My own life has been one of unique experiences, challenges, and development. Throughout my childhood, I have learned the importance of strong relationships and gained knowledge, and wisdom from my elders, parents, and peers. I have done this through my experiences playing high school sports and the challenges that I have faced doing these activities. My high school football, basketball, and tennis teams were the most crucial in my development as an individual. Sports have been the largest influence on my development as an individual, and the mentors and coaches that they have brought me have helped to shape me into the person I am still striving to become. The conflict and problem-solving skills that I acquired from these teams are what have influenced my development the most and inspired me to become a more courageous, truthful, and respectful person.
My football team at my high school was characterized by friendly comradery, enjoyment, and lessons learned that will last my lifetime. The importance of sports in my life came from my parents, especially my dad. He instilled a love for the game in me, but more importantly, he showed me the lessons that could be learned from sports and how they can be used to improve my character. This came into action during my senior year of high school when my coach named me a captain of my football team. This put me into a position where my younger teammates would look up to me, and carefully watch my every move. The coach would always tell me that I was laying the foundation for my younger teammates to benefit from when they grew up. The constant pressure of my peers and those younger than me looking up to me made me wary of my every action, and that is what I found ironic. I asked myself: ‘What makes us act different when people are watching, and why can’t I act like people are watching the decisions I make all the time’. This point in my life strengthened the character traits in me such as respect, leadership, and perseverance. I never realized the impact I could have on someone both short term and long term until my coach pointed it out to me. However, with every sports team, there will be disagreements that test the wits and lessons that our coaches, parents, and mentors instilled in us. In practice, tensions would rise as the temperature did, and in central Florida, the temperature gets high. It was easy to be respectful to my coaches and a leader to my teammates, but as the season went on and things didn’t go as planned, I learned it isn’t as easy to be the person that everyone looks up to. However, as my coach used to say: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. I realized that how I carried myself could affect how everyone else on my team did, and that if they saw me sulking through the locker room, they would do the same. About halfway through the season, we were losing games quickly and the team was in a state of confusion and disappointment, and that is when I realized that this is what makes a leader. I was reminded of the time when I was just appointed a captain and the time when I was very mindful of the example I was setting for the people around me, however, I realized that it’s easy to be a leader when everything is going well, but the real leaders are the ones who persevere through the hard times and work for the good times. The grueling activity of football caused me a lot of problems, but also lessons I will never forget and pass on to my kids one day.
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The dynamic of my basketball team was far different from any other sport because we were a small group of guys who had been playing together since middle school. As fun as it was to play on a team with my best friends, or as we called each other ‘brothers’, we would argue and create conflict just as real brothers would do. This team was the closest I’ve ever been with a team and the bond we had with each other was a unique experience that made it harder but more enjoyable to work through the trials and successes of the season. I vividly remember the team gathering in the locker room at halftime of the game that would either send us to playoffs or send us home and end our season together. We were down ten points, and everyone was playing badly, yet no one wanted to take the blame for it. In the locker room, everyone got to speak their minds, but all that came from it was disagreement and bickering. Eventually, after many yelling matches and arguments, we came to the conclusion that figuring out what we need to fix in order to win was a team effort, just like playing the sport of basketball was a team effort. Also, my basketball coach didn’t establish one set captain or leader to get the final word or tell people what to do and how to do it, he let us figure things out ourselves. This aspect of the team was one that taught me how to discuss my emotions and the problems I had with a situation and be able to work through it. The dynamic of the team was healthier than any other team because, throughout the season, we learned how to work with each other and work through personal problems as well as problems socially between the team. The story ends with us losing the game and we all cried as it was the last game we would ever play as a team, but the lessons that the team taught us as a group will benefit every one of my teammates and me in the rest of our schooling, careers, and lives. Learning to work with others and being able to hear the concerns that others have with my actions or a circumstance they are in is a crucial step to being a leader, and I believe everyone has the ability to lead someone to make the right decision. There were people who embraced the system like me and used it to make them better basketball players, but some kids on my basketball team didn’t utilize the ‘rule by the people’ system that our coach instilled and instead, they would talk first, not listen, and get upset when what they said didn’t go. This showed me that every situation that I am placed in has the ability to either make me a better person morally, emotionally, and socially, all I have to do is treat others how I would like to be treated and understand that everyone’s voice needs to be heard and taken into consideration.
My experiences playing the sport of tennis are different than any other sport. Due to the lower level of intensity that the sport entails, the challenges came in ways that were unfamiliar to me. As an extrovert, I have always been able to talk through any problems I had with peers or teammates, but in tennis, you’re out on the court all alone, and the conflict becomes internal. This was a struggle that I had to work through, because I was used to helping out disgruntled teammates or reassuring them that they can get better and improve their skills, and I wasn’t used to doing that to myself. Being alone out on the tennis court caused me to have to figure out how to be a leader within myself. I had developed the skills to uplift others, but I didn’t know how to uplift myself when I got down, and that was something I had to acquire. Socially, I can figure out what people need to hear to uplift their mood and improve their mental state, but in my own mind, I still was struggling to be able to self-improve my own mindset. Through the sport of tennis, and with the help of my coach, I was able to learn how to be a leader to myself and not let me get down on myself. My coach showed me that your greatest enemy can sometimes be your own mind and thoughts. They can overtake you and hold you back from your full potential, as well as confuse your emotions to the point where you aren’t able to maintain your composure. My coach always told me to never get beat by myself, and if you are going to lose, let someone else beat you. The power of the mind is strong, and if you can use it to your advantage, anything is possible. This ability of the mind that I discovered has made life easier in every aspect. The personal conflicts I endured playing tennis made me stronger by changing my mindset on competition, and it showed me that trials in my life are put there to help me develop as a person and to better equip me to help others through similar struggles. Also, I am one person to never makes the same mistake twice, and when I face struggles, I can learn how to not make the same mistake twice and how to work through it.
Sports can make us better people or expose the flaws in our own personalities. Most of the good character traits I have learned in my life came from the coaches and sports I have played. Courage, trustworthiness, and respect have all been instilled in me through the challenges that sports have made me encounter. The people that I have met through the multiple sports I played have also had an everlasting effect on my mindset and characteristics. They are people who I will remember forever, and some of them I will stay friends with forever. These sports have taught me so many skills, such as problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills, that will benefit me for the rest of my life in schooling, my career, and my family life.
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