Whether they’re skating, running, swimming, or kicking, kids learn multiple new movement skills by participating in team sports. They also learn the importance of working together with teammates to achieve success, even when they’re not on the same page. These are valuable skills that they’ll carry with them into their adult lives. In fact, one study found that students who played team sports in high school had GPAs 10% higher than their non-team-sport counterparts.
Many people enjoy watching team contact sports, such as football and basketball. The keen interest in these events goes beyond just spectating and extends to social interaction and the formation of strong loyalties to particular teams. People are also apt to make subjective evaluations of the comparative skill levels of players and the perceived unfairness of officiating decisions (e.g., “trash-talking”).
A team sport is a sport that requires a fixed number of players to compete. This contrasts with individual sports such as gymnastics, figure skating, archery and shooting, which are usually performed as solo performances. A sport can be considered a team sport regardless of the number of players or the format, as long as the sport is not practiced exclusively as an individual performance.
The most important difference between team and individual sports is that, in a team sport, the outcome of a competition depends on the collective efforts of all members of a given team throughout a game or match. This differs from a sport such as track and field, where a team tally is kept and the camaraderie of being part of a group makes it feel like a team sport, even though individual athletes are not competing against each other directly.
Team sports can also include synchronized swimming, doubles tennis, and relay races, in which each team member contributes to the overall score with their own effort, but the success of the team depends on a coordinated effort by all members. The team element in these sports can be enhanced by the use of specific team formations and coordination between competitors, as seen in a figure skating routine or a relay race where smooth transitions are critical.
Despite the camaraderie and sense of belonging that comes with being on a team, team sports are not without their disadvantages. The rigors of training and the demands of competition can take a toll on both the body and the spirit, especially for elite-level athletes such as those who compete at the Olympic level. They must be able to overcome the pressure of being held to a high standard by coaches and other members of their team, even when they’re not on the best of terms with them.
This is why some athletes who aren’t stars at the elite level may still choose to participate in team sports at the youth, high school and college levels. They want the opportunity to contribute to a winning effort, even if their talents won’t allow them to be a star in the open 400 or a medal-winning Olympic sprinter.