How Playing Basketball Can Benefit Your Child’s Development Instantly
If you’re new to basketball, you’re probably unfamiliar with how stimulating, creative, and fun this sport really is.
There are plenty of studies that show that playing a sport like basketball is a great way for kids to learn how to socialise with one another, get exercise, and pass the time.
However, there’s plenty of fun to be had with just learning the rudimentary aspects of the game, such as running, dribbling, jumping, and shooting! In this article, we wanted to highlight some of the benefits of basketball and playing a sport in general. Without any further hullabaloo, let’s dive in.
1. Exercise!
The most obvious benefit of playing basketball is the one we’ll get out of the way first. Basketball incorporates running, jumping, lunging, and plenty of movement in general. While it’s not great for kids to engage in extreme exercise daily, regular exercise isn’t a bad thing if done in moderation.
The sooner kids start running around, the more they’ll not only grow to love it, but the more likely it is that exercise will become engrained in their lives as a daily activity. Routines build habits, and kids exercise is very much a healthy habit that we should all want our children to engage in.
2. Improved hand-eye coordination
If you want to get good at something, the best way to ensure you’ll succeed is to do it over and over again. A simple routine of practising dribbling, shooting, passing, and other basic elements of basketball will lead kids to gain improvements in not only their game but also their overall hand-eye coordination.
While kids do develop the finer elements of hand-eye coordination pretty quickly in their early years, it is possible to boost that level even higher — but the practice is required! As you might imagine, the earlier a child begins practising activities that focus on hand-eye coordination, the better they’ll get, and that improved coordination can have all sorts of ramifications in life.
3. Teamwork (passing, communicating, strategising)
As most child psychology experts will tell you, it’s best to teach children the concept of teamwork early. Child psychologist and parenting expert Claire Halsey stated, ‘From a young age, children need to learn how to give and take, share, take turns, play to their strengths and draw in other people to fill the gaps. It’s a core social skill.’ At Little Boomers, we couldn’t agree more, and we find basketball to be a fantastic way of teaching kids about teamwork.
In basketball, you’re nothing without your team. While NBA superstars like Magic Johnson and Lebron James have enjoyed the spotlight for their flashy solo plays and charismatic on-court personas, the truth is that they’re nothing without their teammates. An uncoordinated team is a bad team, and in basketball, you learn fast that if you don’t trust your teammates enough to give them the ball, then the whole team suffers as a result.
For a lot of kids, it’s tough to stop wanting to be the hero — everyone wants to throw that game-winning half-court shot. But through learning the fundamentals of play and building strong team bonds, kids will eventually learn that to truly be the best, each player has to fill a role.
4. Socialisation
Like we just mentioned, basketball is a team sport, and teams can be made up of anywhere from five to 50 players. Our programs at Little Boomers emphasise kids interacting with each other during play, and there are plenty of breaks for everyone to get to know each other while having a quick snack.
The earlier children start to socialise, the better, and having fun with other kids in a physical setting that’s both rigorous and rewarding is one of the best ways to socialise that we can think of! Within our program, kids will interact with others in a similar age range to keep everyone around peers. That way, there’s none of that tension that can form when older and younger kids hang around one another for too long — any parents who have children with a significant age gap know what we mean!
Overall, these are just a few of the benefits that come from playing basketball — or at least participating in basketball programs. At Little Boomers, we think this article just scratches the surface of what lessons kids can learn while playing on the court. However, these are some core benefits that speak to how beneficial basketball can be.
With school holidays around the corner don’t let your child become wired to the screens!
Little Boomers Basketball will be running their popular basketball holiday camps for children 4-12. We have a special offer running right now, click here to take advantage of it by visiting our website!
