Team sport is a form of competitive athletics that requires athletes to work together in pursuit of a common goal. Unlike individual sports, which focus exclusively on outperforming others during competition and practice, team sport demands that athletes cooperate with teammates to a greater extent while performing. For example, in ice hockey, teammates facilitate the movement of a ball or similar object during gameplay, and cooperative behavior is particularly prominent during the scoring phase of a match. This dual demand to cooperate and compete is also emphasized in other sports, such as relay competitions in track and field events and in swimming.
While many individuals may believe that team sports distract students from schoolwork, they actually provide a wealth of learning opportunities. Aside from the memorization and repetition that is required for success in a sport, fighting for a team teaches determination and goal-setting. Furthermore, the communication skills that are necessary to build a successful sports team can be applied to work and home environments.
Moreover, sports teams are uniquely structured as compared to other conventional groups because the number of members is stipulated and strictly regulated by the rules of the sport and the league to which the team belongs. In addition, the coaches of team sports exert a substantial degree of control over internal processes such as practice, game preparation and scheduling. Initiation into the sports of team athletes is usually facilitated during the first stage of sporting development, which normally occurs between 6 and 12 years of age.