One of the great things about being part of a team are the bonds you form with your teammates. You quickly learn that, as the saying goes, there is no I in team, and that teamwork, and counting on your teammates, increase the team's chances of success.

These bonds and friendships often extend long after the games end. Take the case of former Dallas Cowboys Everson Walls and Ron Springs.  The two were teammates from 1981-1984, and have been friends ever since.

Walls knew that Springs suffered from severe diabetes, and had been on a national kidney transplant waiting list for three years and would die without a kidney transplant. When two of Springs' relatives were not able to donate, Walls stepped forward to be tested.

It turned out that Walls was a match, and he was determined to do all he could to help his friend. He literally gave him the gift of life. Just days after the procedure, the two former teammates announced that they planned to start a donor-awareness foundation to capitalize on all the media attention their case has received.

This, to me, is another reason for parents to consider exposing their children to youth sports, as the lessons they learn and friends they make can last a lifetime.