Sports for good academic spirit

Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) suggested that all universities should invite successful sportspersons for interactions with the students, so as to get the young minds interested in sports.

Although this suggestion should have come years ago, it is still a wise move, considering sports can play a major role in shaping the personalities of students.

Unfortunately, for the past 2-3 decades, the instructional practice in our country has adopted a policy of ignoring the realms of physical education to promote mere intellectual growth.

As an outcome, the country witnessed mushrooming of institutions without proper playgrounds and approval of such institutions by decision makers with least concern for the kind of crowd being wrought there.

The devastation that is inbuilt in our current education due to lack of
recognition to sports and physical improvement breaks the academic spirit.

Inadequate levels of physical education counteract the content of educational reform. Thus involvement in extramural activities plays an important role in developing a complete personality. The pupil’s overall academic experience is improved by such activities.

Students have to involve themselves in physical education activities not just for the entertainment, but also to gain important life skills.

Lessons for life
Do remember, sports is a fabulous teacher and the lessons learnt from it would be invaluable throughout a person’s life. Students are challenged by sports to use their minds in guiding bodies through the dimensions of time and space in the field of play. Learning the skills of sports offers multiple opportunities to taste success.

Athletics fosters resilience, teamwork and hard work. It builds character and
enchants youngsters, who otherwise would be wasting their time in
distractions.

It helps them to keep their body fit and healthy and also trains them to focus their mind and teaches them the art of handling pressure.

It is an activity where only talent emerges as the winner and, as such, it inculcates discipline, perseverance and the spirit of competition. What more, sports are the best form of dropout prevention from schools.

A sport is an allegory for life. According to World Health Organization,
imparting life skills is essential for the promotion of healthy child and adolescent development, as well as for the preparation of young people for changing social circumstances.

Many of the skills learned in sports such as meeting deadlines or challenges, setting goals, communicating, handling success and failure, working with a team and
handling criticism are easily transferable to other life domains.

Sports is a significant factor in the development of adolescents’ self esteem and perceptions of competence.

Builds resilience
In sports, while playing together for a common goal despite differences,
interpersonal relationship skills are picked up.

Coping with stress and dealing with emotions are two life skills which form the foundation of any sports. Showing empathy is what makes one human.

People who would have lost more times than won acquire the ability to take failure and become resilient. Today, many students lose hope after just one failure.

Year after year, we read reports on students committing suicides after the results. Sports can help students develop a thick skin and move forward with a positive attitude.

Sports also builds self-esteem and edifies on the importance of goal setting and the necessity of dealing with disappointment. On the athletic field, students learn the valuable lesson that a group of people can perform so much better as a team than as the sum of their individual talents.

It is in sports, that a student learns what leadership is and to practice and experience being a leader.

As obesity rates soar for our children, it is more important today than ever to encourage children to participate in physical activity.

And while the physical benefits that sports provide to children are evident, we must also remember that the psychological and social benefits are plentiful as well.