There are many things to consider when it’s time for your child to choose a sport. The most important consideration is obviously that they want to play the sport. However, it’s also a good idea to think about the type of skills that sport will teach your child, and how those skills will help them throughout the rest of their life. 

If you’re hoping to help your child learn life skills, football is one of the best choices around. Here are some ways that football can help your child learn life skills:

Kids Learn to Take Risks

Not all risks will work out, but football helps players make decisions quickly, under pressure. Sure, trying to get the ball into the goal when they’re midfield can be a bad move, but it can also be a huge victory- just like in life. These risk analysis skills will help your child both on and off the field, and they'll learn how to handle it when risks don’t work out. 

Kids Learn to Lose

No matter how good a team is, it will still lose occasionally. Your child may have their best game ever, but the team could still lose. The ability to lose well and handle disappointment is hugely important for life, and this skill will get them through everything from unsuccessful job interviews to breakups. 

Kids Learn Communication

No matter how well each individual football player plays, if they’re unable to communicate, they’re not going to be able to hold onto the ball. The best football teams often seem to be communicating through some form of ESP, but in reality, they simply trust each other to keep the overall goal in mind. This means that players have to let go of any small annoyances with other team members and instead focus on working together. 

Communicating well is necessary for every life stage. Without solid communication skills, we’re unable to navigate interpersonal relationships, connect with colleagues, and even make our needs clear to our partners. 

Kids Learn to Deal with Unfairness

In life, we don’t always agree with our boss’s decisions. In football, referees will sometimes make decisions that your child won’t agree with. In football, the refs are in charge, and your child will soon learn that life isn’t fair- but that doesn't mean you give up. Players soon learn that they can’t control others, but they can control their own reactions to any kind of call- whether or not it’s fair.

Kids Learn Perseverance

Football is packed with challenges- from mastering the basic skills to losing big games, missing goals to costing the team a game. The game is one of the most physical, with players on the field for 90-minute games, with 45 minutes between breaks. Even when they’re not running, players need to be aware, active, and ready to respond within a second. 

Football builds both physical and mental stamina in children. They learn to keep going, even when things aren’t going their way, and to persevere throughout their football career, always reaching for new goals. 

Kids Learn to Compete

Football helps kids learn all about healthy competition. While everyone prefers to win, your child will definitely experience losing, and will have to put the disappointment aside and shake hands with the opposing team after a match. 

Football is one of the most competitive sports around, and learning to win and lose with grace is a skill your child will use at every life stage. 

If you’re looking for a sport that will help your child develop a range of helpful life skills, football is an excellent option. Get in touch today to learn about playing with Kikoff.