Sports and Music Have A Lot in Common (And Both Matter)

Playing sports is so much fun! When I was a kid I loved swimming, kickball, softball, track, and gymnastics, and to this day I still love competitive swimming and weightlifting. Watching sports builds community. I loved watching, and being a part of the world coming together to watch the Olympics! There are so many reasons people love playing and watching sports, and there’s so much kids can get out of being on a team.

2 kids playing soccer

Sports teach us who we are

One of the things I really love about sports is the team aspect. When you’re part of a team, it can feel like you matter a little more. You have a place, you have community. Being on a team can give kids purpose. They do things that are hard for the sake of the team, and they learn that they can be and do more than they thought they could. And then there’s making friends who like to do the same things as you — it feels like they get you.

As a kid, I did both sports and music. I learned different things from each. From sports, I learned that I could keep pushing those last few inches of freestyle to touch the wall at top speed rather than coasting. I learned that I could do those last few laps when I thought I was spent. I had fun waiting around at swim meets with my friends for my turn to race. I learned to win, and to lose (I really never loved that part.) I learned that I could work hard for the sake of the team, and do things that were harder than I believed I was capable of. Good life lessons that have stuck with me to this day.

Music teaches us similar things, in a different way

Music taught me similar life skills. As a kid I learned that even when I thought a beautiful piece of music was out of reach, I could eventually learn to play it if I kept trying. I experienced so much joy when I sat with my family in the living room and we sang Christmas carols together with the lights off and the gentle glow of our flocked tree with blue lights (it was the 60’s, haha). It was fun to be in a choir of 200 high school kids, singing at ASU’s Grady Gammage Theater with my parents in the audience. The feeling of being part of something so beautiful and magical was beyond what I could describe. None of these can compare to the happiness I feel when I get to sing and play with my own kids, and now, with my grandkids.

Sports and music both teach kids they can do more than they thought they could. Both build community, and both build strength and confidence.

Playing sports is fun, and it has huge benefits for growing kids, including for their musicality, which is a conversation for another day! I’m a fan of both. We can talk about how they’re different another day, and I can hardly wait for that conversation!

As always, have so much fun!

kids choir

P.S. At Little Bird Piano Academy®, we’re coming up on our annual Ensemble Festival, making music together and creating those connections with other musicians that give us purpose and belonging outside ourselves. Like team sports, but without the competition. If you’re part of this group, please be thinking about ways to keep it fun and non-competitive. You’ll never regret having patience, and fun, with your child and with yourself!