The benefits of competitive sports

At Hatherop, children are able to compete in matches from Prep 3 in a wide variety of sports on a weekly basis against other schools. There are so many benefits to playing sport in a competitive environment, below we have detailed a few.

Encourages higher standards of achievement

It’s only natural to apply more effort when the stakes are higher and less effort when the outcome is of less importance. With greater effort in sport comes greater improvement in a variety of different areas like skills, fitness, teamwork and potentially awards.

Builds discipline

Competitive sport requires dedicated training and practice. Taking part in such training and seeing improvement helps students to understand that with hard work, often comes results. When they experience these improvements, their self-esteem grows and they broaden their limitations of what they can achieve. Goal setting is also an important part of competitive sports. Good goal setting techniques are highly transferable skills that can be applied across all areas of schooling and life.

Develops physical activity

It is obviously possible to participate in physical activity in a non-competitive environment and many people do so on a regular basis. However, in a competitive environment, students will often push themselves harder in training and in matches. This extra effort results in improved fitness levels as well as extending an individual’s boundaries about their perception of what they are physically capable of.

Builds teamwork

Team sports are one of the best examples to showcase the need for teamwork to achieve success. Working together towards a common goal is one of the most effective ways to grow camaraderie and friendship. It’s this shared experience and emotion that builds loyalty and trust within a team.