Why Play Sports?

Why Play Sports?

Remember the days when you would open the front door and the sun would hit your eyes like a blinding ray of heat? Remember putting your barefoot into the soft grass then running out to catch a ball before your dad even gave you time to react to the sunlight? Back then you played those kinds of sports all for fun and games without any worry in the world. Little did you know as you grew older the sports you played would shape who you are. You didn’t know that your sports career opened up lifelong opportunities, a mental mindset that cannot be beat even when times get rough, and a connection to teammates that almost seems like a second family. Everyone that plays sports knows, once you have played for years other things in life become easy. 

Every sport in the world today will require some sort of mental preparation. That is if you want to be good at that particular sport. You can just wake up and go practice everyday and then play on Saturdays and not think a damn thing about it. Now if you want to be great at the sport you play, you need to think and  apply yourself to it and take away something from it each and every day. A Person who does these mental preparations each and everyday will not only have an edge over other athletes but an edge over other people in life. They will do the same things as others, but they will take away lessons from it unlike the people who just wake up and go through their day. 

Friends that you see in the hallways everyday and once in awhile at an event, maybe you sit by them once in awhile at lunch but never talk to them outside of school. Those are the friends that are “good friends” maybe you snapchat them for answers sometimes but never for just the sake of talking. Those kinda friends are cool and all, but nothing will ever compare to the relationships you build with your teammates throughout the however many years you are able to be on that team. All the long rides to and from events, some people didn’t want to go at all, others made it their mission to play their best every time, some just had to be there because the team needed a spot filled. While on the way back from an event it seemed like no matter the outcome of the game everyone had the same feeling and compassion for each other that cannot be explained if you haven’t been in their exact spots on the bus going through what they went through. When the season came close to end i know everyone wanted it to be over and everyone wanted it to last forever and that’s the relationships that will never break apart.

Some individuals are phenomenal at sports and others are very average. No matter how good you are, there will always be unlimited opportunities in life and education to improve yourself just because you’re in sports. Now that doesn’t mean going pro right after high school, it means having hard work ethics inside the classroom as well as on the field. For example, you are an average player in high school, graduate with a good GPA. If you do that most colleges will accept you because of your grades. Now you are in college and are playing the sport you desire, you cannot let your grades slip because then you will not be able to play sports at all. Can you see where being in sports keeps your grades up and keeping your grades up provides multiple opportunities in life? 

These three topics may never make sense to someone who has never dedicated themselves to a sport for more than a year. The things that were talked about will not happen to quitters and half timers, you need to be there no matter what like it’s your job with no pay. You won’t make friendships that last a lifetime, you will miss opportunities because you do not work hard and show up everyday, and you certainly will not have the mental toughness to get through some of the hardest challenges life throws at you. The quitters will never understand how living a life of sports will make everything else in life become easier.