We frequently meet parents who allow their children to avoid sport because “my child is just not into sport” or “she is just not a team player”. While there is nothing wrong with these statements, there’s more to playing sport than just making a team, in fact their long-term health relies on participating in organized sport from a young age. We take a look at why, and how, you can incorporate some hockey into your daughter’s schedule.
Firstly, it is important to note that if she’s never tried a particular sport, she can’t surely know that she doesn’t like it. It is important to help them find their preference or just participate in a sport that they enjoy – regardless of whether they make the “A” team or “G” team.
PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF HOCKEY
Hockey is a great sport to get your daughter into from a young age as it includes basic ball skills like dribbling, aiming at a target, hitting and stopping a ball. These simple skills do a world of good for important human reflexes and mental processing including:
- Hand-eye coordination,
- Enhancing reflex accuracy and speed
- Dribbling and bilateral skills (the ability to control and coordinate both left and right sides of the body)
- Improved health and physical development
Playing hockey is very beneficial for girls on several levels. These range from physical, as mentioned above, to emotional and mental as well as social.
The emotional, mental and social aspects of hockey are a great partner to school performance providing benefits such as:
- Better focus at school.
- Positive sleeping patterns.
- Better confidence.
- Social skills development – she needs effective communication habits to work in a team environment, and develops friendships through interacting with her teammates.
- Identity and social acceptance – the social aspect of the game allows a player to understand who they are within the team and an appreciation for the fact that her teammates (no matter how different they are) share something in common with her – a love for the game.
- Team-work – she must work with her teammates to score a goal.
- A stronger sense of achievement and an understanding of disappointment – winning and losing are part of the game and of life.
- Mental resilience and endurance from an appreciation of the physical and mental preparation leading into a game.
- Goal setting skills and the ability to strive towards them.
- As a fast-moving game, hockey also challenges little hockey players to think on their feet and practise positive responses to stressful and intense situations.
Sending your hockey girl on fun holiday sporting activities that incorporate socialising offer her the ideal opportunity to access these benefits in a fun and memorable way. At The Investec Hockey Academy, our Fundamental Players Course focuses on developing these foundation skills and knowledge in your daughter’s game so that she is also set up with necessary life skills. On our courses, she can enjoy meeting new friends during the school holidays and will have new stories to tell her friends in the new school year. Give her the holiday experience of a lifetime and take part in her personal growth and development – book her spot here.