Today is Friday, February 10, 2012
Today is Friday, February 10, 2012
For as long as I can remember sports has been one of, if not the most, influential parts of my life. I’ve played on soccer teams, basketball teams, baseball teams and even cross country teams. In each of these sports, even though I’ve never really been very good in any of them, I’ve gained something new and valuable.
On my first grade YMCA basketball team, I scored one basket the whole season. I spent hours with my dad dribbling and shooting, just waiting for the day that I would be able to score. When I was too anxious to wait to go to the park, I would shoot over a branch in my yard so I could reach the basket when my opportunity came.
In the final game of the season I channeled my inner Lebron, took charge of my team and actually shot the ball. I scored. I still remember scoring because I jumped up and down like I had just won the lottery.
These are the moments that sports are played for, and the thing is that the more you play, the bigger and more intense these moments get. Your first basket turns into your first win, which turns into your first game-winning shot, which turns into winning your first championship and when you finally think you’ve gotten as good as you can, you move up to a tougher and more intense league or division.
That’s the thing about sports; there’s always going to be tougher competition and there’s always room for improvement.
When I first starting playing baseball my dad had to give me a speech on how even Babe Ruth, the best baseball player to ever play, struck out more than anybody else at the time. I struggled to understand that if someone got out 6 out of 10 times, that person would be the first player to bat .400 in over 50 years.
Sports are frustrating and even painful at times. They’re a way to bring people together and to raise spirit. Even in the hardest times, the world comes together with events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. Schools like ours actually showed some school spirit in basketball games when other schools like Menlo Atherton tried to show us up at our own school.
Sports do more than just entertain; they’re a lifestyle. You don’t even need to play the sport to be a part of it. More importantly, without sports, there would be nothing to do.
