I am grateful with the likes from readers for my story “My children & friends enjoy plating pickleball match, they encouraged me to join for physical health benefits” published by newswav.com dated 10 October, 2026. In particular, the encouraging feedback from my regular reader, CPA Suppiah Subramaniam, an ardent sportsman, who commented “Thanks for sharing this article narrating on the Pickleball game, it's impact for better health. Pickleball game is the new wave amongst racquet games after squash. Enjoy playing with your family, friends as team sports has proven benefits.”
I agree with CPA Suppiah that team sports offer many types of benefits beyond the obvious physical health and fitness gains, they also improve my mental health, interpersonal skills and even lead to long-term benefits for my self-confidence & wellbeing. As a corporate human resource development (HRD) practitioner, and former school rugby player, I realized training with a team makes it easy to achieve the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week. Regular exercise is also a great habit to form when I was young and it'll sure help me stay healthy for the rest of my life.
Based on my own personal and professional experience, playing on a team requires coordination, communication & collaboration. These are important life skills that has helped me work well with others and achieve success in and out of the playing arena. The office, workplace and the classroom are arenas where teamwork makes the dream work. I found team sports require a lot of verbal and non-verbal communication. From words of encouragement during training to planning for a match, communication is a two way street, and learning skills to deliver the message and listening are critical skills forged in the fun of playing. I remember every match is different, and every opponent has their own strengths and weaknesses. Formulating tactics to tackle the various challenges that I encounter has hone my critical thinking skills & make me a better problem solver. Evidently, I forge strong friendship bonds with my teammates at school & office that last for all these years!
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Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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