As summer comes to a close, the school year is (unfortunately) just around the corner. Once school starts, sports tryouts follow shortly after with the start of football, cross-country, volleyball, tennis and swimming. With your younger kiddos, the seasons might be less defined than middle and high schoolers, but it’s still important to enroll your kids in sports at a young age! 

Teach Teamwork

At a young age, many children have only experienced teamwork in informal settings, such as working with their siblings to sneak a snack out of the kitchen without mom seeing! Enroll your kids in sports like soccer or volleyball to teach your child how to work together with their teammates to score a goal or get a point.

Make New Friends

The primary way kids make friends is by talking to their classmates or the neighborhood kids. Joining a sports team introduces them to kids from all over who may go to a different school or even live in the next town over. Who knows, they might find their best friend on the field! 

Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Instilling a love for health at a young age is important, and one easy way to teach kids to enjoy exercise is by making it fun and doing a sport. It might take a few tries to figure out what sport is the perfect fit for your little one, but don’t get discouraged! Once they find their passion, they’ll ask you non stop when their next practice or game is. 

Stress Relief

It might be disheartening to think of your child having to deal with stress, but tests and deadlines can be just as scary for them as they are for adults. Sports are an amazing stress relief and will distract their minds from whatever is bothering them for a while after school while they are practicing with their teammates.