Jon Butler, the Executive Director of Pop Warner Football, recently wrote in Time Magazine:
“Nothing teaches [leadership and fitness] like football and team sports.”
Many things teach leadership and fitness like football or other team sports. My choral students are held personally accountable for their preparation, are taught practice regimens that can be applied to any skill, learn to trust their teammates and be trustworthy, and are able to lead their own rehearsals.
They take ownership of their ensemble, are involved in decisions ranging from musical minutiae to planning gigs and fundraisers, and are able to give excellent performances even when their director can’t be there. And with no budget derived from thousands of spectators or activity fees, my students do everything on a shoestring budget of money they raise themselves.
Achieve excellence as a musician and you obtain all these skills and more, readily transferable to any discipline.
And the leadership skills learned in music class come with no risk of closed-head injury.