There are a lot of reasons for your children to choose hockey as their pastime. If they prefer winter sports to summer sports, if they have a perfect balance of ice and aren’t afraid of speed, hockey is the perfect sport for them. Here are some other hints you can choose to motivate your children to take up this activity.
Fostering New Friendships
Hockey is a team sport and requires a lot of collaboration between teammates. By choosing hockey as their passion, children will find like-minded friends that they have to collaborate with. All of that is important for children’s social and emotional development, as well as the feeling of belonging to some group with a mutual goal.
Having Fun
Hockey games and practice sessions are dynamic from the beginning till the end, which can keep children focused all the time. Since the younger generations have a short attention span, hockey would keep their attention by constant workouts and the competition at the ice rink. Therefore, children would rarely feel bored.
The Speed of Reaction
Gliding on the ice accelerates your natural speed of movement, and therefore your reactional impulses are faster than usual. In that way, kids are educated to react effectively when faced with a certain issue that requires a rapid physical response. They also get used to the speed and that habit can easily transfer to other activities requiring high speed – driving the car, riding the bike, roller skating, etc.
Safety First
When practicing hockey, children develop a sense of safety in a non-regular environment at all times. The ability to control your body when forced into an uncomfortable position is the crucial objective of hockey practice sessions. They learn how to dodge the unwanted shot, how to avoid hitting other players, and how to land safely on the ice if there is a chance of falling. All of this contributes to the basic survival skill, which makes hockey an exquisite sport.
Coordination
Children develop different kinds of coordination through hockey. First, they work equally on their gross motor skills, such as activating leg and torso muscles, and fine motor skills, such as eye-hand coordination. They also learn how to handle the stick and puck when moving rapidly, all of that under the heavy equipment. The matter of great importance is that hockey activates the stomach and back muscles, which provide kids with adequate posture.
Balance
Finding a balance on the ice is the crucial thing for your kids to feel more powerful than usual. Once they achieve balance on their skates, they become aware of their whole body – their joints, their muscles, their posture, and their strength. This can also help children find balance in other activities they do – dancing, swimming, riding a bike, standing on one leg, etc. In that way, they get to know their bodily limits and the opportunity to surpass them.
Confidence
The moment they feel at the ice rink like at home, the kids boost their confidence. In this way, the kids become aware of their strong and weak points, their advantages, and their limitations. Therefore, they are provided with the opportunity to work on their weak points, surpass their bodily limits, and further work on their strong points.