Ultra qualities: how playing basketball can help your professional life

Basketball is one of Australia’s favourite sports. Not only is it a fast-paced, ultra-fun sport, but it is also one that teaches plenty of life skills. So many Aussie kids grow up playing this wonderful game and take so much from it as they grow, and continue to use these life skills when they enter university, the workforce etc.

Naturally, playing an awesome, team-oriented sport like basketball can help you in your professional life. You didn’t even have to start playing as a kid, as you can still take on many awesome traits you learn from playing the sport in adulthood!

If you have been thinking about picking up this awesome game you will likely learn plenty of things that you can take into your professional life, the likes of which include:

1. Leadership

Basketball Australia requires its players to stand up and be counted. This is a sport where things can quickly go south if the team loses morale, and therefore it is imperative that every team has at least one leader who can stand up when the chips are down. After all, when a team goes down a few points they can quickly become despondent and give up hope, but if you have a proper leader on your side then you will have a much greater chance of making that awesome comeback and winning the game!

So, easily one of the most important life skills to take away from this sport is that of leadership. You can be sure that if you’re someone who wants to learn this essential life skill, or take your pre-existing skills to a court situation and develop them further, then this sport is perfect for you.

2. Teamwork

Life, and not just professional life, require teamwork. Whether it’s working together on an important project in the office or working with your partner to decide on something important for the kids, playing a sport like this quickly teaches you that you simply cannot go everything alone.

Enter playing ball. It’s one of the greatest ways to learn essential leadership qualities whilst also keeping in line with your teammates. You will learn how to work with others to achieve a common goal: winning the game!

This is the same as with many work situations, for example, you and your colleagues might have to design a new marketing solution for a company to help them grow exponentially. As such, you will be able to demonstrate both your leadership skills and your teamwork skills that you learned through playing this fantastic sport.

3. Discipline

Discipline is as imperative in basketball as it is in your professional life. In a sport like this, you need the discipline to show up to training and matches, but not show up on time, show up and give everything you’ve got on the court!

The same can be said for work situations. Sure, work can be tough, and it’s not everyday we feel like going in and giving it our all. But the most important thing is having the discipline to show up and put your effort in to help the team grow. Basketball is definitely a sport that teaches players to be more disciplined in the workplace, and helps them maintain their focus in tough, high stress situations.

These three skills of the game can certainly be taken into workplace situations and will help you become an ultimate player as well as a fantastic colleague!