Whether dying old as an athlete or young, one has a greater affect than the other. As an athlete myself this topic relates to me quite well. Athletes in general, who do an outstanding job with their athletics, do things that are unexpected. Records are broken and championships were won. It has been twenty-one years since WHS has won a team state championship in swimming and diving. And in that twenty-one years we have finally done what is unimaginable and what was thought to be in 1993 the only championship that WHS would get. However, not only is swimming and diving a team sport it is also an individual sport. How we do in our individual events determines how we place as a team. This is also where people way before us, such as Guy Fulfer, has set state records and school records. Sadness begins in an athlete, but all begins in Housman’s “To an Athlete” and it does bring sadness to an athlete in three ways, disappointment, discouraged, and finally sadness. As most athletes, who are dedicated to their sport, practice harder than athletes who just play sports for fun. However, there are disappointments in the sport. Many in which involve record holders (mostly in individual sports). Or some in which involve how state standings and/or championships are viewed. As stated by A.E. Housman, “The time you won your town the race we chaired you through the marketplace; man and boy stood cheering by, and home we brought you shoulder-high.” (Prentice Hall Literature [page 1092 lines 1-4]). As newer generations come into the sport, some are born with a gift unimaginable with great potential, people who set the school/state record cause a sadness in the record holder from the past. Second, most athletes can vouch for being discouraged at som... ... middle of paper ... ...oked up too, I wanted to be just like him (a state champion and on the Hall of Fame). Often my name is read in the paper for my accomplishments, and one thing I do know that as I get older I know I will be forgotten. But that never will overcome me. I will remember what I have done, and I know someone out their will go to WHS and be just as great if not greater than me. One thing that I often remember, is that even though I may be forgotten in the future I remember all from the past and the accomplishments I have made. And that person that is out there that beats my record I will congratulate them because records are meant to be broken. However, I will still have some emotional attachment as an athlete in diving. So indeed there is sadness in an athlete in three ways, disappointment, discouraged, and finally sadness. Works Cited Prentice Hall Literature Volume 2
Sports play a large part of an athletic student’s life, weighing heavily on one’s identity. In his essay, “Cut”, Bob Greene relays how he and several others are cut from their middle school sports team because “[they weren’t] good enough” (Greene 58). Because of this cut, Greene and his peers end up pushing harder than ever in other areas of their life. He notes, “an inordinately large proportion of successful men share… the memory
The speaker addresses three advantages to dying young in To an Athlete Dying Young, by A. E. Houseman, these are an athlete’s glory fading, records broken, and being forgotten. After the athlete’s death, the speaker states that the athlete was right to leave “fields where glory does not stay” (10). Moreover, the speaker implies that the athlete is lucky because he will never live to see the glory of his achievements fade away. Similarly, following the athlete’s burial the speaker states that the athlete “Cannot see the record cut” (14). Furthermore, the speaker implies that an early death is to the athlete’s advantage because he will never see his records and achievements beaten by another athlete. Lastly, the speaker states that the athlete
I have been swimming year-round on a club team since the age of six and when I was younger improving came relatively easily. However, around age 13, I hit a training plateau despite having the same work ethic and focus that I had previously had. I grew to despise swimming and at points I wanted to quit. However, unlike Junior, I had role models and mentors who were positive influences on me and who helped me to overcome this challenge. Primarily, I had several of my best friends on the team who convinced me to keep persevering and to not simply quit the sport that I loved so much just because I was no longer dropping time. For example, every day I watch my close friends Lizanne and Cate come to practice and give it their all, regardless of the numerous injuries and medical issues that plagued their swimming career; their positive outlook and dedication motivated me to try even harder than I had before. Moreover, I had by parents, something that Junior did not have; my parents were always there to support me after yet another disappointing meet reminding me that “you get five minutes for a win and five minutes for a lost”. My parents where my voice of reason as I tried to work through my issues; they were always there to encourage me, but also were very honest with me
In America today athletic events play an important role in the reflective perception and financial standing of any given community. It is for this reason that the individuals involved in these events are also of significance to the community. Due to the esteemed and very influential role placed on athletes they are often times given privileges that would not normally be given to them if they were not athletes. These privileges are given in order to recruit the athletes, and once recruited to maintain their status on the team so that, in turn, the team's status is not adversely affected. To understand the importance of the role of an athlete one must first examine the role of the athletic event in which the athlete participates and the level of importance placed on this event.
However, what this argument does not take into account is that athletes have an abundance of pressure put on them that most non-athletes don’t ever experience. Hence, the saying, “go hard or go home”. A recent study emphasizes this fact as McClatchy notes, ”The researchers monitored mood levels of 465 collegiate athletes over three years and found 6.3 percent of the athletes met the criteria for clinically significant depression and 24 percent were considered ‘clinically relevant’ “ (2016). Studies like these prove that athletes are not blind to the idea of depression, but rather experience this disorder themselves. Anxiety has a huge role in depression. As sportsperson, there is constant effort to become an awe-inspiring player. As the stakes of the game raise, so does the anxiety. Some want a scholarship, some want to show off what they offer to a team that got a scholarship, and some are professionals. Regardless of whether it's grade school sport or a professional sport, failing at personal goals one set is down right depressing. Kearns and Hwang state that, ”While it’s not clear whether the source of challenges to a student-athlete's mental well-being is the same as those non-athletes, collegiate athletes are known to encounter unique stressor that the general population doesn’t have to deal with, such as the demands, relationships with coaches and missed scheduled classes” (2014). Pressure is something everyone experiences. However, athletes experience some of the same pressure that of non-athletes and then some. Being on a sports team is demanding to time and the idea of being “superior”. In athletics, coaches are everything. For example, If a coach likes how a person attributes as a team player, then that person will get a chance to shine. However, if the coach is not very fond of one, then the chances of opportunities are not very
Statsky also makes another faulty assumption, which is that competition is an adult imposition on the world of children’s play. She says in her article, “The primary goal of a professional athlete – winning – is not appropriate for children” (629). Children compete to win in the same way that adults do, and they do so on their own without any adult pressure. Common playground gam...
High school sports are approached with clashing opinions. Some of these opinions are positive, and supportive of athletics. “Athleticism, among many activities, offers teens a physical outlet to exert their troubles, anger, emotions, and other feelings” (Chen 1). This can be observed in nearly all of the football players in Friday Night Lights. This can also be noticed in the world today. “Athletics help high school students understand their own abilities and talents” (Chen 1). This piece of evidence is very accurate when describing high school athletes. Sports can make a high school student humble. As can be seen by the preceding information, high school athletics can have a positive impact on a student’s life.
The greatest influence on my life has been my family. Thirty-eight family members over four generations have graduated from Cal, fourteen as athletes, with two in Cal’s Hall of Fame. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life when I was little, and that desire never changed. My athletic identity started to form at a very young age due to my family’s strong influence and their athletic connections. According to Mead, young children form their initial self-image based on engagement with their significant others. I grew up with athletic parents and grandparents, two older brothers and all guy cousins. With a very close-knit family, living only 5 to 10 minutes away from each other door to door, all I did when I was young was go to sporting events. From these individuals, “we learn the basic knowledge of our society, and we internalize this knowledge as a coherent set of expectations, feelings and attitudes” (O’brien,...
Dr. Steven Aicinena from thesportsjournal.org, in the article “When Pride Goes Wrong”, says that athletes will go far enough to have pride as to hurt other players unknown of the consequences. For example, in the article Dr. Steven says, “Athletes experience mental anguish, embarrassment, shame and may come to hate sport as a consequence of strong humiliation. More sinister is the prospect of the athlete feeling poorly about him or herself as a human being” (thesportjournal.org). This quote shows that there is a horrible consequence for those that do not have a balanced life. This quote also reveals that pride does not bring a blessed life, but instead a life full of grief and worry. This quote proves that people cannot be ill-willed to others because they want to feel mighty and proud or else they are going to be the one that will be humiliated instead. One will receive consequences if they are not balanced in their life or show
Participating in school sports helps the athlete, the school, and the community as a whole. Dreams are born in courts, fields and arenas across the nation. They can also be lost with the sound of a swish followed swiftly by a buzzer or by a quick running back on a kick off return with only seconds left in the fourth quarter. Being a part of school sports is often the highlight of the year for some students, such environments harbor friendships that can last a lifetime and can teach participants lessons that aren’t learned elsewhere. Lessons like getting back up, and fighting until the end. Lessons of victory and defeat, and holding your head high no matter what ...
Sports are an important aspect of society. They help people to strive to reach certain goals and join people together, but they also can divide people and turn a fun game into the main purpose of someone’s life. Taking sports games too seriously can be harmful to both the athlete and the spectator. The attitude of always winning at any cost in sports has managed to distract us from other important parts of our lives, such as health and education. This importance of the value of sports can heavily influence the way that we see ourselves as both the spectator and the athlete by creating a positive self image and distilling confidence and discipline within the player, or by embedding self doubt and inversion.
Challenges appear to be part of the human experience. In the course of history, very little has come easily. The progress that women have made in sport in the United States over the course of the last 100 years seems remarkable for the amount achieved in so little time. In relation to the other advances made in this century, including men's sport, that achievement dims. While women have made great advances, they haven't, in comparison, come that far. It would appear, from the outside, that men's sport will forever have all of the advantages, all of the rewards, all of the prestige, while women's sport is left to perpetual inequality.
A parents dream of popularity, college scholarships, and professional athleticism lead them into blindly pushing their children into misery. In an article written by Baldwin Ellis, he suggests that an array of emotional issues can stem from this type of parenting (Ellis,2015). The act of pushing may, in fact, encourage the child to perform at a level less than their actual potential. Kathryn Hatler of Demand Media sites that countles parents live their lives vicariously through their children (Hatler,n.d.). Minimal facts are given on the positive effects of parents pushing their children in any activity so why does it exist so prominent in our society today? Parents should encourage their children in the sport of the child’s choosing rather
Jeff Kemp, a retired professional NFL quarterback, once stated, “Sports teach positive lessons that enrich America even while revealing its flaws” (Kemp). Athletics offer so much more than the joy of game day and the thrill of a win. Being involved in sports holds the key to a world filled with passion, excitement, and once in a lifetime opportunities. There is nothing better than seeing the student section arrive in full force or hearing the school fight song chanted before kickoff. However, when life moves on and leaves sports behind, the lessons it has instilled in athletes never disappears. The play calls may be foggy and the jersey will be too tight, but what was innocently learned in the jersey shines out at an older age. Although life lessons can be learned through everyday activities, lessons such as teamwork, self-confidence, and dealing with failure are only truly learned through sports by young athletes.
One of the best representations I could give to someone would be a 93-year old man that almost made it to the Olympic USA table tennis team. Although he has been playing table tennis for 86 years and first started when he was 7 years old he still could not make it past the recreational level. You would think that after 86 years of playing the sport you love you would accomplish your dreams, sadly after all these years he still hasn’t made it to the Olympics, his ultimate dream. Now his dream will forever be left unaccomplished and be left for the next hopeful table tennis player. If this guy who was better than most by far with a crazy amount of dedication couldn’t make it, this just shows how hard it is to make it past the recreational