Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the March Madness category.
Lessons Learned Through Sports
Basketball
Both of my kids had their final basketball game of the season on Saturday. Both had difficult seasons. My son only won three games during the regular season. However, his team won the last two games of the regular season, and then went on to make it to the championship game of their post season tournament. They eventually lost in the championship game. My daughter on the other hand, only won one game all season long. However, by the end of both seasons, all of us parents were talking about how much the kids had improved throughout the course of the season.
That got me thinking about how much participating in sports can teach us about life. Doing anything repeatedly, even if only for a short amount of time, can lead to great improvements. Have you recently started a new job? Are you feeling stressed about trying something new and different? Change is a scary thing. But I can’t help but think that each and every one of the children that were playing basketball this year had to start somewhere. My daughter’s team was full of kids that had never played basketball before. They came to their first practice completely clueless about how to play basketball (I know because I coached them). They had a hard time even dribbling the ball correctly, let alone running a pick and roll. However, after a few short weeks, they were playing with more confidence, and even began running a couple of basic plays.
I used to think that playing sports was all about winning at all costs. In fact, there are still a lot of parents that believe that their child has to be in the most competitive league around, and that winning is the most important part of participating in sports. However, with the exception of only a few truly gifted athletes, most kids realistically won’t play beyond the high school level. Instead of making it all about winning and losing, why don’t we teach our children about the life lessons that we can learn from playing sports? Taking orders from a boss (or coach), working together as a team in the workplace (or on a basketball team), and learning how to deal with disappointment (at work or on the court) in a positive manner. The older my kids get, the more I realize that it’s not about winning and losing, but more about practicing, learning, and improving.
Are your kids just finishing up a basketball season? Check out www.bouncingbuddies.com to schedule your end of season celebration
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