Participating in youth sports is an excellent way for children to explore and develop lifelong skills. Youth sports not only play an important role in exercise, but promotes mental and psychological advances as well. Numerous studies have shown that children who participate in sports are less likely to drop out of school, and become involved in drugs and alcohol activity, while they also excel in academic performances and sociability. Camp North Star offers our campers a variety of team and individual sports to choose from within our elective based program.
The benefits gained by children from taking part in athletic activities help them more off the fields and courts then they do on them.
Builds character – Playing sports at a young age enables children to participate in social interactions and build skills such as teamwork, leadership, and responsibility as they learn to work with others to achieve a common goal.
Develop teamwork skills – Teamwork is a skill children will continue to use for years to come, so it is important to learn the basics early. Youth sports provide important lessons in team dynamics. Everyone must work together to achieve their goals, and sports allow children to sort through each others strengths and weaknesses to decide what strategy works best for the team.
Promotes healthy competition – It’s easy to claim that youth sports are becoming too competitive. But competition is all around us. Children will face competition in school, the workplace and their personal lives, so they must learn how to interact in competitive environments. Participating in sports will teach children how good sportsmanship and that trying your hardest will often produce positive results.
Learning to Lose – Winning is easy. Learning to lose and doing it graciously is not as simple. Bad sportsmanship is an ugly thing. No one likes a sore loser. However, losing with integrity to a better opponent is a skill that should be learned at a young age.
Respect for Authority -Following set rules, taking direction and accepting decisions is a large part of playing sports. Through regular interaction with coaches and referees, children will have an increased sense of respect.
Resilience – In sports, you go through highs and lows as well as wins and losses. Sports can certainly be an emotional rollercoaster. Children who are highly involved in sport are more likely to become ‘psychologically resilient’. This isn’t surprising when sport teaches kids to pick themselves up after a hard tackle, or to hold their head high after losing badly, then get right back out there for the next play or game.
Camp North Star’s athletic program allows our campers to learn new skills and further develop existing ones. Our coaches offer classes for the beginner up to the competitive travel player. There’s also our Coach in Residence Program for campers who want to specialize in one specific sport. We certainly enjoy watching our campers improve their athletic skills. But, it’s most rewarding to see life skills they gain by participating in sports that help them to become well-rounded, mature young adults.