In today’s fast-paced world, the key focus of leading educational institutes worldwide is no longer merely on the academic development of children. Instead, they lay a lot of stress on the holistic development of their pupils. That’s so because to succeed amid growing competition in today’s day and age, it has become essential to back good academic grades with practical know-how, life skills, physical and mental fitness, and much more. This is indeed necessary to help young minds grow into excellent managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
With our core focus on this premise, we at Excelsior American School, one of the leading best schools in Gurgaon, continue to remain invested in activities and resources that aid in the holistic development of children. One such vital engagement is sports. It is worth noting that engaging children in sports activities isn’t only about sowing the seeds of physical activeness among children but goes way beyond that to introducingchildren to an array of life-changing skills and lessons.
What is Holistic Development?
Science states that 80% of a child’s brain grows to about 80% by age 3 and 90% by age 5. This clearly shows that whatever information, knowledge, and skills are passed on to children at an early age continue to sustain for a lifetime.
Hence, we at Excelsior American School recommend opening up channels to holistic development while taking support from sports at an early age. Essentially, sports-backed holistic development has to do with boosting a child’s social, emotional, physical, mental, and intellectual growth.
5 Ways Sports Aids Holistic Development in Children:
- Improved Physical Capabilities:
By introducing sports as a crucial part of the curriculum, we at Excelsior American School polish children’s physical capabilities. Physical activeness plays an important role in boosting children’s academic performance and mental health. Additionally, this helps children with improved memory retention and attention span.
Children become better equipped to deal with stress. Moreover, sports help build muscle mass and endurance while contributing to the long-term health goals of children. Collectively, sports prepare children to take on challenges and tap into the opportunities that the future has in store.
- Spirit of Sportsmanship:
What many people may not know is that sports leave behind a valuable life lesson in the form of “the spirit of sportsmanship” that can help children sail through life.
The spirit of sportsmanship helps children understand that every game will have a winner and a loser. In the end, what counts is the level of efforts you direct. Also, sports teach children to applaud the winner while agreeing to try harder the next time. These lessons eventually make children strong and capable of facing unforeseen hurdles that life may throw at them.
- Stronger Communication Skills:
A child may mug up an entire textbook and pass with flying colors in the examination. However, is this enough to secure a leadership position in a corporate or excel at one’s start-up? Mostly not, because unless you are able to clear an interview or pitch to your investor, your future will not find the light of day.
Sports come to the rescue of children by ingraining in them the seeds of communication. As a player in a team, it becomes important for you to communicate clearly and timely with your team members, which becomes useful in the long run.
- Emotional Control:
We at Excelsior American School strongly believe that emotions can make or break a person, which is why we stress the need to train children to understand and gain control over their emotions. While playing any sport, different emotions are definite to run through a child. However, showing up on the ground consistently is enough to help children realize these emotions and ultimately work on them not coming in their way.
This is an important life lesson that helps children in making important career and business decisions without emotions having any influence in the process of decision-making.
- Balance:
Expecting children to be engrossed in their academic books at all times is an unrealistic demand anyone can have. Instead, what is important is to introduce children to the concept of balance. A balance between studies, sports, and playtime is a must to prepare children to understand the importance of work-life balance in the future.
When children grow up, they will find it easy to slip out of their busy work schedule and find time for themselves. In one way or the other, this is a prerequisite for leading a happy and contended life.
Summing Up:
Participation in sports is indeed crucial for the all-round development of children. This is why at Excelsior American School, ranked among the leading Best schools in Gurgaon, sports has been included as a vital part of our curriculum. We allow our pupils a free hand to try different sports and provide them with the necessary opportunities to groom themselves in whichever sport they wish to pursue.
In the process, children imbibe non-negotiable traits like patience, perseverance, and discipline, which work as an excellent starting towards the holistic development of children. Children who are holistically groomed are well-prepared for the future and are better prepared to leave a mark for themselves in a rather competitive world.
