There’s more to sports than just winning and losing. Here are essential values kids can learn from sports.
Playing sports remains one of the most popular hobbies for many children, including tigers for kids like me! If you remember, one of our learning videos for kids was all about sport (check out The Wonderful World of Sport here), and playing football is one of my many favourite activities (just ask Coach Tim Hague)!
But when kids pick up a sport and spend countless hours playing it, they are not just honing their skills, but are also learning different valuable lessons along the way.
Here are some of the life lessons kids can pick up from playing sports.
- Teamwork
Learning the importance of working as a team is something that Tiger Cubs grasp when playing a sport, especially team sports. Teamwork is not just about playing as one unit. It also includes learning communication skills, building trust, respecting each other, and working together to achieve a common goal. All these skills are essential not just in sports but in real life, as well.
- Leadership
Many Tiger Cubs are natural-born leaders (like me! I got it from my buddy Tim Hague), and playing sports can give them opportunities to lead. They can also learn how to make decisions and be responsible for their actions. Besides leading, kids also get to experience how to be a good follower, something a good leader also needs to be.
3.Grace’
As much as Tiger Cubs are all winners in my eyes, there will always be a winning team and a losing team in sports. Letting kids experience the highs and the lows of playing sports can teach them to be gracious winners and losers.
Playing sports allows children to be humble when they win and also accept defeat. It felt terrific when we won against the Wolfpack Wanderers in episode five of our learning videos for kids, but it’s also not nice to show-off, mainly because I know the other team worked hard too and they probably don’t feel so great about losing.
- Hard work
To excel in sports, one must practice, practice, practice! In improving their skills, children learn the value of hard work and sacrifice. All those long hours of working on drills on the court or the pitch will not only improve children’s agility, but their resilience as well.
I know this very well because we worked hard every day to win the game for our fans – adults and kids alike, as part of team Tiger United. And our hard work paid off in the end – as we hope you saw from The Wonderful World Of Sport video!
- Friendship
Being involved in sports gives children the chance to socialise and meet a lot of other kids, and spending time playing already lays the groundwork for a good friendship. Meeting kids from other teams during matches and tournaments also expands a Tiger Cub’s understanding of different people. Children can also develop life-long friendships with adults, such as their trainers and coaches, like the one I have with my coach, Tim Hague!
- Respect
One of the messages that we love imparting on our learning videos for kids is the value of respect, and kids can also learn the importance of this virtue through being involved in youth sports. They develop respect for the game and its rules, for their coaches and teammates, for the opponents, and most especially for themselves.
These are just some of the vital life lessons children can develop from getting physical with sport, and there is still so much more that they can learn from the whole experience. I love playing sports because it keeps me healthy and strong, in mind and body!
Watch The Wonderful World of Sport episode and our other learning videos for kids on our YouTube channel!
Talk to you again soon, cool cats!
Tiger xoxoxo
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