Multi Sports : A must for kids of today

‘A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one’, a quote that applies aptly to sports because the current generation of kids demand holistic growth which is adequately offered by Multi-sports. 

A kid playing the same game every day in time gets bored of it. This happens due to the lack of variations in a game and lack of introductions to new ones. Many real-life examples to support the same.

“A 5-year-old boy who with his parents support had joined a skating club got highly intrigued of it in the beginning and  after a month his parents on seeing his love towards skating gifted him a pair of  roller skates; days passed overgrowing his monotony towards the sport; he eventually gave up skating and developed an unprecedented hatred towards every other sport.”

Prominent sports-persons from all around the globe have benefitted from the same notion. The  famous batsman of South Africa, AB de Villiers played hockey, tennis, golf during childhood and later switched on to cricket as a career. 

Similarly, another renowned female soccer player Alex Morgan  stated her versatility – “I played volleyball, basketball, softball, and I started to love soccer the most around 7-8 years old because it was a physical game. I could use my speed and strength to my advantage.” Even professional cricketers alternate their rigorous practice of cricket with football and other games to avoid monotony, thereby keeping the enthusiasm pumping.

Speaking scientifically, the muscles of 3 to 8-year olds are still under a period of growth and development. Playing a sport over and over again can strain the targeted group of muscles, leading to damage that the body carries forward, the entire life.

 “A young girl had been playing football since 3. She grew into a teenager fast, at the age of 13 she started to witness joint cramps and knee pain. When consulted by a physician it was revealed that due to continuous playing of the same sport over and over again for years, her body was seriously damaged. He concluded that her body won’t be as active as before in sports as well as in other routines of regular life.”

Playing similar sports is recommended but with it targeting different muscle areas so that one set of muscle gets adequate rest before being utilised again, which decreases the chances of injuries that could last life long.

Sports is considered to be beneficial for one’s body and mind, especially kids who require both mental and physical development. Multi-sports provide an opportunity for kids to have a taste of every sport, helping to strengthen different realms of the body. Gymnastics provide flexibility and develops better muscle coordination; athletics aims at healthy growth of muscle, bones and ligaments while building stamina; swimming provides a better control over breathing and at the same time enhances muscle strength; bicycling adds values like patience, discipline and self esteem simultaneously strengthening leg muscles, improving balance and coordination of reflexes. It does not confine their interests to one sport rather helps develop an attitude that always welcomes change and new opportunities. This in itself is a strong point as neoteny i.e. curiosity for something new is the very basis of survival and growth. 

Variety is the way of life. Monotony is a scenario where our pattern recognition ability fails, thereby giving rise to anxiety, frustration and confusion. Variations even on a small scale are necessary for a healthy functioning of the mind and body. This is a prerequisite, not only in sports but in every other profession that is practiced in the world!

-Aditya Singh

Attribution links –

www.wikipedia.com

By Jamie Smed – https://www.flickr.com/photos/highwaytodistraction/40916779703/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79724209

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