Sports are just games, and athletes are all boneheads anyway, right?
Wrong. Sports taught me how to be a teammate, how to share, and how to keep your head up when everything else seems wrong. These lessons are valuable on and off the field, and I can honestly say that being an athlete for a large portion of my life has helped me develop into the person I am today. I have learned lessons in sports that school could have never taught me.
1. Sharing
No one likes a ball hog. When we were 5 years old playing soccer, no one could stand the ball hog. It rarely ever got us closer to winning the game. So at the young age of 5, sports taught us to share, and to be open to other people helping us.
2. Obedience
Sure, we all hated when our coach told us to do something we didn't want to do, but if we wanted to set foot on that field, we had to do it. Our coaches also forced us to acknowledge that they do know more about the game than we do. Stubbornness only hurts yourself.
3. Multi-tasking
One of the biggest struggles for young athletes is finding a balance for our priorities. We all had our struggles balancing sports and schoolwork. However, it was good for us, because it prepared us for the real world when we would have to balance even more.
4. Patience
There are all kinds of people out there, and odds are there are going to be a few teammates that we don't particularly get along with. This only prepares us for the real world. Coping with coworkers is something that almost everyone has to deal with, and teammates that we don't get along with are simply a method of patience-strengthening.
5. Keeping Your Head Up
The most valuable lesson by far that athletes learn is how to keep our heads up. There will be losses. We will all fail. It's inevitable. Learning how to deal with loss and failure is a part of growing up. As we grow older, there will be coaches, opposing teammates, and even parents trying to drag us down. The most important thing to remember is the reason we're there-- we love the game. Sports teach us how to shake off our errors and get back into the game.
In my opinion, it is so essential for every child to be part of a team, even if they don't stick with it throughout their lives. They force you to learn these (and other) values by simply being on a team. Sure, they can teach these values in a classroom, but they don't have much meaning until they're put into action.
