This I Believe

I believe that sports help to shape who you are. Participating in sports teaches you many life skills that are very helpful.

First of all taking away stress. When I play soccer my mind is off of all other things. The only thing I can think about is playing the game well. It doesn’t matter what has happened that day, or how much stuff I need to get done, all that matters is the game. The same thing with running track. All I think of is running the race and finishing strong. This is a very helpful skill to learn, because now I know that whenever I am overly stressed I can just go out and run or kick a ball around. It really helps get my mind off of everything.

Another thing that sports teach is teamwork. Whether you play soccer, volleyball, football, or any other team sport you need to learn to work together. Even if you aren’t friends you have to get along on the field long enough to play the game the way it should be played. On my soccer team a few years ago there was this girl who only seemed to get along with one person on the team and it really messed up the way we played. She would never pass the ball to anyone but her one friend, which caused many problems. Finally she realized that by doing that she was only hurting the team and learned to work with others on the field.

Sportsmanship and respect are also very important. After every soccer game we congratulate the other team. I think to win or lose correctly is a very important skill. When you show good sportsmanship the other team is more likely to show you respect. In sports it is important to respect the referees and the coaches. At one of my games a player started yelling at the referee after a bad call. She ended up being carded and kicked out of the game. After witnessing this, our team was a lot more careful about what was said out on the field.

Sports shape you as a person because of the personal rewards you get from them. After running a really close race I felt amazing. It wasn’t only winning the race that made me feel good about myself, but also that I beat my time and now had a new record.

All these traits help shape athletes into the people they are. I am sure that Olympic competitors wouldn’t be at all the same without their sport. Just from playing sports for fun I have learned all these things, and this is what I believe.