When I was in high school, I sucked at everything. Basketball, baseball, running, even my beloved volleyball. (It took me years of college club ball and a year or two of coaching to get it.) Granted, I didn't play anything prior to high school either.
As an adult, I got a lot better at volleyball. Now that I'm playing tennis (if you can call it playing at this point), I see how important sports can be for so many different reasons. Playing a sport, whether it's organized or pick-up games or whatever, does quite a bit for you.
There's obviously the health benefit of being active. That's a big deal for people like me who can't stand exercise for the sake of exercise. I mean, I really loathe it. Of the most serious athletic endeavors of my life, they've all had great benefit, but I did them for fun.
Active fun tends to trump passive fun. Sure, it's fun to play video games, but they'll never give you the mix of hormones and whole-body good feelings that sports will. In high school I would spend half-days on a bicycle and feel great for the next week. In some of my coaching positions, I'd get to play every day and feel great. Now I'm finding the same thing in tennis. My body thanks me and the game aspect of it is super fun.
Most of these activities are inherently social, too. You can just imagine, as someone currently working a remote gig, how much I need that.
One thing I've really come to understand better is how important sports are for kids. I've always been an advocate of youth sports, particularly for girls, but I understand their importance now more than I ever did as a kid. Just being a part of something like that inspires confidence and achievement, as well as an understanding about the importance of discipline and dedication.
Let me be clear that I also understand that sports are not for every kid, and I've seen first-hand how toxic it can get. I've had parents pressuring their kids to get a D-1 scholarship, when they're 5'6" and 110 pounds, and seen them crushed when they realize it won't happen. I've also seen the annoying habit of just giving kids trophies for coming in last place. Those situations don't do kids any favors.
Still, where it fits, it's a valuable thing for people of all ages to play some kind of sport.
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