The benefit of sports

We start our children in various sports activities at an early age, because we want them to develop some innate characteristics that will help them further their endeavors, not only in sports, but in all phases of their lives.
Once they begin to play a sport, we want them to learn, of course, sportsmanship, how to compete against an opponent, and how to compete to get the best out of themselves. We also want our children to gain the health benefits of working out and being active. We get them started with a lifestyle that is based upon being conscious of their fitness, and a work ethic built on working hard.
However, we also want them to establish a strong sense of self-esteem and confidence. We can all agree that these great characteristics will transfer into any future field, especially in academics. This should be a message that we stress to our children. Have them focus on improving, and reaching their “personal best,” in all aspects of their lives, because the sport may not become their adult occupation.
If you start looking at sports today, the Super Bowl was once played in January. It has now been moved into February. They call this time of year, March Madness, but actually, the championship for college basketball will be played in April. The Major League Baseball championship was once played in October, and it now finishes in November.
As you can see, these professional sports seasons have been elongated and now bombard our children and our people with sports. Constantly seeing sports being played on television helps increase the possibility, in their minds, that professional sports may become their future dream job.
Unfortunately, statistics show the dream is very rarely a reality. In professional sports for men, in any given season, there are 1,696 potential football jobs.
In the NBA, there are 450 potential jobs; in Major League Baseball, there are 1,200. All combined, in the three major sports, there are potentially 3,346 jobs. These are not “available” jobs, but the total number of jobs period–as many of these positions will remain filled.
Now parents, look at the odds of your son going from playing Pop Warner Football and then making his way into a professional sports position, as a young adult. It’s not that it can’t happen, but one might do better to use youth sports to help a child develop the skills that are innate to becoming a success in whatever other endeavor they choose. That should be our primary focus. Our children can then participate in sports, and grow, but also have fun. We want them to play and enjoy the moment. We do not want them to carry the stress and pressure of feeling the need to make it to the “big league” to take care of the family.
So, parents, let’s always keep in mind the reasons we have our children participate in sports and then fully support them in those endeavors.
That’s our ultimate transformations moment. Peace and be more.
Erich Nall is the owner and founder of Ultimate Transformations Training (www.ultimatetransformations.com) in Los Angeles. The certified trainer, nutritionist, motivational speaker and dedicated life coach is a regular guest and commentator on KJLH 102.3 FM’s the “Front Page” with Dominique DiPrima.