Alexandra, Year 10, Century Park Campus

Participating in sports has always been viewed as a method of staying fit and healthy, however, its significance and impact on a student’s life reaches far beyond just that. In reality, participating in sports enhances concentration and creativity, gifts us with life lessons, builds our ability to work collaboratively with others, and betters our leadership skills.

Firstly, exercise increases the blood flow to the brain and allows our body to establish more connections between the nerves. This results in strengthened memory, improved concentration, and stimulated creativity. Ultimately, physical recreation increases our brain’s capability to grow and pushes it to function more efficiently. This increased blood flow also makes our system more active, giving us the energy needed to complete our daily activities.

Additionally, sport allows students to develop the important skill of working well with others. It provides them with an opportunity to, as a team, work toward a common goal, looking past individual differences. Students bond over their sports experiences and begin to learn how to value the variety of skill sets present within a team, so that they may use these different abilities to achieve their goals.

Through building a sense of community, students gain the emotional and mental support from teammates essential for growth during their school years. Consequently, older athletes feel accountable for setting an example and encouraging their younger teammates, guiding them both on and off the field. Exercise stimulates the brain, resulting in better-developed problem-solving skills, a key factor for quick decision making on the field as a team leader. It can teach students to strengthen their leadership skills by allowing them to listen to their teammates so that, together, they can succeed.

Lastly, participation in team sports also disciplines students by emphasising the importance of commitment. It teaches us that fulfilling our obligations not only affects us as individuals but, more importantly, as a team. In turn, it offers us countless opportunities to reinforce our patience, self-discipline, and tenacity. Over time, it instils within participants the value of hard work and teaches them the benefits of showing strength to persevere in the face of hardship, and to rise above in the presence of failure.

The participation in sports programmes sows the seeds for self-growth; enhancing our mental capabilities and enriching our lives with values and friendship. With such benefits, how can one not participate?