Benefits of Sports in Education

Sports and athletics have been cooking up a consistent rage as extra-curricular activities among students for quite some time now. Mostly students branch out into different types of sports in school, once they realize their passion. Sheer love for the game is generally the reason working behind their choices. But there are significant benefits for sports that are overlooked. Here we have composed a few benefits of sports for students.

The Sheer Experience of Enjoyment

Students generally join the Physical Education and Sports class to enjoy a fun break in between the study periods with their friends. According to a survey conducted by the Athletic Footwear Association on 20,000 kids, 65 percent of them said that they joined sports because they wanted to spend time with their friends. Nowadays children are burdened with the pressure of studies and cannot scrape out time for games or sports in their tight schedule of the day. This is where the Physical Education class in schools come in. It works as a quick relief from the hours of grueling classes and lets them run around and enjoy to the fullest. This erratic but fun running around later transpires into sports that goes on to comprise a large chunk of their lives.

Academic Benefits

Numerous surveys support the fact that students involved in sports are likely to excel in their studies a good deal. A survey found that students who actively participate in sports like football, basketball and so on, performed 10 percent better in core subjects like Math, Science, and Language than the students who did not. Mathematical calculations become easier since students get to calculate the stats and scores in a football game. Also, involvement with sports develops the values of dedication and concentration among students. Students learn to listen to their mentors, understand the expectations and respond accordingly. They also learn to follow rules and guidelines, be disciplined and organized with their studies and implement the same values in their personal life as well. Motor skills get developed in students with sports.

The 3 P’s

This is one of the aspects of sports that extends well beyond the classroom. The 3 P’s constitute:

• Patience
• Practice
• Persistence

Student understand patience by waiting in the sidelines, for their turn to score a hoop. Practicing persistently to do well in their respective sports helps students to observe the same values in their studies. The benefits of the 3 P’s are not just helpful in education, but the benefits extend further into the personal lives of the students forming a solid factor for character building. I would add another ‘P’ to the bunch of three. ‘Participation’ is inspired and influenced directly by sports. Students learn to participate and actively volunteer in educational activities instead of waiting to be called upon or shying away from the limelight.

Teamwork and Ego Checks

In sports, students work in a team to achieve the same goal. Thus teamwork and co-operation form two fundamental principles that sports teach students. Working together, clarifying doubts with each other, solving each other’s problems and so on are a few of the acquired skills that students develop from sports. Apart from that, leadership skills come as an added bonus. Students learn how to lead a team in group activities, how to take responsibility for not just their own actions but also for the team, how to optimize the benefits of teamwork and so on. Leaders set an example for all team members and provide advice and guidance both on and off field. That works out to be a skill that benefits students to quite an extent.
A student in a team starts thinking of the group as a whole. He starts understanding the fact that he needs to listen to and sometimes, obey the suggestions of his teammates in order for the team to win. He would also learn to be happy for the successes of his team members instead of just thinking of himself.

Fitness

Needless to say, students actively involved in sports, stay healthy and fit. Weight and body mass stay appropriate, proper working of the vital organs are maintained and, therefore, students tend to fall sick less and as a result, they do not miss out on their lessons.

Scholarships

Extra-curricular activities helps to earn students brownie points in their higher educational pursuits. Many colleges and universities prefer such certifications to admit students into their institutes. They sometimes offer scholarships based on such certifications as well. It serves as an added benefits in job applications as well. Sometimes many Government organizations allot a separate quota for recruitment of applicants.

Encouraging students to take up sports is quite beneficial and healthy for them since they attain skills that no course can inculcate in them. A first-hand experience helps in understanding the full value of such behavioral traits. There are numerous other benefits that students acquire by integrating sports into education. These acquired skills go far beyond the classroom and past the colleges or universities. Students reap the benefits of such activities for the rest of their lives.