Competitive Sports as Lifetime Activities

Certainly competitive sports can be an appro¬priate way to stay physically active. Many communities have full leagues for sports such as basketball, volleyball, and softball. Most of these sports provide appropriate activity, but this isn't always the case, especially with softball, for example, where sometimes a participant may get less activity from playing in a game than he or she would from raking the leaves or going on a moderately paced walk. However, even though many adults do participate in competitive sports throughout their entire lives, the majority of older adults do not choose competition as a means for developing and maintaining health-related fitness. Thus, while it is important to provide support to the student who currently values athletics, it is even more important to make it clear to the rest of your students that participating in sports is not necessary to achieving or maintaining health-related fitness-it is simply one option for those who are interested. Help your students set realistic competitive and noncompetitive expectations for themselves, based on interest, time, and other factors. Point out that adults who do compete generally do so for fun, not glory, status, or money. Invite local adult sport league participants to share with your students the various sports available in your community