德文 German learning

Sports English運動英文2: 足球

Why Soccer is Great for Preschoolers?

為什麼練習足球對學齡前兒童身心發展好處多多?

With about 3.5 billion fans, soccer (or football, if you prefer) is the most popular sport in the world. One of the things that makes it so popular is that all your need is a ball and a couple of teammates to get started.

世界上大約有35億的足球迷，足球是世界上最受歡迎的運動。足球這麼受歡迎的其中之一原因就是，你只需要一顆球和一些隊友就可以囉！

Even better, is that the game can be adapted to suit almost any age group _ there’s no physical contact and you don’t need to be a certain height to score a goal.

任何年齡層的人都適合玩足球，不需要身體接觸，也不需要達到一定的高度才能進球得分。

Obviously, a soccer game with pre-schoolers is not going to be a tense nail-biting battle of skills worthy of the World Cup, but there’s a lot of merit in getting them playing early.

當然，學齡前兒童的足球比賽，並不會如同世界盃那般精采程度破表到讓人移不開雙眼，但是讓孩子們提早踢足球還是有很多的好處。

Here are just some of the benefits:

讓我們來分享幾點好處：

1. Getting Active It’s important to to make regular physical activity a habit as soon as possible, whether it’s participating in a program, or just playing kick in the park. Being active has a host of health benefits including building stronger bones and muscles and improving endurance. Children who are active are less likely to be overweight or develop Type II diabetes.

1. 活潑: 盡可能養成規律鍛煉身體的好習慣是非常重要的，無論是參加團體運動或只是在公園踢球。孩子活潑對健康益處多多，包括強健骨骼和肌肉，提高肌耐力。活潑的兒童比較不太容易超重或得到第II型糖尿病。

2. Develop Motor Skills Any physical activity is good for developing a child’s motor skills, but soccer is great because it covers so many bases. One game of soccer involves running, kicking, jumping and controlling objects, not to mention requiring a bit of co-ordination and balance. The more children practice, the better they will get.

2. 發展肌動技能: 任何體育活動皆對孩子們的肌動技能發展有益，但玩足球可以說是最能全面性地鍛鍊孩子們全身肌肉和節奏的活動。一場足球比賽需要跑步、踢、跳躍和控制足球，更不用說需要一點協調和平衡技巧。隨著孩子練習的次數越多，就會越進步。

3. Building Social Skills When children play a team sport they discover how to work with others to achieve a common goal. They will get better at communicating with others and that develop that all important skill of taking turns.

3. 建立社交技能: 當孩子們參與團體運動時，他們會從中學習與他人合作和分享來實現共同的目標。孩子將會更擅長與他人溝通並培養團體生活中等待與輪流等的所有重要技能。

4. Increase Self-Confidence Studies have shown that, provided it’s in a supportive and nurturing environment, sports can be a great way to build children’s self-esteem.

4. 提高自信: 研究顯示，充滿支持與健全的運動環境可以培養孩子們高度的自尊心。

The idea of getting little ones playing team sports such as soccer so early is not about giving them a head start so they can be the next Tim Cahill. Instead they’re developing lots of great skills that will serve them in all areas of their life.

讓孩子們踢足球並不是因為要讓他們跑在起跑點前或者是成為下一個Tim Cahill，而是培養孩子們學習多種面向的技能靈活應用於生活中。

Of course, the children don’t know that, which is why they get the most from playing sport when they’re far too busy having fun to notice that they’re learning. Whatever sport you decide your children should play, the most important thing is that they’re playing it in a way that’s appropriate for their age group, with realistic expectations of what they’re capable of and no pressure to succeed. Not only will you be building their skills, chances are you’ll be building a life-long sporting fan.

當然，孩子們並不會知道您的用意。他們不自覺地於玩樂中快樂學習，對學習產生持久和濃厚的興趣‧無論您決定您的孩子們應該參加什麼運動，最重要的是要選擇適合他們年齡層的運動，依照他們的能力給予期望，而非施加壓力達到高規格標準。您不僅培養了他們的運動技能，還可能培養了一個終身的運動愛好者。

（此文章擷取至http://caring4kids.com.au/soccer-is-great-for-preschoolers/單純作為教學用途）

字彙：

1. teammate: 隊友
2. physical contact: 身體接觸
3. merit: 優點
4. benefit: 好處
5. endurance: 耐力
6. diabetes: 糖尿病
7. co-ordination: 協調
8. balance: 平衡
9. self-Confidence: 自信心
10. expectation: 期望  

阿根廷巨星梅西:

出身自阿根廷勞工階級家庭（一家六口仰賴鋼鐵工人父親的收入而活）的梅西，對照著現今足球明星的身分，年薪有2000萬歐元! 不得不說，玩足球對中南美洲低收入兒童而言是個翻轉人生的跳板。

當年10歲罹患侏儒症的梅西，缺少生長激素，每周900美金（約兩萬七千元左右台幣）的醫療費是勞工階級的梅西家庭無法負擔的沉重，但梅西運氣不錯，遇到教練球探雷薩奇‧他無疑是梅西生命旅途中轉折點的貴人，他給予梅西醫療援助及培訓團隊‧教練對上級說：＂我們必須在他13歲的時候投資他，不然過了3年我們無法擁有他＂所以當梅西13歲時他爸爸帶他到西班牙治療與生活。小小年紀的他，進入巴薩的訓練體制，一路受栽培，同時在自己努力下成為巴薩的頭號球星。 (他長高了! 不是矮冬瓜了!)

有很多好人才，但常常都被蠢教練給玩掉!選球員就像投資一件藝術品，需具慧眼挑選出最有潛力的球員，待其在關鍵期間發光‧ 你覺得呢?

If you like my content, 歡迎分享＆留給支持J Thank you