There are a lot of benefits to playing team sports. The most obvious is that it gives kids a chance to get exercise and have fun with their friends. But it also helps teach them the value of working together with their teammates. It teaches them that everyone has their own role on the team and they need to be willing to play it. It also teaches them to work through setbacks and not get discouraged when they don’t perform well. This is an important life skill to learn as they grow older.
Kids will also learn how to communicate with their coaches and their teammates. This communication can be in the form of verbal or nonverbal actions such as a hand signal indicating a player is open for a pass or a stick tap to indicate a penalty is over. Kids will also come to understand that they can’t always win and that the best teams know how to work through adversity to reach their goals.
In addition to learning how to work together, children will develop a sense of belonging through participating in team sports. They will form friendships with their teammates that could last a lifetime. These friendships will help them in their social circles outside of the team, such as at school and work. It will also help them build their self-esteem. This can be done through the support of their teammates, encouragement from their coaches or even just by achieving their personal bests.