First of all, we would like to congratulate you over the decision of becoming physically active. There are very few people today who genuinely care about playing a sport and learning life lessons on the field. Secondly, we will be educating you about the guidelines that will help in choosing a sport as per your potential.
Evaluate yourself on these points for a wiser and practical decision.
Height
Your height will be the biggest parameter when choosing sports. Games like Basketball and professional swimming require a tall built whereas rugby and bodybuilding have no hard and fast rule over the height of competitors. Thus, you must choose a sport which will compliment your height, or you will never be able to achieve your full potential.
Pain tolerance
Do you scream at trivial matters, or do you laugh at the face of pain? Your natural reaction towards pain decides a lot about the sports safe for indulgence. If you hardly keep up with pain, then it is better to choose sports less prone to injuries like badminton and basketball. On the other hand, if you are hard as a nail, then you must go for boxing or MMA.
However, remember that every sport can be dangerous if played with a flawed form. God forbid, if you end up with an injury, you might have to consult a specialist to get it checked before it becomes worse. Back and spine injuries can be cured by pain management services such as rehab and physical therapy.
Aggression
Sports are the best way to release our physical energies, and many of them require natural aggression. Although, you must tread with caution, too much aggression and you might have to learn how to put on a back brace before you can start to learn any of these sports. Wrestling and boxing are perfect for people who want to showcase their physical prowess and muscular strength. Meanwhile, those who are not interested in kicking others will feel comfortable in sports like cricket and baseball that take place in a large field, away from the majority of your teammates and opposition. Specific types of cricket and baseball field chalkers determine which areas of the field that you’re allowed on, and which to avoid, as well as marking out all of the lines that you need to win the game. So, for those that would like to steer clear of physical altercations, the latter sports may be best suited to you instead.
Co-ordination skills
People who like to work as a lone ranger will hardly find satisfaction with sports like hockey and football where the chemistry between players is really important. Such people will be perfect for swimming and cycling where one has to exert immense efforts without the responsibility of helping a fellow player. People with better team management skills do well in basketball, rugby, and volleyball. They could even consider playing lacrosse. That’s a team sport, so people who enjoy teamwork could look into that. Make sure to purchase lacrosse shafts and other essential equipment beforehand. That will allow you to start playing.
Weight
Your body weight, specifically your body mass, is a crucial aspect that can limit your choices. Overweight people are not fit for fast passed sports as excess pressure can be harmful to their joints and ligaments. Whereas, thin people should stay away from playing combative sports like rugby and wrestling. Make sure that you choose the correct sport as per your body weight and its distribution.
Endurance
If you have severe muscular endurance, i.e. the ability of muscles to contract against resistance for a longer period continuously, then you should take up running without a second thought. For that matter, you can also get into rowing and cycling where one needs extreme muscular endurance. But such sports can be taxing on the heart and can even lead to an attack. In contrast, you can try MMA and basketball for these sports are limited by short time durations.
Age
Age is a detrimental factor to the idea of choosing a sport. Small kids should avoid hard-hitting sports like Rugby and MMA as their bones get easily cracked. Furthermore, such games make kids more aggressive, which parents would never want to happen.
Young people above the age of 16 can play any sport they want after contemplating the factors stated above. Meanwhile, middle-aged people are more interested in getting back in shape and becoming healthier. They are advised to play badminton and indulge in cycling as these sports are enjoyable and also do not pose significant injury risk for the players.
Older people should keep away from indulging in sports with younger ones as the chances of an injury are very high. At most, they can go for a brisk walk, take up cycling or can play badminton with people from the same age group.
Finances
Let us be practical- money is a big concern for people when choosing a sport. Do not get us wrong, but some sports require you to spend hefty funds consistently just to become an average player. Tennis and golf are quite demanding when it comes to money as taking membership in a golf ground, or a tennis club is enough to devastate your savings.
Nonetheless, you can play sports like football, badminton, basketball, cricket, volleyball, baseball, and table tennis at a manageable cost.
Although, the list might look overwhelming yet you should not lose hope as playing sports depends a lot upon your willpower above anything else.