Consider this perspective from a former pro football player and dad, by Carey Wallace, writing for Time magazine:
The Superbowl might be the country’s biggest entertainment event of the year, with one out of every three Americans glued to the screen as the game unfolds.
But between the commercials, and the pop stars, and the non-stop action of the game, is there anything that kids can really learn?
Chad Hennings, a three time Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys, and author of Forces of Character: Conversations About Building A Life of Impact, says yes.
“To me,” Hennings says, “sports is probably the best leadership laboratory or character laboratory that there is.”
Much of what sports has to offer, Hennings says, has to do with “actual hands on experimentation”: teamwork, overcoming adversity, being a good sport, learning follow through, self-discipline, and self reliance.
But kids can also learn important lessons from sports as spectators.
From the time kids are elementary age, Hennings says, parents who watch sports with children can focus not just on the skill of an athlete, “but watch how they handle themselves from a character perspective: How do they interact with teammates? How do they react when they strike out?”
In middle school, parents can start to encourage kids to compare the behavior of athletes they see on the field to the way they’d like to act themselves, Hennings says: “How should we do that when we have the opportunity? How do you want to react?” Parents can also ask kids questions that help them to choose mentors and heroes based on more than raw skill, says Hennings. “Don’t just choose a role model because they’re a great athlete. Choose an athlete of character that handles themselves the right way.”
High school kids, says Hennings, can begin “taking those life lessons and making analogies to real world situations.” Once they’ve observed a player’s character, says Hennings, they can begin to ask questions like “Can I rely on that individual? When the stress levels rise, are they going to cheat, compromise, head for the hills when adversity hits? Who are good teammates who you can trust?”
And, Hennings says, kids can start to ask themselves whether they are acting as a team player in all walks of life: “someone that lives to be their best self every day, and encourages others to do the same.Whether you watch sports, or participate(d) in sports, what did it teach you about character and team work? Or did you learn something else? If your parents were involved say, as co-participants in watching sports with you, did you have conversations about character and decision-making? Were these opportunities for your parents to fulfill the 'guide development' role and help you learn from what you watched, or engaged in?
Another perspective about parenting and the Super Bowl is offered by Joey Stark, one of our class community. Joey shared this video sung by children (and adults) for whom Super Bowl Sunday has a very special meaning (you may see it elsewhere tonight during the game). It's a great video! Only I can't get the Seal song out of my head now. What do you think of it?
I think sports have the ability to teach a person a lot about life and mold you into the type of person society wants to have. My parents always said that un-coachable kids make for un-employable adults. Sports teaches you how to adapt, how to be a leader, a quick thinker and accept cunstructive criticism. It teaches you how to sacrifice and how to work as a unit rather than just an individual. Learning how to work as a team, regardless of circumstances, regardless of how hard it is and pushing through to reach a common goal can be applicable to a lot of different areas in life. You can't always control who your coworkers are but are you gonna quit your job cause things are hard and you don't want to work with them? I'm a huge advocate for getting children involved in sports. I cheer for the University of Minnesota and some of the people I cheer with now I have been cheering with for years. Sports form friendships, gets you involved, keeps you out of trouble, keeps you physically in shape, gives people a chance at a college education and keeps people focused and constantly trying to improve themselves.
ReplyDeleteI have been involved in sports practically my whole life. My dad and I weren't always one to watch sports, but every once in awhile we would. My dad was heavily involved in sports when he was in high school and he knew the impact they have on ones character and overall growth as a person, so I think that is why he got me involved very young. I went from gymnastics to travel soccer, to track and field, and then lacrosse. Each sport I was involved in taught me a lot about myself and helped push me to try harder and never give up. I think being an athlete teaches you a lot about being a leader and having a position where so many people look up to you for advice and strength. Being a captain definitely makes you realize how much of a role model and pillar of strength you have to be because your attitude and overall representation doesn't just affect you, but your whole team. It teaches you to be positive and develop a never give up attitude. I was always very hard on myself when it came to sports, simply because my dad was always pushing me to do better. He was my biggest supporter, at every game and event, always cheering on the sidelines and giving me tips to be better. He never knew anything about lacrosse but because I was interested in it, he took the time to learn about it and practice with me to make me a better player. Sports for my family really helped us stay better connected and always working to help each other become better. It helped me develop a very strong work ethic and an overall positive outlook on life.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUntil I graduated high school, I was a figure skater all my life. I think the most important thing that skating taught me was dedication and perseverance. My last few years, I had a lot of struggles, but I pushed through them because I had learned how to never give up. My experiences also taught me how to work as a team through my time as a synchronized skater. I made a lot of close friendships, as well, that I otherwise would not have made because we are all pursuing and working towards the same goal. If one person made a mistake, it could affect everyone. Like Lexi said, learning how to work as a team is very important for children to learn at a young age because in the future, many careers depend on being able to work as a team with coworkers. These experiences were opportunities for my parents to help guide my development because they encouraged me to work hard, as well as teaching me that it is okay to lose sometimes because you can't always win everything. Sports are not a huge part of my life now, but I definitely think that putting my children in sports is something that I will make a priority in the future. They are a great way for children to learn important life skills and become successful adults in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'd say sports, especially martial arts, teach you humility and patience. I have practiced karate for 11 years and one important thing I've learned is that perfection is not static and permanent -- you get too complacent and you lose the edge. To master anything, really, one has to dedicate a lifetime. For example, the journey didn't end for me after I got my black belt, because there are still 10 more black belt ranks to attain; the fact that the tenth rank is usually granted postumously as an honor truly reinforces this message.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how good you are, you can always learn new things from both your superiors and equals.
I also think we should not forget that besides watching others and participating in teamwork kids can strongly benefit from a mentor-mentee relationship, which can become equal to the relationship between children and their parents. For kids from abusive or neglectful families a coach may become a more real parent that their biological ones and in a way fulfill most of the roles entailed by that. Many stories, fictional and non-fictional, have portrayed the potential of that kind of relationship.
Contrary to my peers I had little to no experience watching or participating in sports with my family. When I was in high school I participated in Lincoln Douglas debate and Drama and Poetry performances in Speech. These experiences molded me in important ways, but not necessarily in ways that have taught me how to be a team player because they are very individualistic activities. These experiences reinforced an inner confidence and ability to communicate to a large group of people, to explore complex subjects, and to embrace and celebrate my creativity and appreciate it in other people. Although these traits are not community driven, I believe they have made me more creative and independent. I don't think that this is mutually exclusive from developing character and the ability to work well with others, though. I think parents who guide their children in a variety of activities and show them what they love and value themselves are the ones who make positive imprints on their children in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI participated in soccer when I was younger all the way until high school. Being in soccer taught me to never give up and push myself to be the the best. I put a lot of time and dedication playing soccer, and during the practices and games, it took a lot out of me. At the end of each game and practice, my goal was to feel proud of myself for what I did that day. That meant to push myself that much harder each time, and to prove to myself that I can get through it no matter how tired and sore I was. Being on a team, it taught me how to communicate better, and gain confidence in myself. My dad was at every single one of my soccer games, and he would always talk about what I can do in certain situations, and to try new things. He would yell at me on the field to keep going and not to give up. Which helped me a lot because I wanted to make him proud and show him what I could do as a soccer player. My dad would always ask me what sport activity I wanted to do the most when I was younger and I said soccer, so he signed me up at a recreation center when I was young and got me involved to see if I would like it as much as I thought I did, and it turned out that I loved soccer. Being involved with soccer did help me learn a lot about myself and who I am. I am glad my dad kept bringing up to me about joining something at a young age. He was very proud of me after every practice and game I did. The support, communication, desire, and passion my dad showed me playing soccer made a huge impact on who I am today, and taught me so much of what all of those mean.
ReplyDeleteI love Alexis' quote from her parents about how being an "un-coachable kid" makes an "un-employable adult". That is an awesome lesson that she learned from her parents while growing up. Learning to be on a team, thinking about how your actions might affect a bigger picture, is so valuable. I also like how she mentioned that sports form friendships and keep you involved. While this is all completely true, it makes me curious on how the value of sports is viewed in lower income families.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, I mainly lived with my mom. We lived about 20 minutes from school (open-enroll), so usually my mom would drop me off at my grandma's before school, on her way to work, and I would take the bus back to my grandma's house and wait for my mom to pick me up after work. This worked really well for us, except it didn't leave room for after-school activities. Particularly in elementary school, this really bothered me. There were only about 15 girls in my grade and I was the only one who could not afford, and couldn't get rides to and from these activities. I felt completely left out and my mom couldn't do anything to change her schedule, since she was working 10+ hour days to make ends meet. I was fortunate enough in junior high to find a way to play lacrosse, but it makes me wonder about the other low income kids who never got the opportunity. Why do they make sports so expensive for kids, when they're so valuable in the things that they teach? Why aren't there better programs to fund things like this?
Personally, I've never understood the hype with sports, but that's probably partially to do with the fact that I never really played them. I used to think that they had no benefit to anyone involved. But then I dated a guy who was extremely into sports (like he was rocked to sleep with sports center on). It was really cool to see the whole culture behind it. I could definitely see where his parents used sports as a model for ethical behavior. His favorite players were never the nasty guys with bad attitudes, they were the underdogs and ones who played fair. He also really valued fairness, equality and sportsmanship. Overall, his entire demeanor and value system was strongly rooted in sports and its culture- which was pretty cool to get to experience, even though I still really don't like sports. Getting to see into the life of sports showed me that children can and do actually benefit from both watching and being involved in them.
ReplyDeleteAs we talked about in class, I think the idea of sports teaching you how to deal with winning and losing is very important. Throughout life there will be many instances when you have to be able to respectfully accept a loss, or graciously be a winner. I think that sports can teach people these lessons.
ReplyDeleteI participated in sports from a very young age. My parents always made it a point to enroll my brother and I in sports of all kinds. When we were younger, the idea was more about participation. My parents were very encouraging and always asked us if we had fun. Having fun was the goal. As we got older, we were still encouraged to have fun, yet the idea of winning was talked about too. My dad is a competitive person, and so am I. We tend to get worked up about winning, yet no matter what he never got involved with my coaches or yelled at anyone. He taught me that while winning is a huge honor and sometimes very important, it is important to remain respectful and remember that it is just a game.
Team sports can be valuable to children of all ages. In a Directed Experience class I took last semester we learned what types of games are appropriate for different ages much like we talked about today in class. There comes a time when games with rules become appropriate for children, but in early childhood, games with rules are not a good idea. Sports and team building exercises should be a part of every child's life, in some form. It is important for children to learn about working together to achieve a shared goal, to take turns and also the various aspects of winning and loosing. Also, as Lexy said, to learn how to take constructive criticism but also when to speak up for yourself (at an appropriate time). It is good to get competitive, at an appropriate age, because it is important to learn to work hard to reach a goal and that it isn't always easy. But also that you can work hard and still lose and then it is the thought and the participation that matters.
ReplyDeleteThis is where parents, coaches and caregivers come in handy, to teach the children that it is okay to react but also to take losing the right way and to work hard and give everything your best effort even when you may not be enjoying the particular act.
I absolutely agree with the statement that, "...sports is probably the best character laboratory". As someone who participated in wrestling all throughout middle school and high school, I can tell you that being a member on a team helped shape my work ethic and character tremendously. Participating in a sport offers new challenges to over come that one just wouldn't experience in class or at a movie. Whether its to be the best or do better than last time, working toward a common goal with others allows a great outlet for one's communication skills to develop. With this, I agree that parents can guide this process. Personally, my parents would always ask questions about what was going on at practice or with my teammates. At the time it was occasionally annoying but now that I'm older, I can see that they were just really interested in what was happening with me. That is something that, one day, I hope to pass on to my children too!
ReplyDelete