Children Can Be Motivated For The Rights Reasons To Play Team Sports
It’s well known that there are many benefits your child gains when playing sports on a regular basis. The Sports Techie community blog is a firm believer in this concept because playing a sport together with peers helps kids learn how to play together, it introduces them to the principles of sportsmanship and it gets he or she moving away from the addictions of technology. With the increase in obesity and heart disease it’s also important to encourage kids from an early age to maintain regular exercise by playing a sport they enjoy while learning to put down the tech.
However as parents, it’s sometimes easier said than done with digital distractions often stealing and consuming our kid’s attention. It’s important to be proactive when motivating your child especially when it comes to playing team sports.
We’ve put together some tips for parents to help motivate kids in sport.
- Let Them Choose their Sport
It’s easy as a parent to want to live vicariously through your child and have them follow in your footsteps by playing the sport you’ve always played. While some kids will naturally adopt the sports their parents play many will want to choose something new.
Ultimately, the decision of which sport to play is a decision that they need to make. While there is no harm in encouraging them to play certain sports, based on budget or experience, in the end they must be happy with their decision.
When you allow your child to choose a sport that appeals to them they will be much more likely to commit and play that sport long term.
- Practice With Your Child
One of the best ways to get your kids excited and motivated for sports is to get outside and play with them. Kids love spending time with their parents and practicing in the backyard or going to the park to play for fun, keeping it fun is great motivation.
While you’re playing you can start to teach them some basic skills that will allow them to perform better when they next play a game. It’s important that these sessions are more about having fun and not making it too serious or striving for perfection from them.
Give them the tools they need but let them master it in their own time.
- Experiment With Different Sports
Often it’s not just one sport but a number of sports that grab our child’s attention. It’s great for kids to play many sports just as long as it remains affordable for you as a parent.
One of the best way for kids to trial sports is by enrolling them in a school holiday sports program. There are a variety of 3 – 7 day sports camps which feature sporting stars as guest coaches and professional athletes that will help improve your kid’s skills.
It’s also a great way to meet new friends from all over the city and to try different sport without having to buy all the equipment or register for a full season.
- Don’t Pressure Kids To Be The Best
No matter how badly you want your kid to be a professional athlete it’s important to accept that they need to forge their own pathway in life. Let them go about their sport at their own pace.
While it’s important that they make a commitment to turn up to trainings and play games on the weekends it’s not the end of the world if they need to take a break too. Forcing kids when they don’t want to play will often make them associate sports with unhappiness and make them less motivated to be involved in the future.
Give your child free time to do the activities that they naturally gravitate towards and let them explore interests outside of sports too. Don’t yell at them for doing something wrong when they play, teach them the correct way and encourage them to put in their best effort.
Get more sports tips at Australian Sports Camps | Sports Camps Australia | Camps Australia
Sports Techie, my son is about to turn four. He is becoming interested in team sports such as basketball and soccer. I know he likes these sports because he plays with his hoop at home and watches live soccer matches at a local stadium with his Daddy. Since he’s on the autism spectrum, his Mom and Dad are going to enroll him in his first summer camp at a local business that specializes in ASD sensory friendly and team activities.
Whether he plays with other campers right away or not, I anticipate with the right situation, a caring instructor and enthusiastic fellow campers, he will thrive in his own way making this team sports camp the right thing to do at this point in his life.
Video games have never been more realistic but at the same time, playing a video game or eSports takes kids away from the outdoors and learning to play traditional team sports away from a screen.
I encourage parents to follow our advice and be your child’s best advocate when it comes to selecting team sports and try not lead them down the path of your choosing. Swimming lessons, a volleyball league, rock climbing classes, and football camp are all fun, engaging and worthwhile activities. Give whatever sport and team enough time and your kids will love it as perhaps you did in your youth.
Be sure to use your smartphone, tablet or camera to film some of these precious moments and then share them with loved ones on social media platforms. Your tribe will appreciate it.
It sure was awesome being a kid that played team sports with other boys and girls because I truly loved it. With the right kind of motivation, so will your child.
See ya later sports techie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!
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