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WHIFF OF SPORTS SPIRIT – HONING SKILLS

Sports psychologists Jim E. Loehr describes desired attitude as ‘managing mental energy’ when concentrating on the winning edge in playing a game. Either the attitude stands aggressive or a kind of automatic and relaxed concentration, which allows peak performance. A euphoric state of mind calls for a meditation, be it dynamic, transcendental, work, music medication or whatever. Heart is just a pumping station but one got to think with the brains. It leads to paths of meditative calm, the way of heart with either adopting to spiritual path, path of awareness or path of love. The goal is same but it cajole and bewitch the meditator from the preoccupation with the deification of the mind to pull the rug under and seek for a transcendental meditative state. Sports or a game play of choice, closest to music meditation is a choice for a supportive mental, physical and spiritual stability and anyways, to be adopted and encouraged for better lifestyles.

Stay fit, be meditative, build the sportsmanship spirits. 

-ilaxi, Editor (kidsfreesouls)

Children of today are the Leaders of tomorrow. Grades always aren’t everything. Sky rocket your Child’s sports spirit with the lessons that teach the basics of ‘Winning & Losing Edge’ Sports builds the characters and help to develop important skills. Sports spirits hone the kid’s mental and physical attitude to stand and face up challenges in life. Kids learn confidence, discipline, concentration and moral values as they get to learn the various sports activities involved to nourish their talents.  A child is pushed way into learning how to succeed and the very question ‘What if I lose?’ persuade the kid to accept it as a challenge and face the stumbling blocks. Trash talking, violence, fixing and such factors that has risen lately in sports pose for a negative influence on the minds of many children who learn the way of the wizard – the game of ‘cheat’ and ‘fool around’. Moreover, the television, computer and other activities has whiffed off kids with a lack of sports activity at school levels too. As such, children hardly have the mind for a game except that a parent infuses in the spirits to adopt and play a game of Cricket, chess or Soccer. Some just skate for those medals or swim for a change course of an activity. Playing tennis, golf, basketball or billiards isn’t the choice or sport for all kids. Most sports require well-tuned motor skills and a highly developed sense of spatial orientation. A fierce competitor on the playing field can be a pussycat off the field. Some possess the aggressive personality; these attributes are apparently just as common in other successful people. It is also required a motivation – a desire to perform excellence at a sport and this is a trait shared by all super sports toppers.

Increasing number of kids specializes in Sports and many pursue Sports Activity off the school. The playgrounds at school often lack the mass drill or the exercise thrills of yester years. Barely a few schools motivate Sports Talented students. The spirits wane with a push-n-pull games, bullying or chatting to have fun around. It’s required these times that a parent or teacher encourages the kids, as Fitness becomes a way of life. The prescriptions of well-being is simple – Exercise. It makes a kid feel good and improve health, rather avoid risk factors to health. Sports skills demand regularity, punctuality and a fit healthy mind, body and soul. Children need to stay tuned to hit the strides for peak performances only with a strong will and power to follow the instincts to win a game. Sports,  itself calls for meditation, relaxation-training methods. Meditation and breathing techniques help prevent stress from affecting performances.

Sports fever with FIFA Soccer to begin, it’s the parental role that plays important to highlight kids of the many advantages of indulging into the game of sports. Positive coaching begins at home to let the kids from sulking on sidelines due to lack of sports spirits at a game. By talking to kids, listening to their experiences on game play and setting positive examples, parents can help children develop life long skills for work and lead life’s trails with others in a positive manner. Easy conversations can guide the kid with examples ‘It’s not like him to behave in such manner on the field’ or pop up saying ‘Hey, his attitude is arrogant and he stands no chance to win’ Children often listen to the remarks and judge the attitude of the player. This makes them understand their own unusual behavior on the grounds. Sometimes, kids do not like his best player to lose the game and this calls for a statement like ‘He played well but maybe luck didn’t favor him’ and these very conversations with kids helps them cope up to situations. Kids often with a team face a knock off getting frustrated and losing a game. What went wrong is a concern and this calls to validate a child’s feeling even though a parent may not be happy with her performance or behavior. Let the kid learn from experience so as not to let this frustration flick back again. ‘Everyone likes to win but most of, its good you are enjoying and having fun’ should be the attitude that keeps the child hooked to the Sport. Competitions do not mean winning or standing first or in order. It gives opportunity to experience and find way out from losing to winning edge.

Often kids who are bad sports feel like they are under pressure from parents to win at all costs. Let not this feeling prick in the minds as good sportsmanship begins at home. Set the examples to kids and focus on own game play rules. Think, how you behave when you play a board game or when you play with kids. Think of the reaction when winning or losing a game or how often you blame the teacher or coach who taught the game rules. Look for the attitude of the parents of your child’s team-mates and find out whether they behave like good sports or not. This will help not only the parent but the child to develop the sportsmanship spirit to face the challenges. Whether one wins or lose, how the game played is important. Hence, follow the simple Freesouls rule to develop ideal sportsmanship skills, in a nutshell:

Converse with kids: Talk to them and set examples of positive Game rules. Be a role model to the child and offer praise words for the kid as well as his opponent friends. While attending a sport game or watching a television, never comment, openly criticize, tease or degrade any player who is at losing end. Do not compare the players with other country players but let the kid enjoy the game and judge for himself.

No Matter what your Taste : When a parent is interested in a certain game, he wishes that the child too follow his footsteps. This is one major mistake. It is necessarily not going to happen that the kid may be interested in the game you like.Be honest why you want the child to play the particular sport. Do you wish to make him a top player to nurture your dreams that did not fulfil? Do you wish to make him play for name, fame or money? A child’s participation in sport should not be a desire of a parent but the kid’s own inner wish that comes out from the first games that he plays and gradually develops or lose interest.

Motivate : Do not set rules. Motivate the child and encourage him to experience the basic game rules. It’s ultimate responsibility of the parent to teach good sportsmanship as a participant. If the child fails, do not blame the coach or if the coach allows or ignores poor sportsmanship, he need to be made alert about it.

Learn : When you adopt a game, its your choice but when your child plays a game, it might not be your taste. Learn to know the game and find out the rules. If it’s a game of Tennis, Squash or Billiards which you have never played, learn the game rules and trace out the players and their styles of playing. Read about the sport and this will help to understand the game and talk to the kid about it.

Watch : Watching a game is always a good idea. A car race is watched by many teenagers who even though could not imagine to take part in Formula racing, know the rules and has the excitement of the sport. Kids love to watch sports on television. Parental guidance plays its role here. Instead of staying tuned to watch only one game of choice Cricket, parents stand chance of making the kids watch to Olympic games, Tennis or the like. Ask of the child’s opinion on players performance, the foul play or the unsportsmanship conduct of players. This will be moments of ‘Teaching hour’ when the kid learns in chit chat way.

When kids participate in a game, parental calm and positive influence play a major role. They need to be treated with respect with no ridiculing, sarcastic remarks or let downs. Expectations may be towards winning way but sports should be ‘sharp one’ Attitude with lots of entertainment and humor. In a Team play, its more ‘We’ rather than ‘I’ should be the feeling and opponent team should be treated with courtesy and fairness. Intensive training and sports specialization is found in many kids involved in various activities and develop wide range of skills. Some kids train round the year or for compete level that forms a routine sport. Parents can keep check to levels of health hazards as intensive training often leads to problems of many health problems. Lack of balanced diet, heat stress, psychological development, muskuloskeletal injuries, cardiac cases are the factors that should not be ignored due to intensive training and competition participating schedules. Parental awareness makes a big difference.

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