Encouraging the
Love of the Sport
Darrell Morris

Sports are woven into the tapestry of American culture.  You name it -- basketball, football, soccer, baseball – whatever your passion—we have embraced it as a society.  Not only do millions of Americans love to watch a great game, we also enjoy playing.  It is a love affair that we seem to either have consciously or unconsciously pass on to our kids and that is a good thing. 

Beyond the obvious health and fitness benefits of having a child actively involved in sports, other advantages can make parents feel good about encouraging their child to get involved.  Outside of the obvious fun factor and opportunity to meet new friends, a child involved in sports is more likely to:

·         Be open to new ideas and opportunities

·         Exhibited an enhanced level of development and learning abilities

·         Enjoy healthy brain development

·         Increase physical and social skills

·         Learn cooperation, self-discipline and perseverance

·         Develop a positive self-image

·         Practice effective team building skills

 Parents often ask me how they can get their children involved in sports.   There are several ways -- most of which require the parent not pushing the child in a direction they may not want to go -- but instead providing them with opportunities to explore and enjoy a variety of sports. 

Starting at an early age, you can foster a love of sports by simply playing a variety of games with your child.  In addition to the bonus of being able to speand quality time with your child, they will likely associate the fun you are having with the game itself and decide to take it to the next step and join an orgainized team.

As you do in every other aspect of their life, continue to encourage, foster and applaud their accomplishments no matter how seemingly small.  Catching a softball, dribbling a basketball or making a goal in soccer are milestones and building blocks.  Acknowledge and recongnize those accomplisments enthusiastically.

Another great way to spark a child's interest is to take them to locat sporting events and let them see how the various games are played.  Semi-professional and professional sports are always great examples showing kids the best of the best, but high schoold and college games allow kids to relate to other kids and young people playing the game and having fun.

If you play a particular sport yourself, take the time to share those skills with your child.  They will come to see the excitement and pleasure your take from participating and will likely want to get involved themselves.

Your encouragement and enthusiasm are often the catalyst that will guide your child toward their involvement in a sport.  Providing opportunities to watch and play a variety of sports is often enough to spark the interest in a child.  Some kids will take to sports like a fish to water.  Others may take a little longer and explore a few options before finding their niche.  Whichever path they take, knowing they have the unconditional love and support of their parents will make the road to a lifelong commitment to health and fitness more enjoyable and secure.