"Every time I've had a bad performance at an event, I've come back more determined and focused."( Shaun White Quote). Shaun White has shown that this is not just ones of his meaningless quotes. He has accomplished a lot due to his determination including his two Olympic gold medals. His whole life he has loved snowboarding and skate boarding, he strives everyday to get better no matter the circumstance. Shaun Rodger White was born in San Diego, California on September 3, 1986. to Rodger and Cathy white. By the age of 5 he had already had two cardiac surgeries due to his heart defect. Even though it was rough for him while he was young that did not stop him. He grew up in a house with a family of five. His favorite past time while he was young was skiing. At the age of 4, he was already racing down ski slopes with his brother Jesse. Shaun's mother Cathy was afraid that he was going to hurt himself skiing because of how reckless he was. So Shaun's mother introduced the snowboard to him, in attempt to stop him from going too fast and hurting himself . It encouraged him to even go faster, he loved the snowboard. During the summer time you would find Shaun skateboarding and would have crowds watch him. One Shaun turned seven, he had the ability to enter his first snowboarding contest. To no surprise he had won, he was then given a wild card in the nation 12-and-under championships where he finished 11th. Anyone who had challenged with Shaun in anything knew that he was meant to compete. Shaun's fame started to rise when Tony Hawk befriended him and started mentoring him at the age of nine. A few years later Shaun was invited to participate in MTV's Sports & Music Festival. He got to join the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skate park ... ... middle of paper ... ... he finds a chance to compete he wants to win. He also isn't like most snowboards that go for the biggest and hardest trick, instead he focuses toward hard tricks and makes them seem easy executing them perfect. When his nerves aren't taking over you can expect that he will hit perfect moves. and just due to his sheer determination and competitiveness, he will come back for the next Winter Olympics and win gold for the U.S. Works Cited "Shaun White Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. "Shaun White." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. "JockBio: Shaun White Biography." JockBio: Shaun White Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. "Shaun White." - Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. "Why Snowboarders Hate Shaun White." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. "Shaun White Quote." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Success is not given, it is earned. Waking up for a 5am skating practice is nobody’s ideal Wednesday morning, especially for a hormonal teenager like myself. However, satisfaction of landing a new jump or learning a new spin does not come from letting our ‘wants’ buyout our dreams. “By the time we’d finished, we were amazed at how much the book had taught us: about ourselves.” I don’t always succeed, nor do I always expect to. Throughout all the morning practices and late night workouts, failure is something I have learned from. I remember giving up on myself countless times after falling on a jump or not turning my edges properly, as if I had ‘writer's-block,’ feeling completely numb. Nevertheless, succeeding was the easy part, it was learning to grow into the 6 year old singing, confident, child again, and defeating the numbness. I have learned, along the way, people are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your hard work. However, it is the end product that matters. It will be I who knows how to complete a program, or I who knows how to work hard. Staying focused as the athlete I am, not letting people side track me, builds the confidence to know ‘I finished the
Tony Hawk was not an average kid; he was destined to be a skateboarder, little did he know he would change the lives of many. He is known for being one of the most incredible skateboarders of all time. He became a professional at a very young age. Hawk has been in many contests and has won almost all of them. When he retired, he created the Tony Hawk Foundation which helps to build skateparks in underprivileged areas to keep the legends of skateboarding alive. (tonyhawk.com)
Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919. His family was sharecroppers. Jackie’s mother, Mallie Robinson, was a very hard working woman. Mallie raised Jackie and her four other children all by herself. Jackie and his family lived in a neighborhood where they were the only black family that lived on that block (Jackie Robinson Official). Growing up with only one parent, Jackie had to find his own way of living. He got into many sports and excelled in them all. From a young age, Jackie was the top athlete in the sports he played. As he grew, up he started winning bigger events and got recognized by many people for his talents.
Early, Gerald. "Performance and Reality: Race, Sports and the Modern World." Nation. Aug. 10-17 1998: 11-20. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 May. 2014.
During the 1950’s when skateboarding first got it’s legs it was a very popular activity to take part in during vacations to ocean side tourist attractions, or as an activity after surfing. Yet, by 1965, skateboarding had diminished in popularity completely, therefore almost every skateboard manufacturer went out of business. . During this time the only people who even wanted to skateboard were surfers who needed something to ride to practice their surfing while the waves were flat. Due to the fact that there were no skateboards being made or sold, those who wanted to skate had to take it upon them-selves to manufacture their own boards. Using any kind of scrap they could find to build a usable board out of, such as metal scrap pieces or old planks. These determined surfers had to unscrew the trucks and wheels off of roller skates and attach them to the bottom of their boards. And because these kids were from very poor families for the most part, and next to non had jobs of their own, they had to resort to taking the trucks and wheels off the roller skates secretly in the stores. Although.., the clay wheels th...
Throughout time, the progression and evolution of snowboarding has increased greatly. It has gone from non existence in the late 1970’s, to one of the most watched action sports in a matter of thirty-five years. The upward takeoff and popularity of snowboarding relies on two people, Jake Burton and Shaun White. Jake Burton back in 1977 had the vision for what snowboarding would be, but Shaun White had what it took to manifest that vision. Evidence has shown that time brings change in sports, history has repeated itself with snowboarding, this history reflects the time & changes that has occurred in America.
Tony Hawk is the best skate boarder in the world. He inspires kids all over the world to skate board and to be creative and make new tricks. Tony Hawk is my hero because he is one of the greatest skaters ever in the history of skateboarding. He also is my hero because he is a kind man who is not selfish with his money like other millionaires. He is also a great role model for skaters to look up to because he's so good at skating. He is one of my greatest role models on the planet.
Scott Hamilton is a genuinely talented figure skater and terrific role model, who kept a positive attitude and determination throughout his tough childhood, overwhelming amounts of practice, and throughout a cancer diagnosis and brain tumor. Instead of looking back at his illnesses with sorrow, he is proud of where they took him. His cancer battle got him a chance to found the C.A.R.E.S. Initiative (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship) where he speaks to people who are battling cancer just like he was. He works as a motivational speaker in many other events across the country. Continuing to live positively, Scott Scovell Hamilton said, “I know that the only true disability in life is a bad attitude.”
The grandson of a slave, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia; he was the youngest of five children. Jackie grew up very poor, but little did he know that his athletic ability would open the doors for his future. After his father deserted the family when Jackie was six months old, his mother, Mallie Robinson, moved the family to California in search of work. California also subjected blacks to segregation at that time, but to less of a degree than in the Deep South. The young Jackie defused his anger over this prejudice by immersing himself in sports. He displayed extraordinary athletic skills in high school, excelling at football, basketball, baseball, and track. After helping Pasadena Junior College win the Junior College Football Championship, Robinson took his athletic ability to the University of California at Los Angeles and became a top collegiate running back in 1939.
Gurney, Gerald S. "Stop Lowering the Bar for College Athletes." Chronicle Of Higher Education 57.32 (2011): A30. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
Jackie Robinson realized that he was an athlete at a young age. His motivation was his older brother Mathew Robinson. Jackie’s older brother Mathew was in the 1936 Olympics...
Platt, Larry. New jack jocks: rebels, race, and the American athlete. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.. 56-60
In the meantime that Edwards and other researcher activists were composing in popular sources and freely debating issues related with race and sports, researchers in various disciplines started research that factually reported examples of racial isolation and separation in sports a...
Watching the Olympics is like watching amazing physical feats unfold before your eyes. Bars are set, limits are broken, and every person who got there has a story of perseverance and dedication, but the one which appealed most to me was the story of Usain Bolt.
Lance Armstrong was born September 18th 1971 in Plano, Texas as a kid lance was a very talented athlete. Armstrong became involved and participating in sports when he was ten years old. Armstrong did a lot of practicing and took up competitive cycling at the age thirteen. Lance also started competing in triathlons when he was thirteen years old. Armstrong was very good at triathlons and became a professional triathlete when he was sixteen years old. Also Armstrong became a champion of the national sprint course triathlon in 1989 and also 1990. Completing these goals were a major step in Armstrong’s life because it showed people that he could compete at a young age. Armstrong First started focusing on on cycling during his junior year of high school. He chose cycling because it was his most favorite sport. Lance Armstrong got his high school diploma in 1989.