Team sport provides a reliable and consistent way for kids to exercise, improve their health and build their strength. It also helps them learn important life skills like dedication, commitment and problem-solving, all of which translate well into the classroom.
The benefits of team sports for children are numerous: Regular exercise reduces their risk for obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure as well as promotes a healthy weight. Team sport also introduces them to the concept of balance and teaches them great organization and time management skills, helping them to prioritize their homework, sports and family time.
Moreover, studies have shown that participating in team sports can have positive effects on mental health, helping to lower symptoms of depression and stress. Additionally, team sport encourages social interaction and teaches individuals to think with a team perspective.
A distinguishing feature of sport teams is that their members must compete with each other and cooperate with each other to achieve performance success. This is particularly true of professional team sports, where the demand for cooperation within and among athletes is high.
The combination of these features creates a unique organizational environment that is not only a model for studying competition and cooperative behavior but also a dynamic “organizational laboratory” in which sexual and multilevel selection theoretical frameworks can be applied profitably. Research on the processes of sports teams is a promising avenue for developing new approaches to organizational and behavioral dynamics, including the integration of shared mental models, ecological dynamics, and ITC to better understand and predict team effectiveness.