Why Activities And Sports Are Important To Kids

Learning the right values is the most important stage in your child's growth. If you teach them proper values at an early age, they will be able to face the challenges that the future may bring them. Aside from learning at home and at school, exposure outside can develop your child become a better person. By engaging into sports or other kid activities, your child could learn the best lessons in life.

What Motivates Your Child To Do Sports

Understanding what motivates your child will help you decide which sports should he or she should engage in. Typically, every child has their heroes or idols and they want to become like them. If the famous character they like play tennis, most likely they would be interested in this sports too. Parents and peers as well have a great influence in the sports that the child will play. If the father is a soccer player, his son may end up in soccer as well. If the mother dances ballet, the daughter most likely will also be into ballet.

The Benefits Of Sports Or Kid Activities

Physical Strength Development

Sports are good to develop your child's physical strength as these activities require some trainings and exercises. With the digital activities that most children are hooked into these days, there is less chance of going outdoors and engaging into physical activities. Lifestyle of children has changed. It is quite alarming that obesity and diseases among children are increasing because of the lack of exercise. Sports give children and teens an enjoyable platform to exercise and move around.

Stronger Personality

Aside from the physical benefits, your child also develops other aspects of his or her personality through sports. Kids who play sports are usually more confident and socially skilled. This is shown with their ability to collaborate well with others. By playing and competing in sports they learn teamwork and sportsmanship. To parents these traits are the best as they help prevent risky behavior as their child grows. Indeed, sports help children evolve into better versions of themselves.

Better Performance In School

Sports can teach them discipline and focus. These are two crucial attitudes when studying. In fact, data indicate that children playing sports are less likely to drop out; instead they consistently earn top marks in their classes.

Suggested Sports For Children

For a start, you can expose younger kids into simple sports. Top choices are track and field, gymnastics, bicycling, or swimming. When your child turns 6, you can let him or her participate in ballgames like soccer, tennis, baseball, softball, and basketball. At the age of 8 or older, contact sports and activities can be played. Check your area for other interesting activities for kids.

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Ways Of Getting Championship Rings

If you aren't a player, but you love your team and you would like to have its championship ring, you can get it at a fee. Having a championship ring is not only a symbol of royalty to the team, it is also a great investment especially if you get the limited ring editions. There are many ways of getting these rings. The most common being:

Having one made for you

If you have a large budget, you can approach a company that makes championship rings and ask it to make one for you. The ring can resemble that of your team in design, but it's always wise to customize it by adding your own details. For example, you can add your name, date of birth or any other feature that you like. You should note that most of the legit rings are made from gold or diamond and as you know, these metals don't come cheap; therefore, you should be prepared to part with a good amount of money.

If you don't have a lot of money, but want to have the ring with you, there are plenty of replicas in the market that you can go for. These rings resemble the real rings, but they are made from cheaper materials such as plastic. You should note that these rings aren't ideal for wearing as the gold plating tends to easily come off. When buying them, only use them for display.

Buy real championship rings

You can get real rings in the market. Some of the easiest to get are college and minor league rings. Since they are real they are made from gold and tend to be expensive than the replicas. In most cases they cost between $700 and $1,750. If you are operating on a larger budget, you should go for the professional rings. To avoid spending plenty of money on them, consider buying those from teams that have lost the World Series or super bowl. These rings don't have as much gold or diamond as the winning versions; therefore, they are cheaper. In some cases they are up to 50% cheaper than the winning versions.

If you want the real deal, you should go for players' rings. They are made from plenty of gold and diamond. Rings belonging to popular players go at a higher price than those worn by less popular players. There are some rings that cost up to $500 million.

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The Big 5 - Popular Professional Team Sports in the USA

The Big 5 of professional team sports in the USA are NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, & MLS. The popularity of these 5 sports has grown every year & advent of cable TV, Pay Per View model means these 5 sports are most watched sports in the USA. These are richest professional team sports in the USA with both men/women leagues. Financially these leagues & its players enjoy massive success through sponsorships, ads and ticket sales.

Popularity of Major League Baseball / MLB

Major League Baseball was started in 1903. The MLB all-star games attract most viewership in the USA where players are selected by fan voting. Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra, Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, Joe Dimaggio are most popular players. New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, & New York Yankees are popular MLB teams.

Popularity of National Basketball Association / NBA

National Basketball Association was established in 1946. All-star games are the biggest attraction each year, where players are selected by fan voting. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird are most popular league players. Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks are popular NBA teams.

Popularity of National Football League / NFL

National Football League was founded in 1920 as a version of rugby where players participate wearing protective gear to avoid injuries. NFL Super Bowl is most watched annual event on TV. Tom Brady, Reggie White, Don Hutson, Joe Montana, Aaron Rogers, Tony Romo, Calvin Johnson are most popular league players. Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, are popular NFL teams.

Popularity of National Hockey League / NHL

National Hockey League is hockey on ice; one of the fastest sport in the world. NHL all-stars game is most eagarly watch in the USA. Bobby Hull, Rick Martin, Bill Cowley, Michel Goulet, Alexander Ovechkin are most popular league players. New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings are popular NHL teams.

Popularity of Major League Soccer / MLS

Major League Soccer (MLS) started in 1994 is nothing but football. MLS All stars are the most popular match watched by people. David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Didier Drogba, Kaka, David Villa are most popular league players. New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, Sporting Kansas City are popular MLS teams.

City wise rivalry is what defines these professional team sports in the USA. These leagues have no relegation/promotion policy & the teams play with each other throughout the year.

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To Inspire Your Players, Simply Discover Their Big WHY

As an active soccer player and basketball player in school, I had the great fortune of being coached by competent coaches. Not only are they excellent in their assessment of the game, they are also very adept in building instant rapport with their players, and they know their players inside out.

But what inspires me deeply is that not only do these coaches know the sport well, they also speak very well! They can relate complex strategies in a clear, concise and succinct manner, convey complex movements by breaking them down into step-by-step and systematic instructions, and best of all, they can deliver the much-needed inspirational speeches when the team seems to lost hope.

I witnessed first hand how important public speaking is to sports coaching.

Years later, I achieved my basketball coaching license (along with a series of coaching certifications) and began coaching the game. It was then that I realised how important a well-delivered inspirational speech can do wonders to the team.

From then on, I began my intense experiments to uncover powerful strategies I can use to inspire my players. Here, I present one of the most important strategies I had picked up along the way as a coach when it comes to delivering that inspirational speech and pep talk that your players might remember for the rest of their lives.

Strategy: Remind the players why they are playing the game

The first step in every inspirational speech or pep talk is to address the big WHY. Why are your players playing the game in the first place? Why do your players want what they want? Why do they want to win the game so badly?Why do they want to win the championship? Why do they want to stay back for tortuous training session when they could have spent the time relaxing elsewhere?

Get your players to re-focus on the big WHYs that define the very purpose they are in the game or the competition in the first place. The bigger the WHY, the more important the reasons they can come up with, the more inspired they can become.

As a coach, I implement affirmations and visualization exercises on a frequent basis. I get my players to re-affirm their big WHYs by asking them specific questions such as the following:

1. Why do you join this team in the first place?
2. Why do you want to win the championship?
3. Why do you want to give your best effort for the team?

Every player knows clearly why they are in the team, what they want out of it, and why they want what they want. Needless to say, they are inspired most of the time, even in the face of obstacles or stronger opponents.

So for your next training session, try out the BIG WHY exercise by asking your players these fundamental questions. Your players will begin to rediscover their life-changing purpose that keeps them inspired to do their best.

About The Author

Kwan Hong helps professionals, business executives and youths gain rapid mastery in communication skills, personal peak performance and career growth. He has delivered impactful workshops and facilitated seminars in public speaking, communication skills, leadership, personal peak performance, entrepreneurship and business development. He has synthesized knowledge from 8 Degrees and Diplomas, from over 100 certifications and from 1000 books to bring his clients the best tips, tricks and techniques for personal success.

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Fitness Tips For Netball Players

Athletes are some of the healthiest and fittest persons in the world. After all, they need to be in excellent form and condition physically, mentally, and emotionally if they want to excel in their sport. In addition, if they are not physically fit and healthy, they will simply be plagued by various injuries and aches during and after they play a game.

Netball players need to be perfectly fit as well. If they want to avoid injuries and excel in this sport, they need to be in tip-top form and condition all the time.

Below are some fitness tips netball players would do well to follow:

Work on your speed. Speed is one of the key skills netball players need to have. You need to have great speed to sprint into position quickly, change direction suddenly, and to jump up when you need to intercept a ball. You can work on this skill by including plyometrics in your training. These include jumping up the stairs, leaping sideways, and jumping over low hurdles. Fartlek training is also highly recommended for netball players. This type of training focuses on explosively sprinting over short distances. Keep in mind that to be quicker, you have to improve your power and your leg strength.

Improve your endurance. If you want to maintain your pace for one whole game of netball, endurance is crucial. To work on this, train by building up to running continuously for up to 20 minutes. Slow down only when you need to then speed up for a sprint.

Boost your core stability and balance. Stability and balance helps greatly with almost every aspect of attack and defense. Whether you are a defender leaning in to guard the ball, the shooter standing on one leg, or you simply want to be able to jump and change positions quickly, having balance and core stability will help improve your game and aid you greatly with avoiding injuries. You can strengthen your balance and stability by doing strength exercises for the arms, chest, and shoulder while standing on the opposite leg. Twisting lunges while holding a medicine ball or dumbbell should also be part of your workout regimen. Performing exercises on a Swiss ball or by standing on a wobble board (or on one leg for one minute, building up to doing it with your eyes closed) are also great ways for improving balance and stability. Just make sure you include holding the plank position for up to one minute at a time in your strength regime.

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Tips In Choosing Sports Activities Venues

Sports activities can provide numerous benefits for individuals. However, when living in a city, one of the most common issues that restrict individuals from playing their beloved sport is space. That is why some individuals are looking for sports activities venues. No doubt, you may find some sports activities venues near your area. But, in order to make your activity exciting and memorable, you need to choose the right venue. To help you, below are some simple tips you need to consider in finding a venue for numerous sports activities.

Evaluate the location

First and foremost, when looking for sports activities venues, it is important for individuals to evaluate the location. Surely, individuals may find venues situated in peaceful locations which can be quite relaxing. However, individuals need to consider some factors from transportation up to accessibility to amenities. These factors are important to determine if the location of the venue can match your needs.

Determine its space

After checking the location, the next thing individuals need to do is to determine its space. Most sports venues are large. But, there are cases when venues cannot match your sports activity. Apart from playing space, individuals also need to consider space for the audience. This is needed in case you are using the venue for small tournaments. Not to mention, it is also imperative to make sure that the venue has sufficient space for your vehicles.

Assess sports equipment and facilities

When looking for sports activities venues, individuals also need to assess if the venue has the right sports equipment and facilities. Venues with the different types of sports equipment and facilities can help you cut down your expenses in hiring such items. Other than that, individuals have easy access on these items in case it is damaged during a game. And, venues with sufficient sports equipment and facilities can help you make activities better and more exciting for everyone. Fortunately, there are some venues that provide numerous sports equipment and facilities from popular games like baseball, bowling up to ice skating and even paint ball.

Check if the venue has food stands

Finally, you also need to check if the venue has food stands. Of course, after a fun and tiring game, players need to regain their energy by eating meals and drinking beverages. Luckily, some venues house numerous food stands to allow individuals find the food item that can satisfy their thirst and hunger.

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