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“When you're part of a team, you stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they'd do the same for you.” —Yogi Berra

It’s an almost inevitable rite of childhood: kids will participate in some sort of team sports. Whether they join an organized baseball or softball team at the Park and Rec, sign up for local Pee Wee football, have a pickup game of stickball, or simply play kickball during gym or recess, they will usually get involved in some sort of sport—even if they aren’t the most athletic.

Have you ever stopped to think why this is? Sure, sometimes parents can push their kids to follow in their footsteps by getting them into team sports. But that doesn’t explain the seemingly timeless and broad appeal of such play; after all, such activities have been going strong across socioeconomic backgrounds, at playgrounds and makeshift fields, for decades.

Here’s what may just be behind the broad appeal of team sports, the value that lies within for both parents and kids:

Fun. We’re not just talking the fun of the game itself here (the primary reason to play). Children are also always eager to expend energy—and what more fun way to do it than on the blacktop or on the field with a bunch of friends or classmates?

Friendship. Part of the appeal of team sports comes from the camaraderie of just being part of the team. This may be true even if the “being part of the team” is being thrust on a child: even if a he or she isn’t good at sports, he or she may enjoy laughing it up with friends.

Trust. In order for a team to succeed, teammates have to feel like they have each others’ backs (as Yogi Berra says above). It’s a great bonding experience and can teach kids the importance of trust on and off the playing field.

Unity. When you’re part of a team, you’re one of a group of people put together for a common goal. With younger kids, that goal may just be to have fun (often times, scores aren’t even kept, and everyone gets a chance to participate). As kids get older, competition more often becomes the prize. Either way, a child feels a sense of belonging, of unity between self and his or her teammates, when there’s a group effort toward a common goal.

But here’s the underlying factor about team sports that makes them the most beneficial, a fact that parents (once kids themselves) may implicitly understand: they are excellent preparation for life, especially the workplace. Think about it. In business, you have to work with others as a team, and work toward one or many common goals. There’s competition involved, too (with other businesses and among coworkers).

And the thrill of winning, of a job well done as a team, continues to be as exhilarating as winning a game of kickball was as a child.

The playground just looks a little different now