Introduction
When we think about things that impacted our lives and shaped us to become some of the people we are today. We think about mentors, teachers, parents, friends, and our environments. The introduction of sports into some of our lives has also played a major role in the way in which some people live their lives.
When looking back at some of my first memories of sports I remember on Sundays my family and I would go to church then come home and my father and I would watch football games all day. I would always look forward to spending that time with my dad and us sitting talking about how good or bad players are on the field. Being from Washington D.C, most people in the area are Redskins fans. I grew up rooting for the San Diego Chargers, one thing I learned from sports when I was young is that no matter what team you like you will always have haters of your team and people who like your team.
Social Impact
As I began middle school, I was playing football and basketball I never really knew what sport I wanted to play. I have always been heavier in weight compared to other kids in school so I did not really want to play sports. I decided to play baseball at the start of the eighth-grade, it was hard at first to play because I would be fatigued at the beginning of the conditioning summer session.
Playing sports at the youth recreational level prepared me to get ready for organized school sports in high school. Coming into high school I believe my peers would say that I was a funny guy, I began to be outspoken and more engaging with the students. I owe it all to baseball because when I entered high school I tried out for the baseball team and I made it as freshmen and also I was named a captain.
Being a captain allowed me to improve my leadership skills and also my listening skills not only on the field but off the field as well. A recent article by Healthdirect says that “Playing in a team helps children to develop many of the social skills they will need for life. It teaches them to cooperate, to be less selfish, and to listen to other children”.
These skills helped me lead my team to a championship victory in 2015, we struggled a lot that we faced a lot of adversity and hardship that season but as a team, we were able to communicate what needed to get done in order to achieve our overall goal of the championship and we were able to accomplish it.
Academic Impact
When it came to the classroom, some of the lessons that I learned on the field was that I could never give up on myself. Even when I would sometimes get bad grades on tests in class I knew that I would have to dig deep and study hard in order to get a good grade on the next test. According to ODPHP (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion) children that play sports are more likely to get better grades and not miss school as frequently as other students. I felt that as a captain I could not let my team down by getting bad grades, because that would stop me from playing.
Physical Impact
Throughout my time playing baseball other players would often tell me I suck or I wasn’t going to be good at it. So I started to work on my conditioning more so that I could get better, I started seeing improvements in my weight loss because of the exercise and working to become a better player. According to Sportsrec playing sports keeps you active and healthy, baseball allowed me to develop proper workout habits that will help control my weigh, and in the long run, keep me healthy.
MY 2015 Championship metal showing the hard work that was put it that year.
This video shows the positive impacts and importance of sports on a persons health.
C.T.A
Readers, I encourage you to try and think about the times that sports have impacted your life or impacted anyone close to you and write down the moment and tweet it.
Alphamale 