Football rules the world not only during the Worldcup. It is also the most popular team sport worldwide. No wonder the little ones want to be soccer players too. We give you eleven good reasons for kicking.
8 Reasons Why Children Should Play Football
Team player
Football is a team sport and as such is the best school for social skills. The children learn to respect different characters, nationalities or children from different social backgrounds and to cooperate and stick together as a team. As a member of a team, the children have to assert themselves, but also be able to make compromises. They sometimes have to give in, but they can also take the lead and develop real team spirit. And finally, sport has a very general social component: football connects – not just your own team, but also the fans.
Urge To Move
Children naturally have a great urge to move that needs to be lived out. Playing football offers the little ones a great opportunity to get rid of energy, let off steam and run wild across the field while having fun playing ball games.
Goodbye Runny Nose
Football almost always takes place in the fresh air – even in weather when the family might prefer to stay at home. However, exercise in the fresh air in wind and weather has advantages for the kids and their health: the body is hardened and the immune system is strengthened. This increases the immune system for the next cold wave.
Stronger
Children don’t need specific strength training to build muscles. In football, that happens all by itself, so to speak. Not only the legs are trained when running, jumping, stopping and shooting, but also the upper body, which ensures that you remain stable with every maneuver. Kicking is not a one-sided burden. It challenges the muscles in a variety of ways. After all, well-developed muscles prevent injuries and support the skeleton.
Fit as a fiddle
Football is one thing above all: perfect fitness training. The children are in constant motion during the game, sprint, run more slowly again, have to change direction quickly – all this promotes their fitness. This in turn keeps you healthy and prevents cardiovascular diseases and obesity, which are also widespread in children.
Prevents Back Pain
Back pain is already widespread in children and continues to increase. This is also confirmed by a Forsa survey among paediatricians commissioned by the DAK in 2010. 44 percent of the physicians surveyed stated that the number of children with back pain has increased slightly over the past ten years. Around 13 percent of those surveyed even spoke of a sharp increase. The causes are usually a lack of exercise and missing muscles. Small kickers prevent this. Through the regular, diverse movement and the development of the entire body musculature, you also strengthen your back.
Motoric Skills
Every football training session includes coordination and technique exercises. Running fast with the ball, stopping abruptly and changing direction, dribbling through slalom poles or scoring goals – all this requires great motor skills, which the little kickers learn through play.
Fair Play
If you want to play football, you have to obey the rules and learn to respect authorities like coaches and referees. This is also an important social skill that the little kickers benefit from in everyday life.
