What are the most memorable experiences you had growing up? For me, it was playing on a soccer team with my brother. Working in a team allows you to collaborate with others and offers you leadership opportunities within roles that you are passionate about. Some of the most fundamental and constant pillars of my own life have been generated from athletics. Aside from the various health, both physical and mental, benefits of exercise, athletics offer multiple opportunities for future professional and social development.
Reaching A Goal
Being part of a team will offer an individual a plethora of opportunities. First of all, being part of a team is a lifelong experience that allows you to develop skills that you’ll eventually use within the professional realm. Specific situations are common in sports, such as working towards a common goal, and in turn, achieving or failing to reach that common goal. Regardless of the outcome, this collective drive and collaboration enable humans to learn the benefits of communication, coordination, and listening.
Some would even argue that failing at a common goal within a team is better than achieving a common goal since failure is the strongest teacher. Ultimately, collaboration toward a goal, regardless of the outcome, is one great lesson to be learned from participating in sports.
Passion and Advocacy
Furthermore, youth sports enable kids to understand the importance of passion and advocacy. If a child is enjoying their sport, they will then understand the direct relationship between passion and performance. If the child isn’t enjoying their sport, then they will understand the importance of advocacy, as they switch over to other sports having discussed with their parents their specific concerns. This lesson of advocacy allows kids to lay the foundation for a life of confidence and communication, which are two beneficial skills in the workplace and life.
Fortitude Systems
There are even specific companies that understand and benefit from this symbiotic relationship between team sports and workplace success. Fortitude Systems, a Tech Consultant company with offices around the US, targets student-athlete undergraduates from colleges around the nation. Their success as a company is largely owed to its former student-athlete staff, who have all learned from and understand the importance of collaboration, drive, practice, and teamwork.
Perseverance
Another great form of character building which is being derived from youth involvement in sports is the lesson of perseverance and honesty. When on a team as a kid, you are taught the importance of perseverance as you continually practice a sport. For example, if a team is completing a difficult run or a difficult workout, young athletes are told and learn that they are able to continue with their challenging workout until completion. This level of perseverance is necessary and helpful if you are to be successful within the world at large. Teaching kids these skills at a young age, when their brains are more receptive to change and learning, lays the foundation for a strong life, buoyed by perseverance.
Honesty
The importance of honesty cannot be understated within sports either. Every single sport has a referee or some sort of system intended to maintain the honesty and regulation of the game, sport, match, or event. Learning to play within the rules of a game will teach a child exactly how to be honest since they are recognizing the benefits of being honest. These skills are fundamental within the workplace and will be used to grow someone’s professional career in the future.
Leadership
Another exciting component of youth sports, or even adult sports, which can and will be actively incorporated into the working world is leadership. Each team needs a captain, or leader, either in name or naturally. As a result, leaders and followers will learn about how to lead and how to follow
As a personal example, my high school soccer team, San Marino High School, had three captains each year. During my first year on the team, I was able to learn from the older players about how to lead and how to collaborate on and off the field. Then with time, I was able to become a leader myself and pass along the knowledge I had absorbed to others. This knowledge has subsequently been helpful for me in the professional world, for getting into the college I wanted and being hired for the job I wanted.
Integrating A Sporting Business Model
Youth sports are undoubtedly beneficial. From providing kids with outlets for energy and creativity to establishing fundamental life skills at a young age, the positives of athletics are manifold. More companies should follow the business model of Fortitude Systems, and look to hire student athletes, since they are already arriving into the professional world with the necessary skills to succeed.
