If your teen is stuck "making friends" online, soccer may be a good option. Playing soccer helps your teen stay in shape, teaches them how to organize your time, boosts friendships, and helps builds relationships with their peers.

The Social Benefits

It’s really hard to do a sport by yourself. Even more individual sports (like wrestling and tennis) are usually organized into teams. When your teen practices soccer everyday, play together, and go through the ups and downs of success and failure, it helps them bond with their teammates. If your teen is shy or has a hard time meeting people, then joining a soccer team is an ideal way to instantly meet and bond with people. 

The Health Benefits

Most teens don’t get too motivated to simply “workout.” In fact, most of the teens I see at the gym do more socializing than exercising. However, most teens love at least one sport. So, being on a soccer team is a way to get the benefits of exercise while also having a good time. Not only that, but soccer practices can be challenging. So, your teen could not only get some exercise but maybe even get in the best shape of their life. 

The Focus Benefits

Playing on a team requires focus. It requires a level of focus and determination that a lot of non-athletes don’t even have. By playing soccer your teen can learn and practice those important life skills. I know many adults who’ve never developed any type of self-discipline and toughness. In most cases, they never played sports.

They Make You Well-Rounded

A lot of teens think because they are artistic or musical (or anything else) they can’t play sports. It doesn’t fit their image or something. But, I don’t care what your other interests, you can still find a sport. Participating in sports helps build leadership skills. Sports teams give you an opportunity to surround yourself with competitive people and role models, and learn from them both. You can demonstrate your own leadership through team "captainships" and individual actions to improve your team's success.