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Four Awesome Benefits of Playing Soccer

This post was sponsored by Mondelez International as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received compensation as a thank you for my review.

I love my kids. Have I mentioned how much I just totally love them? They’re just cool cats. They’re observant, silly, say the funniest things, and are smarter than all get out.

My son has ADHD, which puts him into an “invisible special needs” category. He requires just a little extra, but to look at him, you wouldn’t necessarily notice it. He knows about it, and it’s just something we deal with.

Four ways that kids benefit from playing soccer

In order to help him face his challenges head on, we’re working on things like self-calming, following instructions, and focusing techniques. How do we work on these skills? Practice, practice, practice!

A great way to teach our son about these skill is through sports. We’ve tried a few different kinds of sports, but for group sports and skills, we love soccer!

Four benefits of playing soccer

1. Rules – there are specific rules that one must follow in soccer. This is great for developing minds. They learn parameters and structure. Everyone follows the same rules, so they know what to expect. And best of all, when they start out young, they learn the rules little by little. At 5 and 6, they learn to kick the ball toward the goal and not to use their hands.

Kids benefit from playing soccer

2. Teamwork – Soccer is a great sport to learn to play with others. You pass and run and kick together. Everyone is working toward the same goal (see what I did there?!) and when it’s their time to take a break, kids learn to cheer on their teammates. They see that the team is a cohesive unit, and that no one is more important than the others on the team. This is SO great to learn, especially at a young age.

3. Exercise – I don’t know what it is about things that are good for kids, but they seem to have a sixth sense for it. Like vegetables, chores and exercise. They almost need to be tricked into it, right? Soccer is seriously so good for their bodies. It’s good for their hearts, getting their blood pumping. They’re not in front of a screen. They’re interacting with other kids and breathing fresh air.

4. Satisfaction with a job well done – I love to cheer on my little guy when he plays. Even if he doesn’t always do a great job, I still tell him he did because he gave it his best. And that is what’s so important. Sometimes we forget that part and suck the fun out of sports. Our kids deserve a pat on the back and a, “great job!” when they get out there and try.

Soccer is great for development and skill teaching

See that picture above? My little guy assisted in a goal. He didn’t make it himself, but he was so proud of his hard work and we cheered him on like you wouldn’t believe. Kids need to know their parents and family are cheering them on and rooting for them. It’s so good for their self-esteem and morale. Everyone deserves to know someone is in their corner.

Unfortunately, not every kid has the opportunity to be in organized sports. And some soccer teams have trouble finding funding for their teams for gear and uniforms. Pass the Love and the maker of OREO cookies, RITZ BITZ crackers and CHIPS AHOY! cookies wants to bridge that divide and offer nationwide funding for communities that need help with soccer resources.

You can help by purchasing the multi-packs that support Pass the Love Back. (And hey, what a great idea for a soccer snack!) They’re available at all major retailers. The maker of OREO cookies, RITZ BITS crackers and CHIPS AHOY! cookies Multipacks, has announced the third year of the #PassTheLoveBack soccer program – they’re the Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer!

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Local teams often have a hard time finding funds for equipment and uniforms. So if your soccer team could use a little extra help, as in up to $1,000 sponsorship for t-shirts, go to Pass the Love Back now through May 31st to enter your team! You only have a few more days, so don’t wait.

And here’s one of my favorite things about these snacks. Not only are they delicious and passing love back to local communities, they’re dye free! Remember how I said my little guy has ADHD? One of the things he has to avoid is artificial dyes. And the maker of OREO cookies, RITZ BITZ crackers and CHIPS AHOY! cookies has made sure these delectable treats are dye free.

Can’t beat that!

Need some other things to do with kids? Try gardening with your kids! They love to get dirty and build something. Win/win.

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Maura

Thursday 2nd of June 2016

I wonder if any of my girls would like soccor! I should check. Thanks for the article and I LOOOVE that picture of seth!!!!

Catherine Anderson

Tuesday 31st of May 2016

Great article! I'm totally agreed with you on this. My son loves playing football and we couldn't find a reason to prevent my kids from playing football.

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