It's football season and all across the country, from pee-wee to pro-leagues boys (and, yes, in some instances girls) are learning to tackle, pass, and receive a ball in one of the most aggressive and contact filled sports ever. With all this training, dedication and risk what can kids be actually learning. Surprisingly there are lots of things you can take off the football field and on to the field of life. In fact, you can interchange the word "team" below with "company," "friendship" and even "marriage" and have solid lessons to live by.
Read more ¿Qué más?: This just proves why sports are GREAT for girls (INFOGRAPHIC)
1. You have to earn your spot and put the work in. Entitlement won't get you anywhere fast. Walking onto a team and expecting to get the position you want is not something anyone should expect. You have to earn your position and work hard to keep it. This includes using discipline, perseverance, setting goals and yes even humility as this will keep your ego in check.
2. Practice good sportsmanship. No one likes a nasty, dirty player. It has the potential to hurt the team and you. Play the game to your best ability, respect yourself and the competition.
3. Learn from your losses. Don't beat yourself up if you lose. If you've had a loss, use it as a learning experience to do better next time. Ask yourself what you could have done better to help the team then just move on. No one's perfect and you can always work to improve.
4. Want to win. The mind set for every game should be the desire to win and that is a good thing. A lot of times you may hear that winning doesn't matter but wanting to be successful and doing your best is OK.
5. Sometimes you have to have faith and throw a Hail Mary pass. When it's all on the line sometimes you have to take risks–sometimes you succeed and get the game winning touchdown but sometimes you don't. At least you can say that you gave it your all right to the very last second.
Image via Thinkstock
