1/14 quote

In the book, Coach, by Andrew Blauner, each chapter is a different story about a coach who held significance in somebodies life, almost like an interview in story form. One particular story that stood out to me was about a girl who had a gym teacher who always failed her and tried to hold her back because of her lack of effort in sports. She then gets into the benefit of gym class to young kids and the meaning behind competitive games and the lessons they teach you. One quote that stood out to me was,

"Physical education, and especially team sports, teaches you in a visceral way about success and failure. Someone wins, someone loses, there are no pluses and minuses, no extra credit for showing up" (Blauner 81).

I really liked this quote because I believe it reigns true to all competitive sports, especially at a young age. When a child is very little their parents usually don't like to upset them, so in turn they don't know what disappointment really feels like. If they are introduced to sports at a young age, then within a short amount of time they will be playing competitively if they stick with it. Even if it is only once a week, going to practice and working towards a goal of winning is very good for children, and will naturally make them competitive if they enjoy putting in the time and effort. It teaches them the value of hard work along with how to win and lose. I especially like when it says that in sports, there is no extra credit given for just showing up. This is a very important message to send to children early in life, so it sticks with them and helps shape them. In many aspects of life this reigns true. One must work to achieve success in life, just showing up doesn't count. You must be ready to work and learn, just like in sports, to gain a competitive edge over your opponent and succeed in your goals. I can relate to this quote because I have played sports since I was very little, and I believe that they played an essential part in shaping me into who I am today. I have always loved the competitiveness, and they have taught me how good it feels to achieve success after you work hard for it. I know that I will be able to transfer these skills into my life when I enter the workforce. It is important to me to work hard and try to work my way up in whatever company I get a job in, and I know that amount of work it takes to succeed due to sports. Even though it is not exactly the same, it is the same principle behind it, and this principle was implemented into my through sports.