Physical exercise is good for mind, body and spirit. Furthermore, team sports are good for learning accountability, dedication, and leadership, among many other traits. Putting it all together by playing a sport is a winning combination.

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Many athletes do better academically.
Playing a sport requires a lot of time and energy. Some may think this would distract student-athletes from schoolwork. However, the opposite is true. Sports require memorization, repetition and learning — skillsets that are directly relevant to classwork. Also, the determination and goal-setting skills sports require can be transferred to the classroom.

Sports teach teamwork and help achieve goals. 
Fighting for a common goal with a host of other players, coaches, managers and community members teaches you how to build a collective team synergy and effectively communicate the best way to solve problems en route to a victory. This will be very helpful in life when encountering problems at work, at home, or in any arena.

Sports offer many health benefits, some less obvious.
Clearly, sports will improve your fitness and weight goals. However, they also encourage healthy decisions such as not smoking or drinking and offer hidden health benefits such as a lower chance of getting osteoporosis or breast cancer later in life. Also, a team counting on you to show up and work hard is plenty of motivation for you to get to the gym day in and day out.

Sports boost self-esteem. 
Watching your hard work pay off and achieving your dreams brings about tons of self-confidence. If you can achieve something in a sport or with a fitness goal, then you know you can achieve any other goal you set. This is a very rewarding and exciting process.

Playing a sport cuts down on pressure and stress.
Exercising is a natural way to loosen up and let go of stress. Also, you will most likely make many new friends on the team who can be there for you as a support system. When you find you are having a lot of stress, you can call up teammates and head to the gym to talk it out and play it out.