Youth’s involvement in physical sports is becoming less common in the age of internet. But the ordeal on the field is essential and extremely beneficial. We tell give you some key reasons you must play sports as a student.
Although the age of internet has connected humans to unlimited information, it has also ushered in an era of disconnect from our surroundings. Children who once used to religiously throng parks and other open spaces across the country for engaging in various sports, are now glued to cell phone screens and gaming consoles. Tennis, cricket, hockey, table tennis etc. have become sports best played with friends atop beanbags inside air-conditioned rooms. Resultantly, a lot of learning that the youth once received through physical engagement in sports is gradually becoming a lost art. While we do not discourage you from improving upon your free-kick skills on the console, we do offer you some reasons you must play sports at school or college and become a well-rounded individual while you are at it.
You improve your health
One of the key and obvious benefits of engaging in sports regularly is the improvement in your health. Almost everyone knows how important physical activity is for maintaining one’s body, yet many of us take this precious gift for granted. Rising obesity in children and teenagers has become a serious health concern around the globe, and a lack of physical activity coupled with consumption of unhealthy food is the basic culprit. The increased heart rate, improved blood circulation, breathing exercise and muscle engagement you achieve during sports is crucial to keeping your overall health in order. Plus it ensures guilt-free late night snacking. Well, almost.
You fight stress
People who engage in heavy physical exercise like sports regularly tend to have a better ability to keep stress away. Why? Because sports and other exercises help your body up the production of endorphins. Still clueless? Well, endorphins are your brains feel-good neurotransmitters that help you attain calmness and positivity. And if your head is in the right place, chances are your body will fall in line as well.
You get competitive
Looking to hone your “go-for-the-kill” instinct? Surprisingly, you won’t need motivational lectures if sports are a part of your routine. Humans are gifted with a natural desire to outdo others and even themselves, and nothing brings out that urge better than sports. This single impulse to outclass the rest has been the reason for many of mankind’s discoveries and key to its advancement over the centuries. And a competitive attitude will also make you a sought after employee. No matter which industry you set foot into, your competitive streak will remain key to your progress to higher ranks.
You learn to take stock
Getting involved in sports is not just about training hard and playing harder. If you concentrate long enough, the playing field will be one of the most important classrooms you ever become part of. It’s a practice ground for building complex algorithms in your head that ensure success. Analysing your opponents’ strengths and being cognizant of their weaknesses is something you practice every time you enter the field. And split second decisions you take during a game help you with your ability to recognise opportunities and contain threats. And that is all the SWOT analysis training you really need to succeed in everyday affairs.
You learn to take blows
One of the most important reasons you must play sports is that sports help you nurture the ability to take one on the chin and move on. A wrong pass that cost your team a goal? A bad shot that got you out with only a run needed to win? An ambitious tackle that earned your opponents a decisive penalty? Instances as such are harsh outcomes that you have to cope with and learn from. Following momentary criticism, you usually find ample support from mates that ensures that the world hasn’t ended with the loss. Such events offer food for self-reflection and make you better at taking calculated risks at stressful moments in the future.
You endure
Besides physical tenacity, remaining involved with sports will also do wonders for your mental endurance. Sports offer you a chance to become part of team or individual events that require efforts beyond your obvious ability. A prestigious trophy, a series decider with arch rivals, a crucial football match with score stuck at 1-1 are scenarios that will require you or your team to rise above physical ability and pain for greater glory. Your will and endurance will be tested. And your response will define your character to your teammates and to you. You never know what you might learn about yourself when the going gets tough.
You become a team player
Of course you do. And it’s a trait sought more and more by employers with each passing day. As cubicles turn into open workspaces and as large corporations devolve into small, efficient units, the demand for “team players” has gone through the roof. Most companies want people who can work with various kinds of co-workers and in varying conditions in harmony. It might be hard if you have preferred going solo until now. But if you have been involved with sports, you’ll fit in like an old glove in hand. Team sports are vital training arenas for learning to attain success by coordinating with individuals having varying approaches, skills, techniques and, most importantly, decibels. So if you have learnt a thing or two on the field, you’ll do just fine at the office.
You improve your resume
One of the crucial reasons you must play sports is that you will simply deprive yourself the opportunity to showcase various facets of your personality to university admission recruiters if you do not. Many forget that most local and international universities are highly eager to induct students that have performed well in various sports. While a decorated academic record is highly persuasive, your involvement in sports tell recruiters there’s much more to your personality. Besides, hundreds of students make it to top universities around the world solely on the basis of performance in sports. Some institutes even offer sports scholarships to students.
So while it’s great to see you burn the midnight oil for want of perfect grades, we think it’s also good to get the good ol’ sweat going on the playing field at times. The reasons above ought to give you some inspiration, we hope.
Think we missed a point or two? Enlighten us with your thoughts.
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