Are you familiar with the term “soft skills”? It is used to describe certain personal, social and methodological skills of individuals and they constitute one of the most important areas of occupation for educators, psychologists, social workers and health professionals. These are, therefore, abilities that either exist innately in someone’s personality or are developed with effort1. Resilience, a positive attitude towards difficulties, humor, optimism are some of the skills that fall under this category.
It has been observed that individuals possessing such skills have beneficial effects on their physical health and physiology, leading to healthier aging and preservation of cognitive abilities. In addition, they experience less functional physical impairment and faster recovery from disease, especially if they are involved in regular physical activity1.
Sports involvement has been found to be associated with more developed cognitive abilities (perception, attention, intelligence, visuospatial abilities) and personal characteristics2,3. Thus, we could describe a two-way relationship between physical and mental skills.
The renewal of cognitive resources and resilience to face misfortunes during life are maintained by sharpening the soft skills of individuals. The most ideal combination is starting participating in sports activities in early childhood and the continuation of exercise and sports participation till late years of age1.
“Examples of the effect of sports on personality”
- Multi-month racing seasons include matches with unexpected results and setbacks, which must be dealt with by avoiding the tendency to get frustrated and give up, in order to achieve good results at the end of the year – and this requires persistence.
- Young athletes learn to take appropriate and timely action, so looking into a sport could really empower a person’s initiative.
- There is also a clear link between playing a sport and developing leadership (de Prada Creo et al., 2020). On top of that, a person’s sense of identity and achievement, and self-confidence in general, is enhanced.
- People involved in sports must also constantly take responsibility for their actions, as well as make decisions all the time while they are playing, knowing that they affect their own results or the results of their team.
- Whether they play a team sport or an individual sport, they must cultivate their ability to work with others in order to achieve their goals.
Given the interrelated relationship between soft skills and physical/athletic traits, a study analyzed a large sample of 1,115 people (10-18 years old) in terms of cognitive abilities (thinking) and certain personal characteristics (soft skills)3. The correlation of these with being involved in a sport was examined. The soft skills that the researchers were looking for in individuals were the following:
- The adaptability to current conditions / changes
- Curiosity or desire to acquire new knowledge
- Initiative and determination
- Leadership characteristics, such as being the person of reference in a team or supporting and motivating others
- Persistence or the general tendency to work hard to achieve goals despite difficulties and not giving up
- Social conscience or sense of responsibility for the community and the environment, moral principles e.g., sense of justice and meritocracy
The results of the study support the existence of a positive relationship between the practice of a sport and important personal characteristics (cognitive abilities and soft skills). Pre-adolescents and adolescents who had been playing a sport for more years scored higher in cognitive abilities and soft skills such as initiative, leadership and persistence.
To a large extent, it has been shown that every year of sport participation counts: for children involved early, for instance from 8 years of age, their cognitive abilities potentially have a standardized benefit after 10 years that is not at all negligible, considering how important these skills are throughout our lives.
Consequently, the fundamental importance of physical activity and sports participation in childhood and adolescence is highlighted once again since they affect various aspects of a person’s life and their mental and physical health (World Health Organization, 2019)
- Heppner HJ. Soft Skills : Etwas anderes Doping [Soft skills : Somewhat different doping]. Z Gerontol Geriatr. 2018 Feb;51(2):160-164. German. doi: 10.1007/s00391-017-1358-4. Epub 2017 Dec 12. PMID: 29234919.
- Scharfen H.-E., Memmert D. (2019). Measurement of cognitive functions in experts and elite athletes: A meta-analytic review. Appl. Cogn. Psychol. 33 843–860. 10.1002/acp.3526
- Feraco T, Meneghetti C. Sport Practice, Fluid Reasoning, and Soft Skills in 10- to 18-Year-Olds. Front Hum Neurosci. 2022 Mar 14;16:857412. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.857412. PMID: 35360291; PMCID: PMC8963902.
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