Youth sports are among the greatest childhood memories people can look back on years, and even decades, down the road. If you ever played organized athletics at any point in your childhood, you probably have several fond moments you can instantly remember like it was yesterday, whether it was a home run hit in Little League or a funny moment on the high school basketball team bus. Athletic competition has been proven to have numerous valuable benefits for children as well.
Many kids have the opportunity to play for their school and/or club teams for their preferred sports, and while there are advantages to both, let’s take a look at some of the differences.
Club Teams
Club sports are usually going to be highly competitive in whatever athletic event players are competing in. It’s likely these organizations will have tryouts to make the team where the best players make it and those deemed to be less skilled by the coaches will not be welcomed to the squad.
Club sports are a great way for some of the best players to grow as they are competing with and against other skilled athletes. The step up in competition is designed for all players to develop and maximize their athletic capabilities with some of the best athletes in the given area.
If an athlete is looking to remain in competitive sports beyond high school, it might be necessary to take part in club teams so college coaches can get a better look at the players’ performance against better competition than they’d see at the school level.
School Teams
Playing school sports might often be less competitive than club sports, but there still are plenty of advantages as well, including playing with friends you may have known for years. Also, competing at the school level can teach athletes the importance of playing as a team, while players may try and take a game over by themselves at the club level especially if they are looking to get noticed by a college coach in attendance to see them play.
Additionally, there is something to be said for school pride, which can also translate to being an important morale builder among the community for the whole town to rally around.
Many athletes choose to specialize in one sport and play it all year round. This way, they can compete in their school season while also competing for a club team in the school team’s offseason. There is no perfect way to do it, but high school and club sports each have positive attributes that can help athletes develop as athletes and as people.
Picture Credit: Google Creative Commons Licenses, Pixabay
