Basketball is one of the most popular played sports in America. It has been played since the early 1900's. Young children, teens, and adults have played this sport every day at their public basketball courts or at their own homes. While they are enjoying the benefit of the fun of the game, and terrific physical exercise, there are other wonderful lifelong skills being developed. While participating in basketball, they are learning valuable life lessons such as being team, task, and goal-oriented. These lessons will help people throughout their lifetime.
In playing basketball a player must learn how to work with his teammates to win the game. It takes communication and coordinated movements with the fellow players to make a great winning team. When a person does not pass the ball to another open teammate because he is trying to do everything by himself to win, the entire team can suffer. A lot of people like to call this person a "ball hog" because they keep the ball all to themselves. In life, people who do not work with others will find it more difficult to accomplish their tasks. Even highly skilled brain surgeons require the help of assistants to perform surgeries. When a person knows they can depend on a teammate, they can better achieve their desires. Everyone benefits when people work cooperatively together. .
While teamwork is very important, people must also be task-oriented. When an individual plays basketball, they know they must focus on the task at hand and what needs to be done. Learning to focus and direct attention towards the matter at hand is another life-long skill. Through the art of knowing how to take care of the immediate task, a person is better equipped for achieving long-time goals. It's like saving pennies to get the dollars. Staying on task to accomplish what needs to be done now, leads to the ultimate goals later. For instance, a task-oriented player will practice to develop their skills.