Why playing a variety of physical activities is so beneficial
In this day and age when children are beginning to play competitive singular sports from an early age, I worry at times that children are missing out on the opportunities to participate in a much wider selection of activities.
As parents, we sometimes feel that we should push our children into specialising in their or our chosen sport. This is done to perfect certain skills and hone in on the training needed for that particular sport. However, playing more than one sport, better serves a growing athlete’s long-term needs. Participating in multiple sports, at least until puberty, decreases the chances of injuries, stress levels on the body, and burnout.
In fact, some of the best athletes play more than one sport. For muscles to grow, they need time to recover, and repeated use can cause long-term harm. By playing multiple sports, especially ones that are very different, your child can develop different muscle groups. Overtime, that will lead to forming a better overall athlete. Such transferable skills, like running, throwing, jumping, agility and countless other actions, are just some notable advantages of playing and competing in a variety of sports.
Promoting a healthy balance and variety of the sports for both boys and girls is crucial. This is why we continue to grow and develop the PE curriculum, sports provision and now the new activity programme at Hatherop.
