By Leah Shapiro
Walli Ann Wisniewski remembers her dad teaching her how to play tennis when she was just four years old. “I had a green plastic racquet with a whiffle ball.” Over the years, as she practiced and played on a team, she could see the how the activity was influencing her life.
“I am thrilled when kids express an interest in a sport, but a sport like tennis offers a unique experience,” she says. “There is the obvious—benefits from exercise, building strength, etc. But tennis offers the opportunity to be a part of a team, yet play an individual sport. A child learns to rely on themselves. They cannot blame someone else for missing the shot in singles play.” Today, Walli Ann shares her love of the sport through her shop, The Tennis Professor (thetennisprofessor.com), where children can find age-appropriate products, such as footwear and racquets.
Participating in outdoor activities can have a profound impact on youth development, both physically and mentally. There are many organizations in our region that help give children opportunities to discover themselves.
If you’re unsure where to start, begin by visiting your local Parks and Recreation’s website. Henderson County alone has a dozen parks. “Across those parks, there are opportunities for organized team sports and individual activities, such as recreation soccer, disc golf, and mountain biking,” says Tim Hopkin, director of Henderson County Parks and Recreation (hcprd.com).
The year-round Base Camp Waynesville program, through Waynesville Parks and Recreation (waynesvillenc.gov/parks-recreation), provides opportunities for kids and adults to connect or reconnect with nature through hiking, water sports, and environmental education, among other activities.
For nearly 50 years, North Carolina Outward Bound School (ncobs.org) has been offering outdoor experience—such as backpacking, rock climbing, or whitewater canoeing—that challenge students to step outside of their comfort zones, learn important skills for life, and discover they are capable of more than they know. NC Outward Bound School is an educational nonprofit organization and part of a national network of Outward Bound schools in the country.
Programs are available for everyone, from age 12 through adult. Sixteen-year-old participant Allison says, “I realized that I have more strength than I thought I did and I know now that I can do anything I set my mind to.”
Located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, The North Carolina Arboretum (ncarboretum.org) also reflects the principle that transformational discovery that can take place when children head outside. In addition to group activities and 27 youth summer camps, The NC Arboretum also offers outdoor play spaces. Children can rent geocaching packs for the day and use them to discover treasure boxes.
“The value of unstructured time in nature for children cannot be overstated,” says Jonathan Marchal, youth education manager. “Any time children spend being active is positive, but there are additional benefits to nature play and discovery that are not received on the athletic field or within a traditional playground. A slide is a slide, but a pile of sticks can become a fort or anything else a child can imagine.”
Outdoors give kids the excitement they want. And they really enjoyed playing outside. It’s a good thing because you are exposing them to a more healthy and fit lifestyle that they must choose. They should learn the benefits of it and why they should consider joining sports one day.
Outdoor games are very essential for the kids for their growth. Understanding this importance, Some schools, now a days, organize some outdoor sports activities for the students. This helps them to keep fit. Also, this helps them in study.