I can think of no other equivalent to youth sports for learning life lessons. I know that each sport has it's own culture and environment, but each has similar characteristics as well. Namely, you need to put in the work to enjoy any sort of sustained success. There are so many relevant things to learn about in sport, that in my opinion it is a disservice to any child not to have them in at least one team sport; and preferably in one individual sport as well.
Take the team sport first. Learning that there are multiple positions on a team, and that each role is critical to the teams success, is a pretty big one to come to grips with. What's more is that as a player on a team, you can't be in every role at once. Yes, you can jump in and out of roles, but you can't play all of them at once. You can play your position really well, but you cannot control the game entirely. The selfish player who only looks for glory at the risk of alienating him or her self in an attempt to satisfy only self is often shunned. Individuals play golf. Individuals aren't welcome in a team dressing room. Team is sacrifice. That of course would be the ultimate level of team. Thankfully, youth will learn the lessons of what doesn't work in a team format, because they are still just figuring it all out. There will be teammates who are along for the ride, whose oars are not in the water paddling in the same direction. There will be some who opt out of every practice because preparation isn't as fun as the game. This happens specifically when the practice time is inconvenient in its timing (see the early morning practice blog a ways back).
Team sport allows a young person to trust in the idea of a teammate as well. Someone who may help them when they make a mistake. They may also realize that when a mistake is made, it costs the entire team bringing an entirely different realm of responsibility in. Learning self control for the good of others is a great team lesson. Having an opportunity to step up and lead in any given play can be great for the young player looking to boost confidence. Social opportunities galore come up through youth sport as well. Fund raising efforts in order to attend special events. All of these are fantastic lessons for youth if they are done correctly. We can probably all relate to a co-worker today who could have used a few more lessons in team sport?
Individual sport also has its place. Nothing speaks higher to work effort and ethic than to have the entire performance resting on your own shoulders. Badminton, Golf, Swimming, Gymnastics, etc. are all examples of individual sports that put the player in a position that they have to act. Who can be blamed for poor performance when playing a solo sport? Individual strengths and weaknesses are glaring in an individual sport. There is no one to bail you out. Conditioning becomes a part of the game, and ultimately the biggest thing in my opinion is mental fitness. The fact that every play is on the individual ensures that some level of stress is going to be felt. Keeping emotion in check and learning to overcome adversity on your own makes you a better teammate when it comes to playing team sports. The individual sporting world is an ideal breeding ground for those traits.
The other part of individual sport, particularly golf, that I feel is a good lesson for youth is that sometimes you will hit a great shot, or make a fantastic play, but you just don't get the break. That life isn't always fair. That what deserved to be rewarded wasn't and an unlucky bounce can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. An official could make an error that costs the match. The same holds true when a good bounce comes when it truly wasn't deserved. Ever shank a golf ball into the woods only to find it had hit a tree and landed in the middle of the fairway with a much better lie than the person who striped it up the middle and had it run down to the rough? Sometimes, you get a lucky break as well. You learn gratitude.
Resiliency is a huge lesson in sport. The blades are dull on your skates; the lace breaks on your gloves webbing; a ball hits you in the face that hurts but isn't an "injury". All of these things could cause the unseasoned athlete to quit. The lessons learned to find a way to carry on will serve that person for life.
Yes, there are all sorts of lessons here and in my twenty minutes of typing I will merely land on the tip of the iceberg. To truly experience the benefit of sport there is no replacement to feel the joy and the sorrow of winning and losing than to jump into whatever arena you fancy. The sweet taste of victory, and the ache of defeat. The thrill of a game winning shot or the rejection of the one that missed. It's important to be placed in all of those scenarios when all that counts in the end is the score of a game. When life gives you some of these same tests, when you need to step up and take the "shot "; and things are truly on the line, it is good practice to know how to react. In a time where we could use more resilience than ever; consider sport as an arena to help round out some life lessons for your kid. It may just make the difference for them down the road, and as an added bonus, a tired kid is a quiet kid so it may just help you out as well.