She runs down the court. A bead of sweat rolls down her face. To her, this is the feeling of hard work. Many valuable lessons can be learned through sports that may dramatically help a teenager. Work ethic, responsibility, teamwork, leadership, passion, success, and failure: all of these can be learned through sports and used in various ways throughout the athlete’s life.
Sports promote work ethic. In sports, there is practice on every weekday, and possibly some on weekends. This shows the athletes that nothing comes easy; it takes hard work and dedication. Practice makes perfect. This is also true in the classroom. In order to get good grades and full education, hard work must be applied.
Responsibility is a key factor in school and sports. Sports require an athlete to be responsible and attend all practices. If an injury occurs, the athlete must be responsible enough to inform the coach and take the proper steps for a full recovery. In the classroom, responsibility is also important. A student must do all assignments correctly and turn them in on time. If the student does not understand an assignment, it is their responsibility to ask questions or go to the teacher for extra help before or after school.
In most sports, nothing can be accomplished without teamwork. The entire team must work as one to achieve success. This is also true in the classroom. If a student does not work well with others, this will cause problems with teachers and peers. Group labs, study groups, etc. all require working with others, which is a very important skill. In a job, everyone needs to be able to work with each other. If teamwork can not be accomplished, a student will struggle throughout their entire life.
Before a competition, there is always a captain meeting to review the rules and regulations of the sport. The captain is in charge of making sure the entire team follows these rules and regulations and asked the officials if there are any questions. Leadership is developed through this. Every class needs an excellent leader; someone who is willing to answer questions from teachers, help others, organize study groups, and promote positive attitudes.
Many athletes are very passionate about what they do. They are competitive and hate to lose. If they slack off they could disappoint themselves and their teammates. Sports show them that no matter what the task, 100 per cent must be given. They must give their all in every game and every assignment.
By winning a competition athletes feel a sense of accomplishment; their work has paid off. Everyone wants to succeed, and sports show athletes that hard work must be applied in order to receive successful results, such as a win or a good grade. Every athlete knows the feeling of a disappointing loss. This shows them that in all aspects of life there are hardships. Not everything turns out as planned. The important part is being able to learn from your mistakes and do better the next time. A student may get a bad grade on an assignment, but going over what was done wrong and doing it correctly the next time is the most important.
Some would argue that sports put an emphasis on the wrong priorities; however, without sports, athletes may not learn some very valuable skills to carry with them throughout their entire lives. The skills that athletes learn through sports are not ones that can be taught, but can definitely be applied, in the classroom.
She runs down the court and wipes her sweat away. She realizes that no matter the outcome of the game, she has tried her hardest and that’s what matters most. Sports have taught her work ethic, responsibility, teamwork, leadership, passion, success, and failure. All of these are important lessons to learn for school work and work outside of school.