What Are the Emotional Benefits of Volleyball?

Adults playing volleyball reap emotional benefits on and off the court. While fitness professionals have much to say about the physical benefits of team sports like volleyball, do not discount the emotional advantages you can gain from the sport. Emotional advantages exist for players of any age group while training, playing and socializing with fellow team players.

Interpersonal Skills

Volleyball requires that teammates work cooperatively, and at a fast pace. Team members also learn to value and respect their fellow team members. A June 2008 study of adult men who engage in regular team sports found that team members developed better networking skills than men who were less involved in team sports, reports the Centre for Economic Policy Research. The cooperation volleyball requires in the game carries benefits at the office. Study author Michael Lechner noted that regular team players earned more annual income than less their active counterparts. Leadership and cooperation skills as well as practice handling wins and loses appropriately provide valuable abilities that transfer to dealing with others in many other situations.

Personal Image

Exercise and participation in team sports reduces depression, according to a study published in the December 2011 edition of the "Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences." Participants in the study reported higher feelings of wellbeing. Your involvement in volleyball can improve your mood, reduce stress and encourage pride in your accomplishments as a team member. The activity can also improve your self-confidence, self-esteem, your body image and make you feel happier about life in general.

Drive to Succeed

Involvement in volleyball can improve your motivation and ability to succeed. As a team player, your cooperative efforts lead to the success or failure of the team. When your team wins, you share in that win. You learn persistence to gain skills in setting, bumping, serving and spikes. In addition, the team environment requires that you practice team-building skills, skills that you use extensively off the court. Volleyball also helps you develop patience with yourself and others as you learn to work well as a team and master specific skills and drills. Team members encourage one another during practice and in the game to give everyone the confidence to keep on trying to master and perfect the necessary skills to win.

Emotional Connections

Volleyball team members often make strong connections that extend beyond the volleyball court and locker room. Your team members become your friends and offer support in other areas of your life. Your interaction with team members provides an emotional network of support, often of particular value to those who may have transferred to a new area or are just starting out. The connection you feel encourages you to remain active in the sport, which also helps keep you fit and feeling positive. In addition, your team provides a social network as well, providing a core activity that you share and have in common.