Sports, Teamwork and new friends

For many kids, a prime source of new friends is athletics.  Whether they attend gymnastics, floor hockey, ringette, baseball or soccer, they teamed up with 15 other kids for six to nine months in the pursuit of fun and exercise and camraderie.  I have assisted with teams that have players with special needs, and with a positive attitude from the adults on the team, it can work great.  However there are teams and adults (and some kids) that get hyper competitive and resent the extra time that might be needed for skill development when a player has special needs. 

Canada is attempting to keep kids focused on skill development and teamwork for a longer period of time (to age 11) in all sports so that kids don’t burn out from the over-competitive nature of some teams.  The program, Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is meant to build a love for the game for all kids on the team so that kids consider playing the sport throughout their lifetime.  Think of the friend development opportunities there!

There are special sports associations too – BC Special Olympics being the most prominent in our Province. 

Kids and parents thinking about where to meet new people and make friends should remember sports as one more good opportunity.