Time to discover how sport can build character

Sport and character building at the same time: How to score a brace?

It is believed that sport helps people become more rounded individuals:

 

Healthy body – healthy mind, sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, humility, determination, discipline and resilience

 

These are just a few of the ways in which sport can contribute towards lifelong character building (Why Character Education Matters?). Sport teaches people how to be better individuals: the academic, social, and physiological benefits of sports are some of the reasons everyone should consider participating in some form of sport during their lives. 

Sports character building

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Sport and humanity

The history of sport is almost as old as that of humanity. However, over the centuries, the role of sport has changed in people’s lives, and an activity that was originally linked with ritual, warfare, and leisure (entertainment) has undergone a significant transformation. As a result, the primary educational, health, social, cultural, and recreational functions of sport also seem now to have been either transformed or expanded (Crowther, 2007; Ács, 2015).

 

Western lifestyles underwent real change in the 1990s and 2000s. Not only did a lot of people have less (physically) strenuous work than in the past, but they also had more leisure time, as well as very often money to spend. As a result, people began to look for new hobbies and challenges, and many found what they were looking for in the world of sports. The potential business opportunities offered by the growing interest in sport did not escape the attention of the media and companies, who started investing heavily into the sports industry. Their involvement contributed to the growing popularity of sport, especially the sports that attracted the most spectators and generated the most profit. However, this money also bought sponsors influence, and the sports industry had to respond to their agenda. This new relationship between sports and those who were financing it brought into being a new driving force within the world of entertainment (Markovits & Rensmann, 2010).

 

More than just business

Today a sports event is usually surrounded with the fame and the money it may bring to several stakeholders but in the shadow of this whole “media circus” we may not stop to consider factors such as what makes people start to play a sport for the first time, and how many other things we owe to sport. Whether one is a hobby player at one end of the spectrum or a professional, world-famous athlete at the other end, engaging in a sporting activity has always taught life lessons that go far beyond the most publicly recognised benefits such as fun, fitness, fame, or money.

Arguably, the beauty of sport is that there are so many choices with such a variety of levels: there ought to be a sport out there for almost everyone. Even from a young age, participation in physical activity is highly recommended.

 

The benefits of participating include:

 

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Author:

Griszbacher Norbert

Article Writer & Content Contributor

Norbert Griszbacher article writer at GiLE

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The opinions expressed in this article/publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of GiLE or its members.

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