The structural performance of sports teams — it’s something rarely talked about by fans. Sitting on the sideline watching your favorite team for entertainment’s sake is one thing, but being on the field as a player is another. Frequently, we hear onlookers discuss what they think to be the ins and outs of the sport they may be a fan of. Having played and managed a variety of sports, I have watched firsthand the way onlookers can make assumptions and “coach” from the stands.
Sports are about more than just kicking a ball around or aiming for a net of some sort to reach a common goal of winning. The elements of team spirit and team management that come along with athletics teach athletes at a young age how to communicate with their peers — helping to instill a healthy sense of competition.
Walking out onto a field or court with your teammates is best compared to stepping on a stage. The adrenaline rush that sets in during a coach’s pep talk or a pregame ritual fill an athlete’s stomach with butterflies. Team spirit creates a universal feeling, touching all of those who have ever played a sport or attended a competition. The idea that American culture has created an outlet for anyone to try a sport and for everyone else to take part as a fan has allowed for people to unite for a common cause that crosses racial and ethnic boundaries.
Leagues like the NBA and NFL provide a space for older fans to socialize while serving as a goal for younger athletes to aspire to. Without sports, I am not sure what my own life would be like. All of the common social and physical skills that I embody now are rooted at what I learned from being a member of a team. Whether it be a way for my mom to get me outside and active as a child, or, as a high school athlete, being a way to chase the adrenaline rush driven by becoming a champion athlete, I owe who I am to sports.
The overall structure that the sports world provides assists in furthering a sense of self-motivation. Given, a system allowing kids to compete against one another can be argued as detrimental to a developing adolescent brain. Parents have said that they believe that their kids do not need the added pressures of competing against their peers in order to win a prize to learn the life skills that sports teach. But while a portion of adults think this way, the others, including myself, believe that integrating competition into children’s lives is helpful.
Without that extra push from my own mom to try everything in sight that involved running, a ball or a bat I would never have found my own passion: softball.
Chelsea Strong is an undeclared freshman.