Benefits of Youth Sports

When it comes to youth extracurriculars, sorting through potential activities can be overwhelming. It may seem like there is a club, group, or meeting for almost any interest. Though we at Team Topia fully believe in exploring any activity in which your kiddo is interested, we cannot more highly recommend at least one such activity is a youth sports team.  

Involvement in youth sports results in a wide variety of benefits. We’ll go into those benefits, which include emotional/psychological advantages, physical benefits, social perks, and everyday functional skills, below.

Emotional/Psychological Benefits:

It’s no secret that exercise positively impacts mental well-being. These psychological benefits are even more impressive for athletes with ADHD, anxiety, high-functioning autism, and/or sensory processing disorder. Parents of children with related disorders report that youth sports, such as swimming, help calm their kiddos and redistribute energy into a healthy outlet. 

In addition, youth sports are often based on skill acquisition and, therefore, help build confidence. Kids continue to add skills over time (such as throwing, catching, and fielding in baseball or tumbles, flips, and balance in gymnastics). Gaining these skills helps their development not only as an athlete but also a growing human! 

Physical Benefits:

Sports also develop stronger muscular/skeletal systems (i.e. helping build critical bone mass- especially in adolescent females), fitness (i.e. increasing VO2 Max and strengthening heart health), and hand-eye coordination/body awareness/motor skills. These physical benefits and habits will hopefully stay with your child into adolescence and adulthood.

Social Benefits:

Youth sports are also a hub for social interaction. Sports teams often become cherished communities and a wellspring for friendship. In addition, through your athletes’ involvement in recreational sports, parents can also become involved in social activities. Volunteer opportunities are abundant, allowing parents to get involved in their community while developing deeper friendships with other parents. Contributing to a whole feels good, right?

Altogether, there is no doubt that rec/youth sports are a great way to get your kid involved, help them build physical and social skills, and lay the base for long-term healthy living. Team Topia could not more highly recommend exploring sports with your kiddo and giving it a whirl!

Are you involved with a youth sports team and looking for the perfect solution to team management? Look no further than Team Topia– we offer a one stop solution for sports teams and clubs that includes a website, customizable registration forms, communications, and event scheduling.