Why Do Sports Matter

Why does sport matter?
The moment of elation when I scored a winning basket, qualified for sectionals, or crossed the finish line of the hardest race was the reason I played sports. However, those moments would not have been gratifying in the least bit had it not been for the hours of hard work and perseverance I fueled into my training. Any coach or athlete will say, “Playing sports builds character,” but what constitutes character? Athletes “build character” by working hard and practicing self-discipline.
Sports taught me the importance of hard work and the invaluable lesson that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” (Citation). I surpassed many of my peers with my academic performance and I was a seemingly natural musician, so why would sports be …show more content…
My male coaches displayed more sensitivity towards female athletes than male athletes, but this heightened sensitivity was not to be misconstrued as lowered expectations. The coaches I worked with trained athletes according to their potential, not according to their gender. I did not recognize gender based coaching techniques, but I noticed that the weight room was dominated by male athletes. The loud clanging of weights and heavy metal music was intimidating to most females, so it was rare to see another girl in the weight room. Women had the option to train with men in the weight room but the environment the coaches fostered seemed to unintentionally discourage coed training. Male and female athletes were not trained differently, but I vividly recall instances where coaches were perceived differently due to their gender. Coach Sarah Flint, the varsity girls’ basketball coach, often paced along the baseline yelling to her team and yelling at the refs for their poor calls. She quickly gained the reputation of being a “bitch”; however, her male counterparts were regarded as advocates for their teams when they yelled in the same