Thesis: Are athletes genetically gifted? As we all known success is not given, it is taken. In this paper I will identify the four most important qualities that distinguish “superstar” athletes from the crowd. For a successful athlete to achieve stardom it takes a positive attitude, commitment, concentration and motivation. These are the keys to achieving excellence.
Athletics has a history of importance in our society today. Across the country, newspapers have devoted entire sections and televisions have created entire channels dedicated to covering the latest updates on sports. Attention has not always been solely about games and competitions; the spotlight has recently been redirected to achievement. This is quite a change since 1983, when sports fan was always celebrating a team of sports players. Today each player has his or her fans that they support, celebrate, cheer and even imitate. There has been a significant shift. Sports fan seems to be attracted more to individual achievement as oppose to corporate achievement. Why are some athlete singled out most times from the rest. Are they doing far more than the others? What makes them successful? These and other considerations will be explored in this expository work.
Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Frazer, Serena Williams, Tiger woods and Michael Phelps are just a few who have reached the pinnacle of success. In addition to that they also have something’s in common. What these athletes have in common is that their sport is important to them and they’re committed to being the best that they can be within the scope of their limitations. They set high, realistic goals for themselves and train and play hard. They are successful because they are pursuing their goals and enjoying their spor...
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...must simply want to participate in your sport. Not everyone will choose or is able able to persist through difficult tasks and difficult times, especially when these rewards and benefits are not immediately forthcoming. But cutting edge athletes realize that many of the benefits come from their participation, not the outcome.
As was previously stated, exceptionally athletes are ordinary human with extraordinary qualities that they have learnt to develop through their approach, obligation, attentiveness and enthusiasm. These are the foundations upon which an athlete’s success is built. They are not endowed with special gifts; they are simply devoted to hard work. Like the old Jamaica proverb goes, “If yuh wan good yuh nose haffi run.” Meaning: In order to get good things out of life, you must be prepared to deal with uncomfortable/unpleasant situations along the way.
...same page, they all know what they are capable of. Most of all, one thing that is important in all athletics around the world is having a family based relationship. Not only is it difficult to be on your own, but with the help of others things start to become more visible.
Even with knowledge of Mosher’s Ph.D. in Sports Studies, the essay would have been stronger if it included additional credible resources. I agree with Mosher’s unstated evaluative claim that society should not expect someone to possess the characteristics of a hero simply because they are a sports athlete. Yet, Mosher asserts that society unrealistically demands their sports athletes to possess traits of high character. After reading this essay, I still ask; why not?
The example of an athlete is adapted to clarify this belief. If one wants to be a star athlete, then it is important for one to train properly and work hard before the event. Supposing that one does not prepare for the event, then the expectation sh...
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.
Sports have undoubtedly had a global impact on culture. From ordinary, popular sports such as running to more blatantly bizarre and obscure activities such as extreme ironing, the world-wide appeal of athletic activities in society has led to their integration in a variety of cultural outlets such as television, social media, journalism, and film. Extending from this desire for athletic competition is the equally ravenous appetite for talented athletes who ultimately transform the sports in which they play. One particular form of communicative media, classical literature, has largely been influenced by society’s desire for the epic athlete, enabling a spectrum of authors from Plato to Hemingway to cater to this audience. Transcending the multitude
As the Washington Post notes, “nature or nurture? … one is useless without the other” (Fard). If someone is identified to be talented in athletics, coaches are needed make them perform the best they can perform. There are aspects of sports and athleticism that are not related to raw performance. In sports there are tactics that one needs to learn to succeed and in athletics one needs to have the mental mindset and experience to deal with the pressure. Although our psychological mindset may be linked to our genes, tactics and experience can only be developed through practice and training. One may point to the fact that certain countries such as Jamaica and Kenya consistently produce short and long distance runners as proof of genes playing a part in their success, but there are reasons for this not being the case. Jamaica is so successful at short distance running “because almost everyone on the island tries the sport” (Aschwanden). While in other countries such as the US, sports such as football, baseball and basketball have a much higher priority over track events. Training is needed to develop both the physical and mental aspects of athleticism to their full
Perseverance, dedication, and discipline, these are the qualities that have been instilled in me throughout my training. My sport requires failing repeatedly until consistency is found in perfection. Therefore, perseverance proved crucial as I attempted skill progressions and difficult routines. Dedication was essential whenever I watched others miss practice for social events. I didn’t recognize the immediate benefits of my deep rooted commitment until months and years later; now I have applied this devotion to every aspect of my life.
Every elite athlete makes it look easy. Splashing through the water or striding gracefully down the track making it look effortless. Some people assume they are “naturals,” that their perfect DNA sequence is what has brought them to this level. Others argue that hard work and drive is what has made the difference, separating the elite from the average. These thoughts are the ones that give rise to the age-old nature vs. nurture debate. Countless hours of studies and research has concluded: it’s both. High performance sports consultant Ross Tucker puts it this way, “The science of success is about the coming together of dozens, perhaps hundreds of factors” (1). The relationship of such factors, including genetics, types and lengths of training, and environment are interlaced in such a tightly woven web that it has proven to be extremely difficult to discern exactly how much effect each one has.
Sports specialization among young people is when a child or teenager trains for and competes in only one sport. They work extremely hard year-round in order to become well-rounded in every aspect of the game. They make sacrifices and put their health in jeopardy in order to become the ultimate participant in their sport. One of the many young athletes who is only participating in and focusing on one sport is fifteen-year-old OJ Mayo from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the young talented athlete who is predicted to be the next LeBron James in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This young athlete provides evidence of striving for perfection in this single sport when reviewing his daily schedule versus that of his siblings. He says, “The other kids go home and sleep. I come back to the gym” (Thompson, 2004). He is obviously putting forth a lot of effort in his sport to become successful at an early age.
Athletics has made a difference in my life through its redefining of the word “success.” Before I got involved with track and cross country, success was measured by goals I set and achieved for myself that made me happy. Since then, I have realized that success is much more gratifying when it is dependent on making those around me proud. In track, success is when I have trained hard enough so that I am able to help my relay team win a race or break the school record. In cross country, success is when I have built up enough endurance to contribute to the team score and help my team move on to the state meet. This mentality has translated to my daily life, as I am constantly working hard to please those around me. At school, I always do my homework and get good grades so that my teachers do not have to focus extra energy on getting me to do my work. At work, I strive to go above and beyond my typical duties so that I can lessen the responsibilities of my co-workers. At home, I help out with chores without being asked so that my parents can have one less thing
As Miller and Wilson revealed, athleticism is not always analogous with success. Willy regarded Biff highly because he observed Biff’s presence and athleticism, and he believed these qualities would result in immediate success. Today many parents associate sports with success and therefore pressure their children to excel in sports. In today’s society it is very rare that fears of discrimination would cause children to not pursue a lucrative career in sports. Both Miller and Wilson knew the impact of sports on family dynamics, and how sports have evolved from a leisure time activity to a full-time commitment. Clearly, many of the qualitative aspects of sports--competition, teamwork and physical dexterity can contribute to being a success in almost any career.
It’s difficult to say whether motivation is produced by the mind rather than acquired through experience, our genes are what primarily affect our intellect, while being deprived of observing external factors can contribute adversely towards a person’s developmental progression and their primary outlook on their performance. Motivation is essential for success in sports, it is why people strive to become better athletes. The direction and intensity of one’s efforts reflects on their determination to achieve their goals. The more motivated you are, the higher the likeliness you have to succ...
It is amazing to watch how most athletes perform at their peak and continue to produce and set record-breaking performances. What drives them to these high levels of motivation and productivity? They may come from various influences and source of motivation and these similar sources can also energize certain individuals affect behavior and arouse their drive.
As Shannon indicates athletes are slowly taking in that role of building those key characteristics. For instance the role of being a leader and owning up to their responsibilities.
Success goes hand in hand with failure. “You win some, you lose some” is a famous quote which epitomises one of the main core’s of life as these two components are apart of every human being’s daily life. In the same way, they are a part of every sporting event. In life everyone strives for success, yet not always do we attain success instantly, often it requires many failures before success can be achieved. Humphrey asserts that sport ‘brings out the worst in people’, and yes, it is within failure where the worst is brought out of people as many people hate the feeling of failure. However, no matter what one fails at, they will always express their bad side, for example: when one fails at their job, when one fails their license and so on. Sports is the best opportunity for people to learn the benefits and necessity of failure, thus allowing their outlook on failure to be change which in turn corrects the behaviour that comes with failure. Sports also allows one to feel the sense of accomplishment that emanates with success. It therefore teaches the sportsmen how to cope better wit...