India's rich haul of 66 medals including 26 Gold at the recently concluded Gold Coast Commonwealth Games provides testimony to the increasing sporting prowess of a confident nation. This medal haul is the result of dedicated and systematic training over a significant period of time. To become a truly sporting nation, we need to develop a sporting culture across the country and realise the multifaceted benefits of sports, beginning at the school level.
Sports hours in schools are often branded as the time for extra-curricular or part time activities while academics — the training of the mind — is considered the primary objective of education. The truth is that sports not only keeps individuals fit, mentally strong, and focused, but it also provides immeasurable value in the form of positive habit formation. Teachers should consider sports as not a part-time indulgence. The lessons imparted by sports participation positively impact the adult life of a child in multiple ways.
Instills the habit of hard work and team work. Students learn the value of the maxim 'practice makes one perfect' at a young age by participating in sports. They learn that natural talent is to be complemented with dedication and hard work to achieve excellence in life as it is in sports. One of the most important maxims that govern an individual's professional success is that one's network is his or her networth which means our opportunity to grow depends on our ability to collaborate. Peer group activities are the best avenue to ensure the emotional and social growth of a child. Through sports, children learn how sharing, collaborating, and supporting the success of peers is essential to the success of the overall group as well as the individual.
Helps take on risks while making the best decisions. Playing sports teaches children the importance of taking calculated risks and making the best decisions in a given situation. For example, cricketers learn how to play a shot by walking down the pitch while ensuring that they do not get stumped. Similarly, those who play cricket have to make split second decisions and scoring a hundred might mean making the best split-second decisions many times over the course of a day. Sports teaches children how to rely on intuition and how to gain advantage of an opponent in a fair manner.
Improves discipline and concentration. Discipline and concentration powers are traits that any manager would value in their subordinates. lack of discipline and concentration is often the primary reason for inadequate performance at work. Children understand that excellence in sports is achieved through only disciplined practice and execution with superb concentration and they are likely to carry over this learning into their adult lives.
Teaches the importance of strategy and execution. Some of the greatest matches are won on the drawing board before even a ball is kicked. A football team might strategise to exploit the space left behind by a wing back of the opposite team, who is prone to playing high up the pitch before the match. When executed well that might become the way the team wins the match. The planning before the game is useful only if the players can execute the strategy as a team with each individual taking the correct position on the pitch. Essentially, playing sports is an early life simulation of the moves and counter moves executives plan and execute in the Board Room and then in the market.
Instills the value of losing gracefully and learning from each misstep. Accepting loses gracefully and learning from each mistake is an essential attribute in life. life is made up of cyclical highs and lows. losing in sports instills the value of accepting defeat and disappointment gracefully. It also teaches children the value of having a backup plan as well as the importance of iteratively infusing the learnings from each loss into the strategy for facing upcoming challenges.
The writer is Col Gopal Karunakaran,CEO, Shiv Nadar School