Kids can benefit in many ways from playing Baseball and here’s our “10 Benefits of Playing Baseball”, that will hopefully get your kid off the iPad and on the field!
1. Encourages Teamwork
Although each time you get up at bat, baseball appears to be an individual sport, it is more about the team than the player. Ever wonder why a batter purposely gets out? It’s called TEAMWORK! Beginning at a young age, kids learn that being a part of a team is more important than being the star. Kids learn to work together and cheer each other on.
2. Builds Confidence
"Last year, my son started the season off a little shaky. It took him more times than I would like to count to actually hit the ball when pitched to him, but by season’s end, he had improved greatly. By encouraging him to keep trying and not giving up, he improved his skills which helped build his self-confidence. Although he struggled at bat, he did very well at second base. Each time he got someone out, his face beamed with pride, and I just knew his self-esteem and confidence was getting stronger" Jessica Lopa (Mommy University)
3. Enhances Gross Motor Skills
Sports are great for enhancing gross motor skills. Baseball in particular helps kids build core muscle strength, leg muscles and upper body strength. As kids get stronger, they gain greater balance and control which improves their overall skill and level of success. Enhancing gross motor skills help kids prepare for other sports as well.
4. Increases Motor Planning
Baseball involves a great deal of motor planning. Kids have to know where to hold the bat, how to balance it, and then know exactly when to swing it. It doesn’t just involve strength. It requires concentration and careful motor planning. Getting your head to tell your body exactly what to do when you want it to do it can be very difficult for some kids. It takes practice and determination to master this skill.
5. Creates New Friendships
Having kids join sport teams is of course a great way for them to get new friends. Baseball is especially a great sport to make new friends. In Denmark, Baseball is a small sport and therefore everyone knows everyone - this gives the players a great opportunity to meet kids from all over and in that way get a broader view on everything.
6. Builds Patience
Baseball can be a stressful sport. Think about it, a player only needs to do well at bat 30% of the time in order to be considered amazing! Kids learn patience beginning at a young age when playing baseball. They learn to patiently wait their turn at bat and eventually patiently wait for the perfect pitch to hit the ball out of the park.
7. Improves Focus and Attention
Let’s face it, baseball is not a fast action sport (well most of the time). When you are not running the bases, you are either standing at your outfield position waiting for a play or hanging out in the dugout. Learning to wait not only builds patience as stated yesterday but also improves focus and attention. Players have to keep their eye on the ball at all times to know when they need to catch, who to throw to or when to steal. Players on the bench also need to pay attention to the score, number of outs and who is on base. Without paying attention to details, the game will not be successful.
8. Builds Math and Science Skills
Who knew you could gain academic skills while playing baseball? In fact, there is a great deal of math and physics involved in this complex game. From simply keeping track of the score to calculating batting averages, math plays a huge role in baseball. Physics is also integral to success as pitch speed and direction will impact a player’s swing while the way the player holds and swings his bat will impact the direction the ball will go. Kids need to learn all about energy and force in order to be successful players.
9. Improves Your Dancing Skills
The game itself is actually not about dancing, but in our Baseball/Softball club, we tend to do it a lot. When we lose – we dance, when we win – we dance and when there is nothing to do, we dance.
10. Trains Your Laughing Muscle
We laugh a lot! And laughing in itself has at least 7 benefits:
1. LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE People who lower their blood pressure, even those who start at normal levels, will reduce their risk of stroke and heart attack. So grab the Sunday paper, flip to the funny pages, and enjoy your laughter medicine.
2. REDUCES STRESS HORMONE LEVELS By reducing the level of stress hormones, you're simultaneously cutting the anxiety and stress that impacts your body. Additionally, the reduction of stress hormones may result in higher immune system performance. Just think: Laughing along as a co-worker tells a funny joke can relieve some of the day's stress and help you reap the health benefits of laughter.
3. WORKS YOUR ABS One of the benefits of laughter is that it can help you tone your abs. When you are laughing, the muscles in your stomach expand and contract, similar to when you intentionally exercise your abs. Meanwhile, the muscles you are not using to laugh are getting an opportunity to relax. Add laughter to your ab routine and make getting a toned tummy more enjoyable.
4. IMPROVES CARDIAC HEALTH Laughter is a great cardio workout, especially for those who are incapable of doing other physical activity due to injury or illness. It gets your heart pumping and burns a similar amount of calories per hour as walking at a slow to moderate pace. So, laugh your heart into health.
5. BOOSTS T-CELLS T-cells are specialized immune system cells just waiting in your body for activation. When you laugh, you activate T-cells that immediately begin to help you fight off sickness. Next time you feel a cold coming on, add chuckling to your illness prevention plan.
6. TRIGGERS THE RELEASE OF ENDORPHINS Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers. By laughing, you can release endorphins, which can help ease chronic pain and make you feel good all over.
7. PRODUCES A GENERAL SENSE OF WELL-BEING Laughter can increase your overall sense of well-being. Doctors have found that people who have a positive outlook on life tend to fight diseases better than people who tend to be more negative. So smile, laugh, and live longer!
Would your kid like to get the 10 benefits?
We hope the 10 benefits above will be enough to make you consider the great sport of baseball as the activity you find best suited for your kid. We sure know that he or she will absolutely love baseball - so why not come by one of our junior practices?