Tyler Douglas Professor Thamm Eng 101–10:00 a.m. Due: Sep. 29, 2008 Essay #1 Narrative A major role in my life would definitely be sports. It is almost as if I look up to sports because I could not live without them. Sports pretty much define me as me. I love to play sports as well as watch all kinds of sports on T.V. and if I could ever go to a game and watch the players play live I would be thrilled. Basically sports define me because I am ambitious, I finish what I start, I set goals for myself, and I am a fierce competitor in which I love to win and I hate to lose. The greatest part about sports to me is living for the moment when the game is on the line and the pressure is on can you come through and make a play for your...show more content...
With the game tied 6–6 that is when I went into my own little zone and was in my moment. The crowed was electrified and cheering us on. I thought about all the hard work the coaches put us through doing two a days and keeping us late after a hard practice, spending all of that time and hard work just for this one little moment when the game was on the line. Back to reality our quarterback had started the play and it looked like it was going nowhere and we might have to got into overtime. Then after about 6 crazy seconds he threw the ball to our halfback and he broke a couple tackles and the somehow stretched across the goal line by about 2 inches and we had taken the lead 8–6 with 52 seconds to go. When the game clock hit 00:00 for the first time in our schools history the football team had beaten Aberdeen and none of us could believe it. This was a special moment. Now, it was in this moment when I had realized that sports define me as me because we never gave up, none of us wanted to lose, we set a goal and completed it, but most important we kept our eye on the prize and came through in the moment when the game was on the line. Nobody is going to remember how many games we won or who the best player on the team was that season, but I guarantee what people will remember is when we had beaten Aberdeen for the first time in school
Get more content
Sports Journalism
For my career research paper I have chosen to delve into the world of the sportswriter, and take a closer look at what that occupation may hold for myself. I have chosen to research this form of journalism because I consider myself to be a sports fanatic, and would very much enjoy spending the rest of my working days writing about the conditions in the world of sports. During the last year or so I have taken a period of time everyday to relax and read over sports articles from baseball and football at some of my favorite websites, such as espn.com or nesn.com, or to sit down and watch Sports Center on ESPN. I also seem to have an ability to remember statistics and rosters of players and...show more content...
Writers are found in their office in the morning, and they have afternoons off unless there is a game or interview that they are supposed to cover. Nights are spent covering an event or interview and then writing the article for it afterwards that night (Heitzman 44). Sports journalism can be a difficult occupation at times, but it can also be very rewarding. To help cover games better writers get tickets for excellent seats at all events they are assigned to, they meet with sports stars and coaches (if they are not a writer in a small town newspaper), and sometimes you travel abroad to cover events (Heitzman 44).
A sportswriter in a small town newspaper would be one of two employees in the sports section. The other employee is the editor. The small town newspaper sportswriter collects information about local teams and games and writes about them. National stories are often taken from acclaimed papers such as The Associated Press (Heitzman 44). In a larger city's newspaper, the sports department may have 10 employees. All of these employees have a certain sport that they excel in writing about, such as football, baseball, hockey, basketball, golf, or high school sports (Heitzman 44).
Sportswriters oftentimes will work odd hours. Writers for morning newspapers will work in the afternoon and evening five days a week including Saturday. That
Get more content
Throughout this vast country we as Americans are entertained by many different things, including movies, music, and sports. Although, there are many ways for me to be entertained, I prefer the enjoyment of sports. As a youngster I enjoyed playing backyard games. We rounded up neighborhood kids and played for fun. We played either football or basketball every weekend. These two sports are the favorites of those who play them around the world. While these sports are alike in many ways, they are very different in other aspects. Although sports such as football and basketball are physically demanding, I, as a player of both, have noticed the similarities as well as the differences. For instance, in football, I play fullback, and I carry...show more content...
The offense of football is one unit that goes on the field to play against the opponents' defense. When the offensive unit scores or turns the ball over, it goes to the sideline to await its turn to go back out on to the field, and the same rules apply for the defensive unit. Football scores can be in increments of one, two, three, and six points. They are scored by kicking a field goal after a touchdown, tackling for safety, kicking a field goal in regulation play, running the ball into the end zone. Football is played at a high speed with a lot of intensity. Basketball, on the other hand is played inside on a court. There are only five players per team on the court at a time. Players have to play both offense and defense simultaneously. The scoring in basketball is also different; points can be scored in increments of one, two and three, these are scored by shooting the ball into a hoop. Basketball is a game that is played by skilled people who can jump high, shoot well, and have great ball handling skills. Playing basketball requires you to have to have endurance, because running from offense to defense and back to offense requires you to be in great shape. Basketball is played at a medium pace and can be very exciting and nail biting. To sum it all up, both of these sports are equally exciting. They are both played with a lot enthusiasm and heart. Basketball and football have there differences and similarities, Get more content
Sports
Everyone loves sports stars. They look great, they appear on television and like rock stars, they perform with the entire world watching. No wonder young adults make heroes out of their favorites. Great athletes teach us more than how to swing a bat or dunk a basketball. In the face of seemingly impossible challenges they teach us that success whether on the basketball court or in the classroom takes dedication, confidence, and a hefty dose of hard work. Unfortunately, Rick Telander's article, "The Wrong People for the job (athlete's as role models)," is ahasty generalization. I believe his article provides the wrong message among young adults, male or female, throughout the world, and discourages the reader...show more content... Stories about superstar athletes teach us about working hard and believing in ourselves and in being passionate about what we do. So it is unfair to say that an athletes skills aren't valuable both on and off the playing field. In addition, Telander in the second paragraph uses a hastygeneralization and implies that "we are continually let down by our sports demigods." Also, he uses a form of "mud slinging" (ad hominem) and writes: "It could hardly be otherwise, since our desire to have athletes fill these roles is so great and our scrutiny of them so intense and the athletes themselves are so unsuited for such duty that failure is inevitable." Once again I disagree with the writers statement. Still even the greatest champions have flaws. Just because an athlete has the perfect golf swing doesn't mean he or she is the perfect parent, friend, or spokesperson. Even rich, famous, and successful people get sick and face the same problems other people do. They also make mistakes. Separating and athlete's professional and personal life can be tough. When a sports star gets in trouble with the law in their private life or makes the six o'clock news, fans are often left disappointed. But many high–profile players work hard to be positive role models to children. They raise money for charities and act as mentors, talking to student groups and volunteering their time to programs that help kids stay off drugs and stay in school.
Get more content
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature's process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self–esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the "psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation" (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516). The type of sport adolescents choose to participate in can be considered...show more content...
153). Social play through organized sports gives the adolescent a means for physical activity thus, increasing self–esteem through appearance. By increasing the participation rate, the physical ability of the adolescent increasing once again provides an "opportunity to demonstrate these attributes" (Findlay & Coplan, 2008, p. 158). Sports participation increases the athlete's self–esteem and well–being over their non–participant peers. The psychosocial benefits for adolescents through sports participation provide an advantage context for skills (physical and social), self–esteem, and anxiety reduction.
Theoretical practices of sportsmanship in sports provide adolescents with positive attitudes about fairness, honesty, and responsibility. Athletes learn to reflect these values of sportsmanship and apply it to their daily lives, once again providing positive psychosocial benefits to youth athletes. "From the perspective of sport psychology, the sphere of research that encompasses the key concepts of sportsmanship, ethics, and morality has been termed moral development in sport" (Goldstein & Iso–Ahola 2006, p. 19). Moral development is influenced by the sporting environment that the adolescent is exposed too. The adolescent's psychological growth is dependent on "moral cognitions (thoughts of right and wrong),
Get more content
Raising children in today's society is not for the faint of heart. Raising children has never been easy, but it is especially difficult in youth sports today. Coaches and parents are putting a lot of pressure on our young sons and daughters. The pressure to succeed in sports at such a young age is taking the fun out of the sport by making it all about winning. A Personal Perspective My own interaction in youth sports has been many: As a parent, participant and an observer. My experiences as a child in youth sports were mostly positive. In my early days of sports in school, all children were encouraged to play for their school, skill level did not matter. There were no tryouts and no one...show more content... If the messages displayed by adults in reference to the sporting events have a decidedly negative tone, the impact of youth sports programs on the emotional development of children will not have positive outcomes. There are a number of factors that can impact the influences of organized youth sports programs on the participants, and studies have shown that the results of the full picture of youth sports is not always a positive one. Some of the influencing factors include: the participation of parents in youth sports programs, the suggestion by coaches, parents and observers that winning is more important than the game itself, and the nature of sports, that lends itself to competitive and aggressive behavior. It is difficult to develop a concrete perspective about the impacts of youth sports programs without considering these influences. A Child's Perspective Many children simply want to participate in sports programs to have fun, have a recreational activity and work together with friends towards a common goal (Kohl and Nelson, 1990). It has been recognized that competition can foster mistrust between children, when winning serves to dismiss losers, creates envy of the winners and leads children away from the focus of the game (Kohn and Nelson, 1990). It is also clear that the pressure that parents Get more content
Introduction
The primary object of sports is, of course, exercise, but sports have a far greater impact on the wellbeing of many besides physical health. Introducing new opportunities for youth, sports create unbreakable bonds, build athletes' characters, unite communities, and promote teamwork. Undoubtedly, sports can positively impact many children of all ages. As children grow older and become more athletic, parents and athletes may consider specializing in one sport to maximize the athlete's chance of earning a scholarship for college; furthermore, almost every youth athlete, myself included, dreams of becoming a professional athlete one day, so they will do anything to achieve that goal. On the contrary, specializing in one sport may have the opposite effect. Depriving themselves from diverse environments, specialized athletes are excluded from valuable lessons that are beneficial for sports and life. Specializing in one sport today is not merely playing one season of a sport, but specialization is intensely concentrating on one sport year–round. For this reason, athletes should play multiple sports because focusing on one sport all year does not produce the same benefits as playing multiple sports throughout the year. Most athletes, including myself, would probably agree that they love more than one sport, and if this is the case, then athletes should participate in every sport they love. After all, the purpose of sports is not to earn money or to become famous but to
Get more content