“It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” Many of the most common cultural maxims are sports related, because sports great an optimal environment for social learning. Sports teach self-efficacy and build honest confidence, while also helping individuals develop the communications and leadership skills they can apply in all areas of life.
In face, empirical research continually shows that participation in sports leads to life skills development. For example, Gould & Carson (2008) found that sports help people develop transferable life skills—meaning the types of skills that are not limited to the sporting arena. Those skills include conversational skills and skills in creative conflict resolution.
Team sports are particularly conducive to psychological and social skills development. During team sports, participants learn how to deal with conflict directly, resolving disputes without using aggression or passive-aggression. Holt (2017) points out, “rather than seeking to remove conflict children can be encouraged to find ways to deal with disputes by seeking to understand the other person’s point of view and reaching compromises,” (p. 1). Team sports can be challenging for all participants, requiring collaboration and cooperation, as well as the development of personal responsibility and self-discipline.
Sports help all participants develop leadership and public speaking skills, such as the ability to present oneself with finely honed mannerisms that reflect a strong sense of self. With sports, people develop the “feeling you can conquer anything,” (Kendrick, 2017, p. 1). Even single player sports like track and field can help individuals cultivate ethics through sportsmanlike or ethical behavior through participation in competitive events, helping other players to reach their goals without sacrificing personal integrity. Finally, sports help a person cultivate the most gracious and emotionally intelligent attitude after both wins and losses.
References
Gould, D. & Carson, S. (2008). Life skills development through sport: current status and future directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Physiology 1(1): 58-78.
Holt, N. (2017). Can sport help develop life skills? Wise Qatar. http://www.wise-qatar.org/sports-education-nick-holt
Kendrick, K. (2017). 10 life skills sport gives your kids. HuffPostUK. Dec 13, 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/14/10-life-skills-sport-gives-your-kids_n_7324094.html
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