There are plenty of known benefits that come with sports, most notably a healthy physique. But the differences between individual sports over team sports and the advantages of one over the other are less apparent. Usually, people show a preference for one or the other from an early age, but if you are undecided on whether an individual or a team sport would be a better choice for you or your kid, read this article to find out.
In individual sports, the athlete is in more or less in complete control of their own destiny. Because the reliance on other team members is simply not there, the only person that can influence the result is the player. As a result, the stress could be overwhelming simply because if one enters a losing streak it may be a sign of a deteriorating physique. When your goals have been set toward winning and the only person that can achieve it is you, any lack of self-confidence will create a negative self-perception that will immediately affect training. Losing is a negative feedback loop where the athlete can get stuck in a rut and only the best manage to battle their demons.
But athletes need to face great challenges to develop their personality. Individual sports test the mettle of the greatest minds and those who are not up to the challenge at least get to see what it is like. Those that persevere take the lessons that they learn from the arduous mental pressure and apply it to other areas in life, most important of which is that each person is responsible for their own actions. Individual sports teach discipline, courage, and self-reliance.
If you like to be in control and do not like the idea of relying on others to achieve your goals, an individual sport is the right choice for you. Team sports will only make you frustrated because you won’t be able to fully control the game. Sometimes in team sports, an individual athlete does everything perfectly, and their team still loses.
A team sport, on the other hand, requires individuals to work together cohesively where each member has a specific role. Of course, there are stars in the game. Take football as an example, Leo Messi is a fantastic player whose individual record for Argentina is astounding, however, Argentina have recently shown poor performances up until the 2018 World Cup. Just recently Messi was nowhere to be seen in a heavy 3–0 loss against objectively better Croatia. Messi does shine in Barcelona where the rest of his peers are high-quality performers. So, team sports require players to work with their fellow colleagues closely for a common goal and responsibility is distributed throughout the squad. Players learn to look out for each other quickly and develop relationships so that the team’s chemistry will be of the right character. When it comes to developing personality traits, team members develop a sense of solidarity, whereas selfishness is strongly discouraged. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice your hunt for the personal moment of glory and do what’s best for your team. Team sports develop social skills, leadership and work ethics.
Team sports are great for those who like cooperative, joint activities and enjoy the social dimension of sport. If you think that working together in harmony with others to achieve a common goal is a wonderful experience, then team sports are definitely for you.
Both individual and team sports are great in their own way. Whichever you chose, you will do something great for your body and soul.
