Brantly Smith
Mrs. Engleman
Exemplification Essay
24 August 2012

Sports and Development

Sports are a major part of many young children’s lives. No matter what time of year, it is toddlers and teenagers can be found playing some kind of sport. This sport can be just among friends, or it can be in a competitive league. Either way, being involved in a sports program can be extremely beneficial to one’s development and growth. Many positive things come into one’s life through playing sports, such as the opportunity for parental child bonding, the teaching of leadership skills, and the allowance for better social interaction.

When children play competitive sports it gives parents a gateway towards bonding with their child. Many parents nowadays find it hard to bond with their children due to rapidly changing hobbies. The growth of the technological world has caused children to become more withdrawn from the normal family life. Cell phones, videogames, and new television shows have made a wedge grow between parents and children. Sports is a great way for parents to become more involved in their child’s life. Finding a connection with children is an important part of development that the parents can use to bond. The more involved parents become with their children at an early age, the more likely the child is going to grow up and be a good parent. This in turn reduces the risk of having bad home environments in the future. Finding ways to get involved in your child’s young life also helps develop a bond for when they become a teenager to young adult. Having this connection can help keep kids out of trouble in the future. Leadership roles on the field or court also provide natural leadership skills a chance to develop. A kid could be the most natural leader and never get the chance to develop these skills. Sports are a place where these skills are in great demand. The thing about sports is they don’t just have one leader. It’s all about everyone working together to lead. If a team is full of leaders, the team is going to be a stronger unit and whole. These skills then come into play later in life when the children want to get a job. Having them involved in sports will help boost their resume. The skills learned between leading and following directions at a sporting event give one a better chance at surviving in the workforce. Leadership skills help children to become a positive role model for younger siblings or younger children who look up to this child. One student made captain of his travel team for a couple years, and now he is a floor manager at a factory directly due to the fact that he was a leader of a sports team and knows how to control groups. These experiences turn into job experience for the future and can be listed in job resumes. This expands horizons on the subject of future careers when leadership opportunities are taken as a child. Being involved in a sport’s league can give someone a chance to interact with others in the community who share an idea or interest. Finding friends when moving somewhere