That's a... strange thing to "totally vehemently disagree" with.
For one, it's not an option for everyone, particularly the less able bodied. But more importantly, being the weak link in sports team can actually be a very isolating and lonely experience. Even if it's a casual/intramural setting, if you suck at the sport and are actively causing your team to lose, you will more than likely not have a good time and will not feel more connected to people, even if they make a good faith effort to make you feel welcome and included despite you being a detriment to the team.
Source: I joined a casual sports team to be less lonely, and ended up feeling socially worse off for it. Not saying that will be everyones experience, but I would "totally vehemently disagree" that it's an unequivocally better option than volunteering.
For one, it's not an option for everyone, particularly the less able bodied. But more importantly, being the weak link in sports team can actually be a very isolating and lonely experience. Even if it's a casual/intramural setting, if you suck at the sport and are actively causing your team to lose, you will more than likely not have a good time and will not feel more connected to people, even if they make a good faith effort to make you feel welcome and included despite you being a detriment to the team.
Source: I joined a casual sports team to be less lonely, and ended up feeling socially worse off for it. Not saying that will be everyones experience, but I would "totally vehemently disagree" that it's an unequivocally better option than volunteering.