Soccer is the third most popular team sport played in the United States, with an estimated 3,020,633 people in 2012 reporting that they played the game regularly. Of this number, a significant percentage were likely children: an estimated 60% of kids play sports outside of school in the United States. An estimated 66% of that number were boys, and an estimated 52% were girls. If your children are interested in joining this number, it is likely that you have considered enrolling them in a summer soccer camp or local team. If your child is interested, this decision could benefit them in a number of ways: youth soccer camps and soccer leagues provide a number of opportunities for physical and mental growth for children of all ages.
Soccer began to grow in international popularity at some point after the first live coverage of a soccer match was broadcast on television in 1937. Interestingly, this broadcast took place seven years after the first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1937. Since then, soccer has become something of shared favorite around the world, with international soccer tours traveling to every continent to play matches against the world’s best teams.
Because of this, soccer offers a number of benefits for children around the globe, whether they are enrolled in summer soccer camps, on a community or school team, or simply playing a game in the street. The first benefit of playing soccer is physical: a professional soccer runs as many as 3.9 miles during an average soccer game. While a children’s game won’t require quite so much physicality, soccer is a great way to improve one’s endurance, dexterity, balance, and coordination. Secondly, because soccer is a team sport, it is a great way to learn both strategy and good social skills; many children who play soccer become close friends with their teammates. Thirdly, soccer teaches personal responsibility: if your child if participating in a summer soccer camp or other team setting, they will learn to listen to and respect a coach, as well as consistently exercise good sportsmanship and consideration when dealing with their teammates and opponents. If you want to help your children grow by physically and emotionally, ask them if they are interested in playing soccer.