Everyone can benefit from participating in a team sport during their time at college. The benefits of playing sport while attending college are hard to underestimate. It doesn’t matter if you don’t regard yourself as a particularly sporty person. It doesn’t even matter if you have never played team sports before. When you finally reach college, you have a lot of hard work ahead of you. One of the best ways to counterbalance all that stress is is to participate in a team sport.
Doug Williams started his career at college and went on to become the first quarterback to lead his team to a win in the Super Bowl. Earl Monroe is a Philadelphia Basketball legend who again started his career in the College Division championship. Aeneas Williams didn’t play football at South University until his junior year. In 2014, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Basketball
While Basketball may not be all that popular in some of the world’s largest sports markets – the UK doesn’t seem to have much interest in the sport, for example – it is, in fact, one of the most popular sports in the world. Australia and Canada have hugely popular Basketball leagues. Surprisingly the sport is also tremendously popular in Iraq too!
As student sports go, Basketball is without a doubt the most popular choice in the United States. Make your school’s Basketball team, and you can guarantee the support of everyone at your college, who will be sure to watch your games on TV! College Basketball has generated a considerable number of legendary athletes over the years, especially thanks to the NCAA which organize a Championship each year, where all the US colleges with a basketball team could participate. This year NCAAB Championship has more than 120 participants, who are trying to make the Final Four. The race seems close if we take a look at the Unibet Sports Indiana website.
Sam Jones, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Willis Reed, Ben Wallis, and Charles Oakley are just a few of the names that you may well know, even if you have little interest in Basketball.
American Football
Football is hugely popular across the United States, and the NFL is making a great effort to spread the sport across the globe. They are doing this by holding exhibition games in some of the world’s largest sporting venues. One example would be the annual exhibition game at London’s Wembley Arena, which attracts a packed-out stadium every year.
Did you know that Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, and South Africa also have American Football leagues? If you are the sporting type, this is probably the game to try. It’s a great honor to play for any college football team. You won’t be receiving the kind of significant league wages that a professional player would, but you will benefit in so many other ways it more than makes up for it.
If you turn out to be a great player, a sports scholarship may well be offered to you at some point during your time at college. The best college teams are featured on TV just like professional teams are. Being a great American Football player will make you a hero in your college town, with all the apparent benefits that can bring.
Baseball
Another traditional US sport, and one that is regarded by some as being the best sport on Earth. Whole articles have been written about why Baseball is superior, more exciting, more entertaining, and just generally a better game.
While college Baseball doesn’t have quite the same following as college Football or Basketball, it’s a great deal of fun to play and excellent exercise, too. Playing any sport at college enables you to develop skills that you will undoubtedly find helpful once you enter the world of work.
Soccer
Traditional association football does have something of a reputation as being a girls or children’s sport in the USA, but this is changing as Major League Soccer finds its place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Some people find the rules confusing, but in truth, the mythical “offside” rule can be explained quickly enough in ten minutes, and the rest of the game is simple enough for a child to pick up and understand in an afternoon.
A Short Conclusion
Playing sports in college will teach you teamwork skills, discipline, time management, responsibility, concentration, interpersonal communication, and in some cases, even some degree of leadership skills. You may well find that you enjoy your college sport more than your degree itself! You never know until you try, so give it a go today.
