It’s no secret that over the years, soccer has risen in Australia. Given that a whooping 768 thousand kids are playing soccer or football in 2023! This has made it the second most popular sport nationwide.
But what exactly makes Soccer standout? The truth is, soccer is more than just a fun recreational activity. This assists your child’s growth in a wide range of areas, ranging from physical, emotional to social development.
When children play soccer, they experience a wide range of benefits. From teamwork, fitness to fun, explore how this game can be perfect for your child.
See why children should play soccer:
1. Physical Health Benefits of Soccer
Did you know that 2 in 3 kids from ages 2 to 17 don’t do enough physical activity? This increases the chances of childhood obesity, alongside other health consequences.
Instead, promote physical wellbeing from an early age by choosing soccer. This boosts your child’s healthy lifestyle habits, which emphasises how important an active lifestyle is.
You may be wondering, “Why is soccer so good for my child?” The truth is, a few games of soccer can go a long way. This is because it promotes endurance and strength. This includes the common movements like when your child is passing the ball, running or dribbling.
Soccer helps your child build strength and improve their balance. It also keeps them active, which boosts their overall fitness and health, while having fun at the same time.
*At Soccajoeys, our programs keep kids active with fun soccer activities that boost fitness and strength.
2. Building Social Skills
The nature of soccer is heavily reliant on the idea of teamwork. From communicating throughout the game, to strategising when to share the ball. As a result, your child will broaden their social skills when trying to achieve this common “goal.”
Social skills are essential to childhood development. This provides a framework for their sense of belonging, and ability to interact and communicate with others. Soccer addresses these, teaching cooperation, responsibility and resolving conflicts in a fun setting. All of which are useful qualities to apply later on in life. From when your child is in school making friends, or pursuing a career in a professional environment.
Soccer also teaches children how to listen to others, take turns, and share ideas. These skills are important not only for making friends but for handling any potential challenges.
*Our Soccajoeys programs encourage teamwork, communication, and friendship. Kids learn to work together and solve problems in a positive way.
3. Boosts Mental Wellbeing
Soccer benefits go beyond physical and mental. This helps your child build a positive self image from an early age. When you boost their self confidence, it can make navigating hardships easier. This enables them to develop and heighten their ability in learning from their mistakes.
Soccer is a great platform for children to embark on a journey of personal growth. From improving skills, learning new techniques to scoring goals. Over time, they’ll build confidence in these newfound abilities. This can provide them with peace of mind for school study, or when making more friends.
The teammates and coaches also play a key role in positivity. When children receive praise from these important relationships, it helps to boost their self esteem. This is because it reminds them of their capabilities.
*At Soccajoeys, kids build confidence through praise and support. Our classes help children feel proud and grow stronger mentally.
4.Coordinate and Concentrate
Soccer is a game requiring complete focus, as coordination is key to maintain in this fast paced setting. This is because children need to be precise when passing or shooting the ball. In other words, this comes down to the right hand-eye coordination. These are commonly used in their day to day lifestyles from writing, to even playing an instrument!
To know when to pass or shoot the ball, high concentration is also important. Teaching children to take the right action in a high anticipation environment. Through making mental agility tougher, it’s a very useful life skill. When you’re mentally agile, you have better problem solving and are calm in stressful situations.
Soccer also helps children improve their focus. This teaches them to make the right decisions under pressure. These skills help them stay calm and think clearly everyday.
*At Soccajoeys, our programs are here to help kids improve focus and coordination through fun drills.
5.Crushing the Stereotypes
As the Matildas have risen in popularity, so has women’s soccer in Australia. With their now iconic name becoming a symbol of gender equity efforts in sports. When girls play soccer from a young age, this helps in building a sense of inclusion in sports. Providing them with the freedom to partake in any sports, without being bound by stereotypes.
Whether your daughter wants to play at a high level, or further their skill-sets, soccer is a great sport for this. This sport promotes physical strength and leadership skills. All of which are common stereotypes girls can be faced with.
Through the team work that comes with Soccer, girls can feel more comfortable in leading others. Alongside this, the physical strength comes through running, dribbling and passing the ball around.
*Rest assured, we pride ourselves on providing tailored soccer classes for all kids. Our team shares a promise to break any stereotypes.
Soccer for Every Age Milestone, with Soccajoeys
Wondering when to start your child in Soccer? Why not start now? At Soccajoeys, our range of soccer activities for kids cover the ages 2.5 to 11 years old. We’ve built an inclusive and uplifting community for kids playing soccer.
Explore these below:
