Sport-Blog.com

When I was a little kid, we didn't have nearly the sporting opportunities that children have today; at least not where I grew up. Kids in my town rode bicycles, climbed trees, roller skated up and down the streets, and ran to their hearts content. Since I've grown up and had children of my own, I've found that sports are offered from pre-school on up. From swimming lessons to mommy and me classes and tumbling, children can be exposed to physical fitness and movement from a very young age. By the time they enter Kindergarten, most towns offer children the option to join a local soccer, basketball or baseball team. These are wonderful opportunities for the children to learn teamwork, for them to get fresh air and fitness, and for both kids and parents to make new friends.

Soccer and basketball are some of the best sports for teaching teamwork, though basketball is a bit harder for kids unless they've been taught to dribble from the time they could walk. Soccer is fairly easy for any child to pick up, as at the young age of five, the children are expected to do little more than kick the ball back and forth across a small field. In fact, watching five-year-olds play soccer is hilarious for on-lookers and spectators; rather than actually working as a team, the game usually consists of four or five children on each team simply herding the ball together down the field. They move in a continuous huddle, almost in mass, as they follow the ball. But in time, if these children continue to play as the years go by and they gain ability and agility, they will learn the rules of the game, the techniques, and how to play as a team; they will learn to depend on their team mates and what it means to be part of a collective.

In this day and age of sedentary living, computer games and TV, team sports are a wonderful way to get children off the sofa, out of the house and into the fresh air and sunshine. Not only do they need to be moving for at least an hour each day, kids need to breathe fresh air and be with other people. Computers and television are not conducive to this.

One of the best things about joining a local recreational sports team is that both children and their parents will meet new people and make new friends. Being a team together can be fun in a small town, where friendly rivalries take hold and the team and its fans begin to stick together. Being a team in a large city can bring camaraderie and closeness that often gets lost in the crowds. Not only will children enjoy being together on the field or court, they will get together for other activities and parents might find them shooting baskets on the driveway or kicking around a soccer ball in the yard or park. Kids with like-minded interests will tend to do those things, and in order to keep our kids healthy and fit, this is just what we want them to do.