Why should our children participate in school sport?
There are numerous benefits to participating in sport. Those benefits include better health, better academic performance, better attendance at school and improved social skills. I want to discuss some of the other benefits that are perhaps not as well known.
 
Sports can be tough. Sports pose physical, mental and emotional challenges. Sports allow children to persist through difficulty in a structured environment. Sport also offers opportunity to enjoy the success that comes from persevering. It is a platform for dealing with stress and performing under pressure. These are important lessons that leave our children better prepared for the next phase of life.
 
School sports have coaches. Coaches are in a position to influence children both on and off the field in ways that parents cannot. Children need authority figures, other than parents, to learn from and look up to. Coaches can guide children and help them learn from setbacks and losses. They can assist in developing healthy habits and a solid work ethic. A coach’s praise or stern look guides children’s behaviour.
 
Sports have teams. Teams are a social circle of largely like-minded peers (potential friends) with shared goals. Teams require your child to be reliable, to be committed, to be on time and to be selfless. Children can learn the value of teamwork and how to interact effectively with others while participating in a game.
 
Sports require character. Sports teach passion and commitment, responsibility and respect, integrity and accountability. Sports can teach children to succeed with humility and lose with dignity. Sports emphasise the value of playing by the rules. School sport is not simply about talent and sporting ability, it is about much more than that. Sports can help make children better people, and that, is ultimately our goal as parents, coaches and teachers.