Recently, I have been watching the U.S Open, a huge tennis tournament held in New York every year. I have always had a great appreciation for the sport and have been playing since third grade. One of my favorite aspects about tennis is that it is an individual sport, meaning that for the most part you are out on the court playing by yourself. This got me thinking, is it more beneficial to play an individual sport rather than a team sport?
According to NY Metro Parents, “In a sport like tennis, a player is responsible for every move he makes. His success is his own, but so is his disappointment — a combination that can quickly build confidence and self-esteem along with coping skills and resilience.” Individual sports have a very positive effect on psychological aspects of the athlete, especially if the athlete is a child. By being all by themselves, they are forced to make the best decisions on their own to ensure a win and in turn learn responsibility and independence. These abilities being absolutely vital through life outside of the sport.
Also, individual sports create an environment in which the athlete has to motivate themselves in order to reach their goals. Learning self motivation is clearly important in the real world, in which the athletes can motivate themselves well in order to reach goals without being dependent on others. Recently in the U.S Open a match with Andy Murray and Kevin Anderson lasted over 4 hours, and both men were clearly tired. Eventually, the underdog, Anderson, won the match. He had to rely completely on himself for over 4 hours, in order to keep going and play his hardest to win. Moments like these deserve appreciation, especially for individual sports.
Although these sports have obvious benefits, team sports still have a lot to offer. In a team setting it shows the importance of relying on others, and working together to reach a common goal. Family Fitness states, “ the responsibility for success is equally shared out between all members of the team.” Due to this, there is less pressure on each athlete, which decreases stress and establishes strong bonds between team members. Being able to work with others is important in the real world as well.
So are individual sports better than team sports after all? The answer is really based on each athletes preference, and what they want in a sport. Trying out a bunch of sports is important, and eventually you will find a sport that fits your personality and what you like. I will always have a stronger preference towards individual sports, but everybody is different. Either way, sports are psychologically and physically beneficial.
As someone who played both individual sports through tennis and team sports through field hockey I would say that team sports are more beneficial for an athlete. Through team sports an individual is able to push him or herself to better themselves as an individual player and strengthen themselves on specific skills they would like to, all with the support of a team. Furthermore, team sports provide an environment of growth and support as an athlete. There is someone always pushing and motivating you to be better. Comradery itself is enough to favor team sports as there is nothing quite like growing close to a group of girls (or guys) on a team in which each player is working towards the same goal for the team.
I think individual and team sports are both beneficial in their own way. I’ve only ever played soccer, basketball, and volleyball, which are all team sports. I liked having the support of my teammates where at times we seemed like a family. It allowed me to form bonds and relationships with friends that I think is harder to do with individual sports. But I do see how in individual sports, there is a lot of pressure being put on the player and you learn to take responsibility for everything. I know from past experiences that with team sports, blaming someone else for a mistake is easier than taking responsibility for it yourself. There are some athletes that do better when put in a team environment and then there are others who would rather be alone when they perform. I definitely agree that it has to do with your personality and I think that is important to remember when picking a sport to play. In your blog when you said about having less pressure in a team sport because responsibility is equally shared, I think this can be true for some players; but at times for me, I felt a lot of pressure to perform to the best of my ability because I didn’t want to let my teammates down. Does anyone else feel the same way or do they feel less stressed in a team environment?
I also play tennis and have been wondering the same thing! I love how I have to be independent and work on improving myself instead of relying on others to help me, but in high school I played for my team and liked the feeling of my teammates cheering me on. I agree that its up to personal preference and both sports are beneficial.