On Friday, April 5, Athletics arena in Belgrade resonated with children’s voices, shouts of support and thunderous applause. Novak Djokovic Foundation gathered more than 150 children to celebrate the International Day of Sport for Peace and Development together. It was the perfect example of how play and sport promote peace, connect people and overcome all differences between us. In partnership with the Athletic Union of Serbia and Sports Association of people with disabilities of Belgrade, Novak Djokovic Foundation organized an event called “žChoose sports – believe in your inner champion”. Numerous sports activities were organized for the children, including long jump, high jump and relay race.

It was very inspiring to see how children root for one another and applaud even when someone makes a mistake. Our “little champions” have once again shown us that we can learn so much from them.

Victory grows if it is shared

We had the pleasure of meeting Vidak at the event, and he immediately proudly told us that he has just turned 8. When asked what victory means to him, Vidak gave a response that made us all laugh and also reminded us of what is actually important:

“For me, victory is fun and entertainment. I don’t like being alone, it’s boring! I like being with my friends a lot more.”

And Vidak is right! Each new life goal requires a lot of dedication and responsibility. But why wouldn’t we ask ourselves first “Do I like this experience/challenge? Does it light a passion, play, and fun inside me? Can I share it with someone? Can someone help me?”

Vidak (the blond boy in the middle), 8 years old, recognizes that it is more fun to go towards your goal alongside your friends.

Behind every obstacle lies joy

Children recognize that if they want to achieve something, they must do something over and over again until they become good at it. They acquire this natural feeling when they learn how to read and write, when they play their first etude or when they play basketball in the yard. But the key thing is that they are not aware of this. They do not see it as labor, but rather as fun and game with their friends.

“For me, victory is when you practice something, and you practice and practice and then in the end you succeed. But I love it the most when I practice with my teammates!”, says Kjara who is a member of Red Star athletics team.

However, at some point, when we become older, we lose that child’s sense of ease. It’s like all the things we could lose then overshadow the things we could gain. We lose patience and we want to be immediately good at everything. We are blindly focused only on the prize and we forget that the road to our goal should be another experience that enriches our life.

More than 150 children enjoyed various sports activities.

Team support is the biggest strength

On the break, we met Katarina, Ivana, and Marko. While they munched on apples and bananas, we asked them what victory means to them and what gives them strength.

“For me, victory is when we participate”, said Katarina.

“For me, victory is teamwork”, Ivan added quickly adding that he trains swimming alongside athletics.

And Ivana said that her friends from her athletics team give her the most strength.

Ivan, Ivana and Katarina reminded us all of the importance of the team spirit.

Friendship, not rivalry

Often, on the road to our goals, we encounter people who are equally good as we are. Then we experience some other feelings, such as jealousy and vanity, which only slow our personal development. It is important to set your goal at the very beginning because then you will remain focused. Remember that the point is not to be better than others, but better than yourself.

Let Katarina from the Red Star athletics club serve as an example. Even though Red Star and Partizan sports clubs are known as eternal rivals in Serbia, she was especially pleased to see members of Partizan athletics club present at the manifestation.

“I am very happy that I got to meet the Partizan team. It is actually not important where you train, it is important that you have fun!”

The greatest success of the “Choose sports – believe in your inner champion” manifestation, was that each kid made at least one new friend.

Our smiles shine brighter than medals

And what if you don’t win? Does all your effort and sacrifice go to waste then? For kids, this is not the end of the world. They just march forward braver and stronger. We can do it too if only we would remove the unnecessary obstacles in our heads. Just switch things up a little and ask yourself sometimes – “Why not?”

Our friend Dunja explained this perfectly:

“For me, victory is not to win something, but to try and give it our best!”

Coaches of three major domestic athletics teams – Red Star, Partizan and Vozdovac created the exercises just for this occasion.

Learn from our little champions and face the next challenge with a child’s curiosity. Don’t insist on having to achieve everything alone, but embrace the words of support from those who love you. This way, you will recognize more easily when someone else needs your help. Don’t forget – together we always finish first!

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Despite some might think sports are only a mere way of entertainment, it actually holds within its practice relevant features for children’s life development, such as helping them grow physical skills, make friends, get exercise, have fun, learn to play fair, learn to play as a member of a team and improve self-esteem.

Nonetheless, in contemporary society, sports culture has turn out to be more of a money making business thing rather than a means of having fun and learning, what becomes evident through the highly stressful, competitive, “win at all costs” approach which have been spread at colleges and even within the professional athletic environment.

The sad thing about this all is that these attitudes have a relevant impact on the world of children’s sports and athletics, creating an unhealthy environment where negative behaviours taught to children will be carried over by them to adult life.

Given this, it is up to parents to take an active role in creating the best way for their child to develop good sportsmanship, which includes a series of factors such as the following:

• Provide your children with emotional support and complimentary feedback.
• Keep your feet on the ground: have realistic expectations for them.
• Be present at some games and be sure to talk about their performances afterwards.
• Make an effort to learn about your children’s sport and support their involvement in it.
• Help them open up themselves with you about their experiences with the coach and the other team members.
• Teach them to be resilient: they must learn how to handle disappointments and to lose.
• Be an example: model respectful spectator behaviour.

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It is comprehensive that, in order to follow all these factors, time and work schedule are required; however, once you dive into it, you are certainly going to become more knowledgeable about the coaching, team values, behaviors, and attitudes. Your child’s behavior and attitude are nothing but a combination of the coaching and your discussions about good sportsmanship and fair play.

Another important thing to be taken into account is talking about what your child observes in sports events. For example, whenever bad sportsmanship occurs, discuss other alternatives through which the situation could have been faced. At first you may assume that in the heat of the competition it might be difficult to maintain both control and respect for others; however, stressing that disrespectful behavior is unacceptable is of utmost importance. Keep in mind that success doesn’t mean winning and failure doesn’t mean losing.

It is also very meaningful observing the methods used by your child’s coach. Whether you disagree with something, you both, as adults, might have a conversation about what is relevant for the children to learn. If the issue might not be changed, at least you have clearly shown how you would like your child to be taught. On the other hand, if you find the coach irresponsible, you might want to discuss the matter with those in control of the school or the league activities, and if the problem persists, you might want to withdraw your child.

Among other aspects, that is what it means to be a parent: being actively involved and talking with your children about their lives. Being proud of accomplishments, sharing in wins and defeats, and talking to them about what has happened leads them to grow within themselves skills and capacities for succeeding in life. Every lesson learnt during children’s sports have the power to shape values and behaviors for adult life.

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It also has a significant impact on the quality of our lives, not to mention the benefits sport has on our development starting from our early  age.

For the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace we came up with a particularly difficult but fun task, that helped  us recognize the huge impact sport has on so many lives all around the globe. We wanted you to sum up what sport means to you in only one word and share your video message with everyone over Social  Media.

In the spirit of this campaign, we opened new playgrounds for children in Srbobran, Stara Pazova, Gornji Milanovac and Novi Becej.  Many sporting activities, mini tournaments and similar events took place during the grand opening of the playgrounds. We hope that all of the boys and girls from these kindergartens  truly enjoyed playing and practicing various sports, socializing with their peers and making new friends.

Take a look at what others shared, and enjoy the video with everyone of us in the leading role.  Play sports and believe in yourself, just like we believe in you!

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Allowing children to participate in outdoor extracurricular activities, such as sports, helps them explore and develop skills which are considered beneficial throughout their lives. By participating in sports, children are exposed to various mental, social, emotional, physical and educational benefits. Some of these benefits are:

Developing Self-Esteem

Several studies have suggested that taking part in a sport can help in the development of your child’s self-esteem and confidence. Gestures such as a high-five from a teammate, a pat on the back, or a handshake, when a match is over, helps build confidence. Also, words of praise or of encouragement from the coach or players help build self-esteem. This also helps them learn to trust their own abilities and push themselves in their pursuits. However, one thing that should be remembered is that their self-esteem should not be distinguished based on winning or losing. Constructive criticism should be a major part in helping children learn about accepting their weaknesses and working on them to improve themselves. To do this you could encourage your child to play sports, and always ask them whether they enjoyed it or not, rather than whether they won or lost.

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Social Skills

Playing a sport helps children develop social skills which would benefit them even when they grow older. Playing sports teaches them about teamwork and cooperating with others. They learn to interact with people from different ages. Also, joining a sports team helps give children a sense of belonging and gives them an opportunity to make friends. With more friendship circles it would help improve their communication skills, which will help them in their future careers and relationships.

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Accept Defeat at Times

In most of the things you do in life, there will be a winner and a loser. Through sports your child can learn sportsmanship. They can learn how to accept and cope with losses rather than feeling completely defeated. You cannot win them all, and through sports, your child can understand that sometimes it’s okay if you lose. The important part is to get back up and try again.

There’s no harm in being competitive, but if you lose you should show good sportsmanship and accept defeat. No one likes to be around a sore loser who doesn’t respect the rules, and this brings us to the next point.

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Maintain Discipline

Any sport requires the athletes to maintain discipline. This discipline could be mental, physical, or tactical. To become better in any sport you require discipline. Without self-restraint it would be hard to succeed in any sport. Discipline helps the player achieve their goals and also reach their fullest potential.

In sports your child would need to follow a set of rules, take orders and accept decisions made by the coach. Good discipline is appreciated in sports, as there are penalizations for bad discipline. By listening to the coach and peers, your child would learn an important life skill which would help him throughout their career and life.

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There’s No I in Team

Teamwork is a necessary skill to learn from an early age. A team cannot succeed unless they work together. Sports provide children with the important lesson of learning how to work in a team. Everyone has to come together to achieve the goal. By working together they will learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and will be better able to decide and strategize the best plan for the team. This will without a doubt help them in their future lives and careers as well.

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There are various benefits of sports for your child. This list is not exhaustive. There are several other benefits such as a healthier living, more academic integrity, medical fitness, etc. All of these benefits just goes to show how much a child can learn outside the classroom as well. However, to get your child to play a sport you may need to encourage them. You can help your child become active in sports in several ways:

•              You could be physically active in sports yourself. This would help them as you are leading by example.
•              Support your child’s efforts in sports. Try to be there for every match that your child plays, for encouragement.
•              Try to limit the time spent on sedentary activities such as watching television or playing computer games.
•              Play a sport along with your child.

So why wait any longer? Get your child enrolled in a sport which they want to learn. While you’re at it you should try learning it as well!

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Many aspects of a child’s life are connected to being competitive: in kindergarten, some children can do something faster or better than other children can. In school, some children do very well in spelling or they always win in sports. While it is important for parents to teach children to win and succeed, teaching them to lose is just as important. By showing them that losing is not the end of the world, children learn that life is full of second chances.

What Can Children Learn from Winning?

Winning a game or being the best in the class gives children a good feeling about themselves and makes them proud. It shows them that they are good at something which builds their self-confidence.

A confident child is more likely to develop a ‘can-do-attitude’. This is because the experience of winning helps children get motivated to take the next steps to achieve even bigger goals, such as jumping even further. Competition is also helpful to inspire children to do more than is required. This is an ability that prepares children for a variety of situations in their future lives, when it is up to them to make the decision whether they want to be part of the crowd or to be recognized for going a step further. In that sense, winning competitions helps children to succeed.

The feeling of winning prepares children to think more strategically. In board games, children know that they can only win by being more clever than their opponents and children who know that they need to follow the rules will start thinking more strategically in order to win the game. Placing emphasis on thinking more strategically to win games also helps children win by learning to follow the rules. By winning and following the rules, children learn that they can win without cheating, but by accepting the same set of rules that the opponent has to follow.

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Games Are Not Just about Winning

For parents, it is important to remember that there is a lot more to winning a competition, says Kenneth Barish a professor of Psychology. Every competition is a socializing experience for children. Participating in competitions in kindergarten, at school or at the playground can help parents teach their kids about the importance of teamwork, commitment to a task, cooperation and respect for the opponent. Every game is also an opportunity for children to learn to play by the rules. Even though these rules seem arbitrary to children, they need to learn that rules serve particular purposes. Competitions are a good place to demonstrate the reasons behind the rules to children to help them understand them and follow them.

What Can Children Learn from Losing?

The feeling of losing and moving on are particular skills children need to develop in order to deal with negative experiences in life when they become older. It might not seem fair to children that one kid can do something faster or better than they can, but parents can teach their children that everyone has different talents and that it is impossible to be good at everything.

Research has shown that losing games is helpful for children because it teaches them to show empathy and cope with the experience of losing.

Christine Carter, who has published books on parenting, says that children need to practice losing in order to be able to cope when they lose in a competition in front of their peers.

Children who do not experience losing can grow up to be anxious, because they start seeing the possibility of not winning as some form of harm and they cannot deal with situations that do not go their way.

Losing a game is the only way for children to learn from their mistakes and think about strategies to improve. When children improve their skills and win the next time, they do not only get better at the sport or game, but they also learn something new. Learning new things increase children’s confidence and their self-belief and they start to be proud of their abilities.

When children lose, they also learn to identify themselves with others who have lost. Melody Brook, a therapist in Texas, says that the experience of coping with loss is helping children to show empathy towards other children in the same position. A child that has never lost a game will not realize that everyone struggles in life.

Finally, losing shows children that they need to work hard in order to have success, because good things are not just handed over to them. These situations also help children to lose with grace in front of others and to be seen as a fair loser.

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But there’s something they do before and after (and sometimes during) a game or match that is just as important as knowing how to play the sport: Stretching.

Why it’s important

Stretching is important for people of all ages to prevent injuries, improve athletic performance and encourage a healthy lifestyle.¹ [tweet_quote]For children, stretching helps them increase their flexibility from a young age[/tweet_quote] (something that gets increasingly more difficult as they get older).

• Preventing injuries: Playing sports, running around outside or playing on a playground demand a level of physical activity that could cause injuries if children aren’t careful. Stretching prior to these activities will help them from pulling muscles and help their joints move through a full range of motion. Stretching will also help avoid stiffness after the activity.
• Improving performance: Stretching increases flexibility, allowing children to perform better in their athletic activities. Flexibility is extremely helpful for all sports, including gymnastics, tennis, swimming and soccer.
• Starting healthy habits young: When a child learns how to stretch from a young age, as they get older, they will learn to listen to their body more as they get older, recognizing aches and pains.

Yoga by Elvert Barnes | CC

Types of stretches

There are numerous stretches that are safe and suitable for children to do before an activity:²

• Shoulder blade stretch: Stand with arms outstretched and parallel to the ground. With thumbs pointing toward the ground, stretch arms back and try to touch your palms. Hold the position while breathing normally, release and repeat.
• Toe touch: Keep a flat back and bend at the waist. Touch your shins, then your toes, then the floor, which will help loosen hamstring muscles (in the back of the thighs).
• Quadriceps stretch: Stand near a wall for support, if needed. Bend your right knee back so the foot comes toward your bottom. Grab your right ankle with your right hand. Hold and repeat with your left leg.
• Calf Stretch: Stand by a wall and place both hands against the wall so arms are straight. Step your right foot back and bend your left knee, keeping your right leg straight and right heel on the floor. Keep your back straight and hips and toes pointing toward the wall. Switch legs and repeat.
• Tricep stretch: Raise your right arm straight up overhead with palm facing toward your head. Bend your help so your fingers touch the middle of your upper back. Grab your right elbow with your left hand and gently pull back until you feel the stretch. Switch arms and repeat.
• Butterfly stretch: In a seated position, place the soles of your feet together and hold them with your hands to form the butterfly “wings.” Gently press your knees down to increase the stretch.

For more stretching ideas, enjoy this great video from the Jason Taylor Foundation:

Important tips

• Stretching should last around 5-10 minutes prior to athletic activities with each stretch being held for 10-30 seconds.
• Don’t reach a point in your stretches where you feel pain. Stretching should never be uncomfortable.
• Avoid bobbing during stretches, which could cause damage to muscle tissue.
• Stretch both sides to ensure equality in muscles.
• Stretch regularly to maintain flexibility.
• Remember to breathe.

[tweet_quote]The best part about stretching? No equipment required![/tweet_quote] Plus, your child will feel better and enjoy their activities even more.

1. http://www.livestrong.com/article/515934-importance-of-stretching-for-kids/
2. http://familyfitness.about.com/od/kidssports/ss/Kids-Stretching-Exercises.htm

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