Activities to Teach Character Building Skills for Kids in Sports

Sports are an excellent way to teach character-building skills with kids. With so many kids involved in a variety of sports, there are opportunities and activities to help them develop skills that will serve them in challenging situations during their school years and beyond. A coach or teacher can influence a student in a positive way for the rest of her life.

  1. Daily Practice

    • Regardless of the sport, having regular practice is a good idea for kids. It teaches them about commitment and not giving up. It also teaches discipline because they are required to be there even on days they might not feel like it. Once they see improvement in their skills, they start to understand why sticking to something is important and quitting is the easy way out.

    Accept Loss

    • A very important character-building activity is teaching kids how to behave when they lose a game. Some kids get angry, some cry and some get frustrated. Losing is part of life, and making kids congratulate and shake the hands of the other team members teaches them to accept loss graciously, not to be a sore loser, and that making your best effort is sometimes more important than winning.

    Conditioning Goals

    • Conditioning in sports is a major component. It works on speed, agility, power, balance and flexibility. It also teaches them the importance of good health and regular physical activity. Have each kid set up their own physical conditioning goal. For example, if they can do ten push-ups, have them set up a goal to reach 15 by the end of the week, adding one a day. This will teach them the importance of goal-setting and attaining their goals, which leads to increased self-esteem and character building.

    Coach for a Day

    • Allowing the kids to be the coach for a day or for part of a practice is a good way to teach them leadership skills. It also gives them perspective from the coach's point of view and will teach them how to communicate with others in an authoritative role. This will also help to demonstrate sensitivity in a group activity and will teach them to lead and communicate in an effective and assertive manner.