by Christy Tanner

Created on: January 29, 2009

Baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, football. People of all ages, fitness levels, and ability play team sports in America. Whether it is the five year old showing up to his first tee-ball practice or the fifty five year old playing in the YMCA Over-50 basketball playoffs, everyone benefits from team sports.

The most obvious advantage to participating in a sport is the added physical fitness achieved while playing. However, this benefit is not exclusive to team sports; engaging in solo sports, such as swimming and running, can be equally advantageous to one's fitness level. The impact team sports have on a person's life is an intangible one, but nonetheless, a positive one.

Camaraderie developed on the field or the court can be compared to the bonds developed between squadron mates on a battle field. Elite athletes pour sweat, time, and energy into the improvement of the team; when a group of these guys or girls spends a season working toward a common goal, they lay the foundation for a lifelong friendship. Young athletes just learning a sport find a common interest upon which to build some of their first relationships. Older players can use team sports as an outlet for their hectic lives and as an excuse to create adult relationships outside the boundaries of work and family obligations.

Aside from friendship building, team sports can offer a life lesson on responsibility and dependability. When an athlete engages in a team sport he is faced with the reality that his teammates are depending upon him to show up to practice, work to improve, and to deliver his best effort on the field. Because of the relationships that have been developed team players are driven to perform their best to avoid letting down their partners on the court. When athletes learn this lesson in a game setting, it becomes ingrained in them and can be easily drawn upon when faced with life situations that require similar dedication and hard work for the benefit of a group.

While participants learn to be relied upon, the converse is also true; team sports teach people the importance of relying on others to work toward an end result. Learning to work as a team can be beneficial in business when the amount of work needed to complete a project is more than one person can do independently. An athlete involved in team sports learns that she cannot win a game completely on her own, just as a marketing professional cannot develop an entire ad campaign without assistance from her coworkers.

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