If You Are Thinking About Starting Your Children in  Sports, Do It!

For all the hesitant parents out there weighing the pros and cons of signing your child or children up for youth sports, here is your sign to do so. This article will take you through some of the benefits that youth sports has and why it is important to allow your children this opportunity. It holds strong value when talking about their individual growth as well as learning how to be part of a team. As a parent, I am sure that it can be scary to let your kid participate in a sport, which can be time consuming and exhausting, but the benefits outweigh the risks and is something you should consider today. Your kid will thank you down the road when they are using the skills that they learned in youth sports to prepare for an interview for their dream job, trying to get into college, or trying to make new friends. There are so many ways to get your children involved in your community.

Physical Benefits
When kids are younger, they usually try out every sport and when they get older, choose specific sports to focus on. The importance of getting involved in sports at a young age can have a positive impact on health. Having a sport to participate in forces children to keep in shape without them really even knowing it. If kids are becoming active earlier in their lives, it can help reduce the risks of becoming obese in the future. It also helps to plant this mindset in their heads of enjoying physical activity. For me, I have been involved in physical activity through sports since I was 6 years old. Now, at 23, physical health is something that is extremely important to me and something I prioritize in my life. I think that starting out at a young age has made me love staying physically active throughout my life.

Mental Benefits
Besides from the positive impacts on physical health, the mental side of starting out sports at a young age is as equally important. When you are playing a sport during your youth ages, you develop a different type of motivation and drive. It also boosts cognitive function and memory. Participating in sports enhances emotional regulation while reducing anxiety and improving academics and social skills. All of these things are important aspects of life that if learned at a younger age can benefit someone tremendously in the future. On the other hand, children are forced with understanding failure if put in sports during their youth. Understanding how to deal with failure is something that everyone experiences in their life. If exposed to this at a younger age, it can help people figure out their way of dealing with it and how to bounce back later in life.

Building Connections/Relationships
Besides all of the positive physical and mental impacts of youth sport, I think this is the most important aspect. Being involved in sports at a young age helps you to make friends, become close with coaches, and build those relationships. Sports gives kids the perfect opportunity to do this. Learning how to collaborate with others at a young age will help in the future. Being on a team is a great experience. You spend so much time with these other kids traveling, staying in hotels, going out to restaurants, and of course, playing the sport. You develop these relationships that could set you up for best friends in your future, or simply how to work with others towards a common goal.

My Experience

Like I said, I have been involved with sports since I was 6 years old. After 16 years of participating in sports, I can say that I would not be the person I am today without this experience. I learned how to compete, fail, motivate myself and others, and build those connections with teammates and coaches. I would not be the motivated, confident, driven, and competitive person I am today without youth sports. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity at such a young age to experience this and learn tools that I use today at 23 years old. I think it goes far beyond the actual sport. Most kids who play youth sports do not play now. However, the things that you learn from it are something that you will carry with you throughout your life. I give much credit to youth sports and shaping me into the person I am today. If you are considering signing your child or children up for a sports team, do it! It will teach them things far behind the actual sport and provide them with the chance to increase their physical and mental health as well as learn how to form those connections and relationships that can last them a lifetime.
Brooke Murphy
Marketing Specialist – ES Riders