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Soccer Mom, Start Your Engine

 (Published in Metrowest Lifestyle Magazine, August 2006)

By Mariano Velazquez, LCSW

 Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Many adolescents are either entering for the first time or returning to High School this year.  As parents, we are concerned about academic achievement, and we hope they will do well so they can ensure a successful future.  Academics alone, however, may not be enough to ensure that your adolescent will be successful in life.  Many parents forget or neglect the importance that sports and social activities play in an adolescent’s life and development.  Parents should motivate their adolescent to participate in a sport or social activity sanctioned by the school or even outside of school.

            Sports and social activities help adolescents to fine tune their physical abilities and social skills.  A person with good social skills for the most part will be more successful in a work setting than someone with poor social skills.  Involvement in sports and social activities helps to reduce stress through exercise and emotional involvement with others.

            Social activities help develop camaraderie, loyalty, team work, a sense of purpose and responsibility as well as cooperation.  People working together to achieve a common goal are able to develop unity and mutual encouragement.  Adolescents who are involved in sports and social activities also learn discipline which can benefit them in the classroom.  They also learn to share values and ideas with others whom they might not have had the opportunity were it not for these experiences.  Because adolescents from many different ethnic backgrounds come together through sports and social activities, they are provided the opportunity to develop tolerance and acceptance of others who might be different from themselves.  Some social activities provide adolescents opportunities to mentor or help others, allowing them to develop a sense of altruism and a sense of confidence.

            Adolescents who are involved in sports or social activities often exert influence on others and are accepted by other teens because they show a common interest.  When adolescents are involved in these activities, parents know where they are which helps to bring about piece of mind knowing they are involved in something that is positive and healthy.

            When adolescents demonstrate an attraction to some sport or activity in which they have never participated, parents should not discourage them, but be supportive of their curiosity and desire by allowing them to decide for themselves if that activity is the right one.  If possible, parents should involve themselves in their teen’s activities when they are needed; this demonstrates their support and approval as well as encouragement.