5 Benefits of Sports Both on and off the Field

It's sports season. Then again, when isn't it? There is hardly a season when an organized group of professional athletes are not chasing, kicking, tossing, or hitting a ball toward a goal.

These activities culminate in events where one group is declared the greatest the world has to offer. Hundreds of millions watch these tournaments with bated breath. The names of these events take on an almost religious status:

• World Cup
• Superbowl
• World Series
• Final Four
• Stanley Cup
• Wimbledon
• The Masters
• Olympics

There is no doubt about it: Humans love sports. And there is a good chance that will be true as long as there are humans. The real question is why. Are there any actual benefits to being caught up in athletic endeavors besides marketers making a lot of money? As a matter of fact, there are. Here are five:

1. Survival Skills

James River Archery is one of those sporting goods places that would like to remind you that sport is not just about a group of grown men futilely chasing a ball across a manicured field that serves no other purpose but the chase.

They also would like to remind you that sport can have valuable survival benefits that can help a person defend or even feed their family. The Olympics were a way of distilling useful skills of war down to a set of peaceful games between nations who once used them in a more deadly manner.

Since the earliest days of tool-making humans, it has been valuable to know how to throw a spear or launch an arrow. Martial arts are similar. At the heart of many fun sports is the honing of essential survival skills.

2. Mental Gymnastics

Mental gymnastics is a term used in a negative connotation suggesting that a person is going out of her way to make a dubious point. But flexing the mind is actually a good thing. And it is one of the tangible benefits of watching rather than playing sports.

Seeing the overview of a field puts us in the position of generals making key decisions. The individual players never see their field this way. They only have a narrow perspective. Changing that perspective causes the viewer to flex an entirely different muscle. That big-picture thinking is valuable in every walk of life.

3. Coachable

One of the greatest benefits of sports is also one of the least discussed. It is the benefit of learning how to be coachable. Being coachable is being receptive to instruction, recognizing another's superiority in a given field, and the willingness to do what it takes to improve.

4. Adrenaline Without the Risk

The words sports and injury go together so well, they are practically synonymous. It is almost impossible to play any sport for a long period of time without suffering at least minor injuries along the way.

Many of these injuries can have serious consequences such as muscular/skeletal problems later in life or forcing time off from work which can cost you money at a critical time. And those consequences are just from the minor injuries. We haven't even addressed the serious ones.
Watching sports as a spectator gives you a similar stimulus as playing, but without the risk of injury. You can enjoy a good hit without the concussion. You can appreciate that unbelievable slide into Home without the torn ACL.

5. One for All

Team sports require that the individual sacrifice for the group. Only one person can score at a time. And many on the team play positions that are never in a position to score. But their contribution is critical to the effort. Each part has its function. And that lesson carries over into the military, the corporate office, and in every other walk of life.

Compared to the benefits of sports on and off the field, the potential negatives are well worth it. Even the worst athletes learn life-saving skills. They gain more flexible minds. They become more coachable. They can get the adrenaline rush with or without the risk of injury. And they learn valuable life lessons about cooperation and team dynamics.

The worst sports lovers gain those benefits. Just imagine the possibilities for the best of them, for you.

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