6 benefits of picking up exercise and sports for kids

Developing self-esteem

Putting your child on the playing field really builds up their self-esteem in unexpected ways. Small gestures that you may not pay much attention to, such as a pat on the back, a handshake when the match is over, or even just a high-five from a teammate, are all ways of building up a sense of recognition and confidence in children. When the coach or fellow teammates say words of encouragement or praise, it can help children to trust their own abilities and really go for their goals. Of course, this isn’t about winning or losing, but rather teaching children to enjoy the process.

Social skills

Playing sports allows children from different ages, different schools, and different neighbourhoods to interact with each other. This gives them an invaluable opportunity to learn how to cooperate with others, as well as establish friendships. More friend groups can help children to improve their social and communication skills, which in turn has a positive effect in their future relationships, workplaces, and careers.

Motor skills and physical development

Children who spend time playing outdoors, especially organised sports, are reportedly less likely to develop eyesight problems when they grow up. The ones who are active, even after kindergarten or school, are also more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Also, playing any form of sports will help with their hand-eye coordination.

Learning to accept defeat

Not everything in life works out, and even though it is something we all know (though we may not readily accept it), playing sports is a good way to ease children into the concept of sportsmanship. Instead of feeling defeated, they can learn to accept losses and that sometimes it’s ok to lose. You simply enjoy the process and get back up to try again!

Maintain discipline

Any sport at any level will require some level of discipline, such as following a set of rules, learn to respect and take orders from the coach and referee. This ties in with sportsmanship and moral principles in the way that good discipline is appreciated in sports, and bad discipline will have repercussions. This important life skill and mindset will be key to your child’s early years development!

Teamwork

The one skill that everyone talks about because it is just that important, is teamwork. A team has to work together in order to succeed and playing sports gives children the perfect setting to understand how to work well in a team but coming together to achieve a goal. They can also help each other work out strengths and weakness, which is a key skill wherever you go in life.

There are so many places where you can play sports, so which is the most beneficial for young kids?

One program, multiple benefits

By signing up for just one fun program at Minisport, kids get to dabble in football, tennis, basketball and rugby! These four sports are some of the most common sports played around the world, and by introducing these sports to young children, it can help develop a life-long love for sports. In addition to learning these sports, it can also help establish ball skills that are essential for any sport. By training their hand-eye coordination in a fun and engaging environment, kids will be able to master skills such as handling, rolling, throwing, striking, dribbling, catching and much more besides!

Early-year sports specialists

A friendly well-trained coaching team is also key to leading the practices, and Minisport is all about providing the right support. Their coaches oversee all the fun activities to make sure the children are having maximum enjoyment in the most beneficial way, with as little injuries as possible too. Since there are multiple sports available in the program, coaches can help students try everything out and help them gravitate towards their favourite sport.

Small private classes and parties

Whilst schools are out, Minisport is offering private coaching to small groups of children. This ensures that coaches are able to focus on each child to give them all the attention they need to master basic techniques and to understand the sports at hand. That said, they also do well with big classes and parties. From extravagant and hectic to laid back and simple, they have been to all types of kid parties. If you would like to use them for kid parties, they will bring their child-specific sports equipment, bright attitudes, and fun activities straight to you, whether it be a weekly sports program, private class, sporty birthday party, or a fun-filled public event.

Summer camps

Minisport’s four-day summer camps run for three months and will be an introduction to the four sports they usually cover; namely football, tennis, basketball and rugby. They will even level-up with beach trips, t-shirt designing, party games, and team building just to jazz things up. Kids from two-and-a-half years old to eight-years-old can sign up, and if they bring friends they also get a discount (we meant that for parents, wink wink)! The camps are available in multiple locations across Hong Kong. Watch the video below, and click here for more information.

Play-at-Home programmes

In response to a higher demand for safe, at-home activities to keep the little ones entertained and moving, Minisport has recently launched a Play-at-Home programme. Providing a unique opportunity to continue developing your child’s sporting development, coaches Tom and Dan will conduct sessions over Zoom to not only keep kids active, happy, and stimulated, but also help parents understand basic coaching theory, such as basic movement and ball skill development. Click here to sign up.

Optional Play-at-Home bags ($650), featuring a set of equipment, are available for pre-order now to enhance home-play sessions. Suitable for kids aged three to seven, this new online course amassed over 230 student sign-ups in just 24 hours!