a silly reason, there are lots of other benefits to sports that your child may overlook. Here are some reasons that you’ll find comforting.

With T.V., movies, computers, and video games becoming more and more popular, it has become so much easier for teens to be by themselves rather than going out with friends. Kids used to go hang out at the mall or drive around town; now they just sit at home. Getting your teen into a sport gives them an opportunity to go out and socialize. While they may not find a new best friend, they will learn how to interact and work as a team; something they’ll find useful later in life.

One of the biggest problems in our society today is obesity, and it’s not just a problem with adults. More and more kids are becoming overweight. Joining a team sport will help your teen get out and get some exercise without feeling pressured to lose weight or get in shape. Plus, if your teen sees that their physical condition is causing them to under-perform, they may be motivated to do other activities to get healthy. By the time your child reaches their teenager year, part of good parenting will be providing them with direction and encouragement and continuing to help them develop a healthy style of living.

These days, it’s becoming harder to show your teenager that you love and support them. A great way to do this is by showing up to their games, helping them practice, and helping with team fundraisers. These are also great ways to spend time your kids and talk to them.

You may think “but my teen isn’t good enough to make their school team”. There are plenty of other places besides school to play team sports. You can always check out the YMCA or other “for-fun” leagues. You could look into more obscure sports that you may not have thought of; did you know that bowling is a NCAA team sports? If you do a little research, you’re sure to find something your teen will enjoy.

Team sports are a great way for your teen to get out of the house, get moving, make friends, and even get a scholarship to college. So why not talk to them about getting into sports today?

Kids that play sports have a big advantage over those that do not. They are socially active every day as sports requires interaction with the other players to achieve success. They learn the hierarchy of business world by having it in the sports team. The older and better players are at the top. They learn how to lead. The better the player gets, the more they are looked up to on the team.

Sports not only teach kids life lessons but will also keep them out of trouble. If the kid plays sports all year round, are they going to have time for anything else? Probably not. They will have practice every day, sometimes a few times a day. If they are in multiple sports, they may have a different sport to practice for in the same day as another sport.

Being active in this type of activity will also keep them fit. They will be in shape from all the running around, unless of course the sport is curling. They will not get fat as they are burning off a whole lot of calories practicing and then playing in the games. They may eat you out of house and home, but they will not be obese.

People will respect your child more. They are putting the effort in to be the best they can at the given sport. No one can put done someone for striving to obtain a goal. Your child will be treated differently to. That is just the way it is. Kids that play sports are seen as having a vested interest in the school. Therefore they sometimes get preferential treatment.

Having your children in sports not only teaches them life lessons, but also begins the training for when they enter the real world.

Cooperative Games for Kids

Kids are generally very impressionable, which is why when we impart any kind of knowledge, habits, or wisdom, we have to be very careful. There are times when we don't even realize the kind of impression kids have when we do or say certain things. Similar is the case when you are hosting a party and are having them play competitive kids party games. Since most games or competitive, it is hard to figure what a child will make of losing or winning a game. Moreover, not only their own loss, but sometimes the victory of others in the game also affects them badly. Till they understand that winning and losing is a part of life, and learn to come to terms with it, it is advisable to try and avoid such situations when it is in your hands. In cases like these, cooperative games for kids are a great choice. The idea behind these games is that all children enjoy the game, without winning or losing, that kids learn to cooperate with each other, and that also imparts a kind of team spirit among them. So what are the various games to play with kids to have this kind of non-competitive fun? Let's take a look.

Fun Cooperative Games for Kids

Usually, cooperative games for the little ones are an extremely fun and giggly affair. It is possible that sometimes, such group games for kids may get boring, which is why it is important to keep modifying the rules of the game, and put an end to it so as to keep the fun alive. While some of these can be played as indoor games, others can easily be enjoyed even as outdoor games.

A Knotty Affair
This game is one of the most fun games for kids in a medium sized group (say 8-9 kids). All kids are to be blindfolded, and made to stand in a circle. On your call, ask them to step forward and grab hold of any hand across them. Each hand should be holding another kid's hand. Remove the blindfold, and again on your call, ask the kids to start untangling themselves into a complete circle, but without leaving their hands. This means that kids will have to go under and over each other to untangle themselves. Watch them laugh and enjoy as they attempt to free themselves of all these knots.

Chain Tag
Chain tag is one of the many great outdoor cooperative games for kids, and can also be used as a choice for team games for kids. Here, one kid is chosen to chase the others and tag them. As and when a kid is tagged, the tagged kids hold hands to form a chain and try to tag the remaining kids. As the chain grows longer, it becomes more and more difficult to maneuver it to chase and tag other kids. Here, kids cooperate with each other to work together as a team and make the most of this challenge and fulfill their task. While the underlying concept of this game is to build a team spirit, chain tag as one of the best outdoor party games for kids calls for a lot of fun among the little ones!

Ten Things To Do
Another one of the many fun party games to play among a large number of kids is to have all of them collect in a group and assign a leader. The leader will give them instructions to perform an activity, and all of them have to do it together. For instance, if the leader instructs, 'do a somersault', then all the kids will do a somersault. If she/he instructs, 'play leap frog with your neighbor', then the kids will continue doing it till the leader shouts 'stop'! The number of instructions can be varied, whacky, and as outrageous as you think the kids can manage. You may also use this is one of the many leadership games for kids. Kids can play this game both, indoors and outdoors, until they tire of it.

Create Your Own Story
This game is a great ice breaker game for kids. It revolves around starting with a minor object, and weaving a story around it. Have kids sit in a group and close their eyes. Ask one to imagine a small thing such as a lid. The next kid will add another detail to it. For instance, this could be a 'a lid of a bottle of jam'. Then the next kid will add a detail like 'a slice of bread next to the bottle of jam'. This continues to create a beautiful picture among the little ones. Keep an account of the details added and recount every detail to tell them of the picture they have created.

It Fits!
This is perhaps one of the funniest indoor games for kids that they can enjoy together. Line up a few bottles, and tie a pencil to a long piece of string. Now tie this string around the waist of the little ones, and the pencil should hang at least 6 inches from the waist. Now line up the kids in front of the bottles, and have them try and put the pencil in the bottle. While this is sure to send them into peals of laughter, have them move ahead and try and put the pencil in each bottle that you have lined up. For further variations, tie the pencil in different positions; in the front, at the back (definitely more challenging), and on either side!

With these cooperative games for kids, not only are you doing away with the competition, you are also introducing them to a lot of fun without any pressure. Use these as birthday party games for kids, or simply for some kiddy fun, the kids are going to have wonderful and memorable time!

Popular Sports For Teenagers

The graphic shows the most popular physical activities for youths between the ages of 12 and 17 according to figures from American Sports Data. Figures are rates per 100 people; teens had to do an activity once over the past year.

The survey shows steady declines in almost every category. The biggest decline was in volleyball; nearly 49 teens of 100 played volleyball in 1987; only 26 of 100 did so in 2000. Other categories that saw steep declines were in sports seen as American institutions: softball, baseball, and touch football. Even basketball, at the top of the list, saw its numbers fall from 57.4 to 45.5 in seven years. There are some troubling ramifications here. Youths are rejecting team sports and the character-building experiences they can offer: working with others, good conduct, and making friends. Baseball's audience has been shrinking and is not gaining new participants who play and follow the sport. What will happen to our national pastime?

Some sports have seen an increase in activity. More teens are using weight machines, no doubt trying to attain the "perfect body" as a boost to their self esteem and sexual desirability. In-line skating and snowboarding are new arrivals, not having shown up on the 1987 survey. These are new and trendy sports and, as "extreme sports," have attracted a certain type of daredevil young man and woman; they give the sports flash and visibility.

A point needs to be made here: sports allow teenagers to get the regular, strenuous physical workout that they need. A good part of kids' exercise has traditionally come from organized sports and physical education classes. But there has been a marked drop-off in kids attending gym classes. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the percent of teens that attend gym class fell from 32% in 1991 to 27% in 1997. According to the report, Shape of the Nation, by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the majority of high school students take physical education for only one year between the ninth and twelfth grades. Half of all states allow substitutions for gym class; some students, such as band members, may get exemptions.

The lack of physical exercise is troubling particularly in light of statistics on children's obesity rates. Roughly 5% of teenagers were overweight at the end of 1980; that figure has almost tripled in recent years according to the Centers for Disease Control. One's weight is related to exercise and eating patterns, of course. But many experts argue that the patterns we establish in our youth affect how we behave as adults: an overweight teenager is likely to be overweight in middle age. If we exercise regularly when we are young, we're also likely to be active as adults.

Organized sports offer an excellent opportunity for teenagers to stay fit. What is the status of high school sports? How many teenagers are pursuing these activities? The answers, covered in the next panel, are somewhat more reassuring.

Benefits of Team Sports for Adult
The stereotype of the cutthroat, pushy little league coach is all too familiar to most people. Why, some parents ask, should I subject my child to competitive team sports if that’s how it goes?

For one thing, the news. Today’s generation of children is fighting the worst obesity epidemic in history. Giving kids an excuse to exercise is reason enough to consider enrolling them in team sports. But calories aside, team sports have other benefits to kids – social, emotional, and physical ones.

Here are some things that team sports teach that go well beyond scoring, batting, shooting, and winning.

· Ego Checks. Any parent knows that a child can be extremely egocentric. But that “my way or the highway” attitude will have to stay in check on a team sport. When a kid sees that everyone gets to play, they hopefully start to think about the group as a whole, and not just themselves. Even better, they learn to be happy for other player’s successes because they see how it benefits the greater team.

· Positive Mentors. A dedicated, thoughtful, and skilled coach can have an amazing impact on children. In fact, sometimes your child will respond better to an objective coach than they will to their own parent. When kids have early, positive experiences with coaches, they continue to seek out and learn from mentors who can help them with school, jobs, and other interests.

· The Three “Ps”. Just as they must practice spelling, math problems, and any other skill, kids need to learn that being part of a sport teams requires the three “Ps”… practice, patience, and persistence. Whether it’s showing up to practice when you’d rather be home with Legos, waiting your turn on the sidelines, or doing the same drill over and over again, the three “Ps” of team sports translate into important life lessons.

· Another Reason for Family Time. Playing catch in the yard, heading down to the local soccer field for some drill practice… these types of outings with your kids can mean a great deal in our busy parenting culture. While the official reason may be practicing for the team, an even greater benefit is the time you get to spend together. Sometimes, in between dribbling and lay-ups, an important truth is revealed or an opportunity presents itself to teach a value.

Did we also mention that by practicing drills with your child and running up and down the sidelines to cheer them on, you might get into better shape, too? Score one for the family team!