MONTHLY SPOTLIGHTS

Leadership Sports Leagues Creating Great Athletes through Sportsmanship

Thirty-two percent of our members surveyed believe that there’s room to grow their teamwork skills. One way we are filling this gap is through our Leadership Sports Leagues where all Club members aged 6-14 are encouraged to participate in various sports leagues and activities to develop their coordination, communication, and teamwork skills. According to Autumn Dodge, a Youth Development Professional at our Bridgman school sites, not only are sports important for building lifelong skills, they also provide kids with an outlet to cope with some of the challenges they may be facing on a daily basis. It's important for kids to feel a sense of accomplishment even if it’s something as small as just trying something new.

Just like being great at sports, becoming a great leader takes a lot of hard work. We are encouraging all of our members to be great leaders inside the Clubs and out in the community. One important skill set our members are learning through our Leadership Sports Leagues is conflict resolution. Things don’t always go the way we plan them in sports, sometimes there are bad calls or the ball doesn’t always bounce our way but how we choose to handle those situations is controllable. Seventy-one percent of our members surveyed say that when they have a problem with other people their age they choose to talk it over with that person rather than argue. 

According to William K., an 11 year-old member at F.C. Reed Middle School, sports at the Club involve everyone that wants to play. William continued by saying that while playing a variety of sports at the Club he has improved his overall athletic ability and made more friends with people that he doesn’t see at school on a daily basis. 

Learn about how you can get involved in coaching a Leadership Sports League.