| Although baseball calls itself America's pastime and | | | | responsively as they have to work together. They |
| football considers itself to be a uniquely American | | | | have to learn to share; they have to come together |
| sport, when you drive across town on any Saturday | | | | as a conglomerate to meet a common goal and help |
| morning you will see hundreds of kids without bats | | | | each other achieve the best in its pursuit. All of these |
| and without helmets, playing one game: soccer. | | | | attributes encourage childhood development and |
| Although it fails to make the professional scene in | | | | allow kids to make friends across cultural boundaries |
| America, soccer for children has become a growing | | | | and neighborhood fences. For particularly shy children |
| enterprise offering the best of athleticism to a full | | | | who were not able to translate school into a social |
| and healthy childhood. Why is soccer so good for | | | | circle a soccer team provides an instant set of |
| kids? | | | | companions, and a way to experiment with |
| Fighting obesity | | | | interaction in a safe and healthy environment. |
| Between videogames and families that do not eat at | | | | It's fun |
| home anymore, children have a hard time staying fit | | | | Living more healthfully and learning to make friends |
| and healthy. Junk food diets, sedentary lifestyle, and | | | | are good goals to have for anybody entering a sport, |
| parents who work and are rarely home or involved in | | | | but the other key to soccer is that its fun. Soccer |
| their lives have led America's children down a spiraling | | | | offers a sense of self-esteem and well being children |
| trend towards childhood obesity. Obesity doesn't | | | | can develop as they see their accomplishments grow. |
| simply affect children as they experience their youth, | | | | Soccer involves both mental challenge and physical |
| but will carry into lifelong habits and lead to the | | | | movement in a way that a videogame could never |
| proliferation of diseases such as heart disease, | | | | offer. Instead of sitting inside learning about |
| diabetes and other weight related syndromes. The | | | | enjoyment through violent games, expensive toys or |
| best way to combat childhood obesity is to | | | | isolating television, soccer allows kids to be outside |
| encourage parents to provide good eating | | | | developing healthy body, healthy mind and healthy |
| alternatives for the children and to get kids off of | | | | esteem. |
| the couch and into the park. Soccer with its ease of | | | | We have spent a lot of time in our society creating |
| play and lack of equipment is a perfect sport to allow | | | | technological advances so that we could work less |
| kids to run, jump and keep their bodies more healthy. | | | | and enjoy more. Unfortunately the reverse seems to |
| Social skills | | | | have happened. The more technologically based we |
| One of the best things about teaching soccer to | | | | have become the more sedentary, unhealthy and |
| children is that it is a team sport and involves many | | | | distant from one another we have grown. Teaching |
| of the skills children need to succeed in their future | | | | children to play soccer and be part of the team may |
| development. To play soccer kids need to learn how | | | | be one of the best antidotes for the 21st century. |
| to communicate with one another respectfully and | | | | |