Basketball isn’t just a good sport for your physical health, it’s also good for mental health too. There are now many different mental health benefits for campers when they play basketball. Some of them might even see basketball as a unique type of therapy, to help them deal with physical and mental health issues.
Here, we’ll go over some of the unique ways that basketball improves one’s mental fortitude, and the healing that comes with this as well.
Improves Self-Confidence
Many campers realize that they improve their own self-confidence when they play.You’re not just one guy versus an entire group of people. You’re a team. You can work with your team members to feel motivated, encourage others, and support others. This leads to overall positive growth, and it can extend to many other areas a s well.Some people who play basketball start to realize that there is a newfound belief in oneself, your abilities, and overall confidence.
Lowering Stress
Many athletes, regardless of age, deal with stress.
Stress is not good for you, as it puts strain on the body, and can lead to heart issues, too much cortisol, and even high blood pressure.
When you play basketball, you boost endorphins, which are the happy hormones. It also lowers cortisol too.
Sure there’s the stress of winning the game, but when you’re focused and concentrated, that stress goes away.
When players practice mindfulness exercises such as meditative breathing before they play a game, they’ll find they’re more focused.
This lowers depression, improves one’s self-esteem, and enhances performance. For many basketball players, even when the game is stressful, they don’t feel as much anxiety as they may do in other sports.
So yes, basketball can improve mental fortitude by reducing stress, and improving overall wellness too.
Improves Communication Skills
When you’re on a basketball team, you’ll have to communicate both verbally and nonverbally.
It’s therapeutic, because you’ll be listened to and heard. When you work together, everyone has a chance to say something and the other athletes will listen to what you have to say.
Whether it’s communication before, or even after game practices, it helps you learn how to speak up, say what you want, and fosters positive communications. This positivity can help your overall mental health by giving you a better feeling in life. It encourages better decisions, and overall well-being too.
So yes, don’t be afraid to say things when playing basketball! It can make a world of a difference, and overall improve the state of mind that you have.
Power of positivity
Basketball is therapeutic because it encourages positivity.
In our world, there’s a lot of negativity that’s sitting there, festering like an open wound.
When you’re positive, and focus on positivity, it’s good for everyone involved. You’re less focused on the sadness of winning or not winning, and instead focused on the good parts of life.
Team work, team spirit, and working together builds a community. It broadens your experience.
You’ll also be able to play graciously, fairly, regardless of how your performance outcome is.
Teammates can also provide better support, which in turn helps everyone be positive role models all across the board for each other.
Basketball is good for physical and mental health, and it provides a positive, therapeutic atmosphere for you to engage with. Now that you know this, work on trying to bring forth positivity to your teammates. Next time you’re at camp, practice mindfulness and understanding, and you’ll see a difference in the overall ways people act, and the power of teamwork, and team spirit.
Basketball Brilliance: Your Camp Companion 