In
general, the goal of participating in sports is to improve in areas of cognitive development
starting with motor skills. Motor skills are functions of the brain that
involve movements of the muscles to perform actions in a smooth and efficient
manner. When a child’s body matures, the evolution of motor development relies
heavily on a more efficient way of processing information. The four basic motor
capacities that reflect a child’s athletic skills are balance, flexibility,
agility, and force. First of all, balance is a strong foundation for developing
an athlete. For instance, improved balance supports many athletics skills, such as running, throwing, kicking, and the rapid changes
of direction needed in many team sports. Just as important,
flexibility allows children to perform more physical stretching motions such as
swinging a bat, jumping, and throwing and kicking a ball. Not to mention,
agility grants athletes the ability to swiftly move in forward, backward, and
sideways motions. Together with force, a child will be able to push themselves
further off the ground when running and project any objects with more power and
velocity.
Furthermore,
social skills are behaviors that give children the ability to interact and
communicate with others. In particular, group sports require plenty of
communication by incorporating teamwork and accepting responsibilities. Teamwork
is very significant because it requires a group to collaborate together in
order to reach a common goal. Without teamwork, a group has a slim chance of
winning a game no matter how talented the individuals are. As for accepting
responsibilities, group sports need athletes to understand their duties and
utilize it with precision. More social skills that can be developed from
participating in sports are sportsmanship and leadership. Sportsmanship teaches
children how to play the game with fairness and respect for others. As for
leadership, some athletes attain this quality to socially influence others to
reach the same goal by giving encouragement and support. In order to build solid teamwork, there
must be individuals that have strong leadership skills.
Another
area where sports can improve a child’s cognitive development is their
psychological skills. To be specific, one of the most common psychological attribute
that is enhanced is self-esteem. With high self-esteem, children will have the
confidence for their own worth. As a result, they will have better problem-solving
and decision-making skills. A boost in problem-solving and decision-making skills
will allow a child to identify, analyze, and form strategic solutions for
puzzles. For example, some sports, such as football, basketball, and soccer,
require play calls to figure tactical ways to break through the opponent’s
defense and score points. In addition to psychological skills, sports will
encourage a child to be ambitious. It is important for a child to have ambition
because it gives them a desire to reach their personal goals.
