A team sport is an athletic activity that relies on the collaboration of multiple individuals working as a unit to execute the game or the sport. This is in contrast to individual sports, such as swimming or track and field events, where the efforts of each athlete are solely reflected on their own results.
While there are some advantages to team sports, they also force kids to learn how to cooperate with their peers in the service of a common goal. They must keep in-group and out-group rivalries in check, yearning to be on top with all their hearts but able to step back when a teammate beats them out for a starting position, because what’s best for the team as a whole is ultimately more important.
Team sports are a great way for kids to learn the importance of collaboration, which is something that will carry with them into their academic endeavors. Whether it’s listening to coaches or their teammates during practice, or even just debriefing with their teammates after the game, kids will develop communication skills that they can take into the classroom and the workplace.
Additionally, many team sports teach kids how to manage their time wisely and how to solve problems quickly. These are skills that will also carry over into their academic work, and will serve them well in the competitive world that they will soon enter, at school, in their chosen profession, and even at home.