A team sport is an athletic activity where the outcome depends on team dynamics and collaboration to achieve a common goal. Examples include football, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby and lacrosse. It is also common for sports to have team ratings and formations that enhance the strategic and cooperative elements of the sport.
One of the most important lessons that team sports teach is working with a diverse group of people and collaborating in an unselfish way for the greater good. According to the Janssen Sports Leadership Center, this helps athletes learn to respect others and their talents as well as become adaptable and persistent. This is a lesson that can be applied to school, work and life.
Sports teams have a unique way of teaching young men to cooperate with each other in an environment where the outcome is not just dependent on a single person’s performance. Research shows that cooperation is a learned behavior, but team sports provide boys with the perfect setting to activate and develop their natural proclivity toward cooperating. From competitive intramurals to hard fought games against more talented opponents, boys learn that they can’t do it alone.
It has also been found that when young men participate in team sports, they have an opportunity to connect with a slate of mentors that may include coaches, older players and even family members. This helps instill the importance of working with positive role models and provides a healthy source of identity and belonging.