Lumin Fire

Just a quick movie showing some team spirit at one of the last games of the 2017 season.

The last tournament of the 2017 season proved to be an exciting time and a winning game for the girls.

Volleyball is a physically demanding sport that takes skill and athletic ability. Club volleyball fosters more than just physical activity in athletes. Participation in sports has many psychological, physiological, and sociological benefits. Here are some positive attributes players can receive by playing club volleyball:

A Team Attitude vs A Self-Centered Attitude

• Responsibility
• Time Management
• Improved Problem Solving
• Patience
• Physical Activity
• Hand-Eye Coordination
• Social Interaction
• Sportsmanship
• Personal Confidence & Self-Esteem
• Mental and Physical Well-Being
• Ability to Respect & Positively Communicate with Adults

Team Attitude vs A Self-Centered Attitude – Whether a player is a starter on the team or coming off the bench, the team aspect teaches skills useful in athletics and everyday life. Having a team attitude teaches a player that while one cannot always control the outcome of a game, the player can always try their best and support their teammates. A player should always display good sportsmanship because a bad attitude reflects negatively on the whole team.

Responsibility – In an individual sport, skipping practice only hurts the individual athlete. In a team sport, what one member does affects the whole team. As part of a team, a player learns responsibility by going to practice when she doesn’t feel like it.

Time Management Skills – Participating in any sport also encourages good time management skills. A player must organize their time to allow for homework, chores, and sports practice. Time management is especially important because when a player is late or unprepared for a game or meet. They’re not just letting themselves down but the whole team.

Problem Solving – Playing on a team can teach two types of problem-solving skills: (1) strategizing to beat the opponent and (2) solving conflicts among teammates. A strategic player might work with their team to create plays to counteract the opponent’s defense, or the player might discuss making player substitutions to match the strengths of opposing teams. An effective problem solver learns to compromise when disagreements with teammates arise. A player learns to communicate with other players from a variety of backgrounds, including kids who are loud and bossy or shy and submissive.

Patience–  Sometimes in team sports, waiting is the name of the game, and waiting teaches patience. Practice drills promote patience as the player waits in a line for their turn on the court. Players also practice patience when helping teammates to learn a new play or master a new skill.

Physical Activity – Playing volleyball is a healthy way to get some exercise. Regular exercise is crucial for health because it helps keep the heart in good working order, as well as helping to prevent illnesses and diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Playing volleyball on a regular basis is one way to increase a player’s physical activity level, which will help the player get fit and toned, as well as healthy and energetic. Regular exercise also might help ward off depression and increase feelings of happiness and well-being.

Hand-Eye Coordination – Volleyball requires you to pay close attention to the ball so that a player can use their arms and hands to come into contact with the fast-moving volleyball in order to send it controlled to a designated target.

Social Interaction – Playing volleyball requires that a player work with a team to score points and keep the other team from winning. This requires that a player works well with their team and gives each player valuable opportunities to interact socially with friends and acquaintances. Regular social interaction boosts a player’s feelings of happiness and helps them feel as if they are a part of a group working toward a common goal. Spending time with friends also makes any player feel valued and loved, which translates into happiness.

Sportsmanship – Acting as part of a team requires that a player learn good sportsmanship and how to work well with others. Playing volleyball provides these advantages by requiring them to pay attention to what their team members are doing so they can work together to anticipate the moves of the opposing team. Playing on a team also teaches the value of hard work and fairness. Volleyball is a competitive and physically demanding sport that depends on how well a player accepts defeat, as well as how graciously they win.

Other specific benefits:

• Girls who play sports in high school are more likely to earn a college degree within 6 years of graduating high school than those who do not play sport even for students facing socioeconomic challenges to graduating college.
• Girls and young women engaged in sport are less likely to be overweight or obese, depressed, smoke, use illicit drugs, or have unwanted teen pregnancies.
• Suicide and sexual victimization also is lower in girls and young women engaged in sport.
• A positive team sport experience may lower the risks of low social acceptance and dissatisfaction with one’s body.
• Greater participation in sport has been found to be relational to greater emotional and behavioral wellbeing.
• Sport participation also helps meet the developmental needs of girls including having a sense of belonging, a mastery over their own body, generosity, and mattering.
• Life skills such as persistence, teamwork, goal setting, leadership, and character development may transfer from sport to academics, family life, and the work setting.

Thanks to Knights Volleyball Academy for inspiration for this article.