On a bright summer morning,
many young swimmers gather at a local swimming pool in the state of Maryland, just outside of
Washington, D.C. They are members of a
competitive summer swim team.
Swim team teaches the team members skills like discipline and focus.
There is also responsibility, goal-setting and working within a group.
There is also responsibility, goal-setting and working within a group.
An article published in
the magazine Fast Company notes reasons why a company should consider
employing former athletes.
The writers argue that people who played sports in school are:
·
focused on goals,
·
strong communicators,
·
team players,
·
good at managing their time,
and
·
resilient -- meaning they do
not give up when things get difficult.
Some studies have found that
team sports could be especially good for women. A series of studies by
the company Ernst & Young found that 90 percent of women in so-called
“C-suite” positions at several major companies had played sports.
C-suite describes a
corporation's most senior executives. These positions usually begin with a “C”
for "chief." Examples are chief executive officer, or CEO and chief
financial officer, or CFO.
Other studies have shown that
students who play sports are more likely to go to college and less likely to
abuse drugs and alcohol.
But playing team sports is not
without harm. Some sports can be hard on the body. Young athletes can suffer
serious injuries that follow them into adulthood.
Coach Wass explains that
swimming is different from most sports in two important ways. First, the risk
of injury is less than most sports.
The second difference relates
to how swim teams are structured. Swimmers compete as a team but each
individual swimmer races with the goal of improving their own personal time
