Sports have become a major part of our culture. Sports now serve as entertainment, recreation, and even religion for some die-hard fans. All levels of sport have become relevant and elite leagues, year round competition, and travel associations have become the norm. The importance of winning, getting scholarships, and competing at the highest level has tremendously increased the pressure from parents and coaches for athletes to succeed. The rise in sports participants has seen the significant increase in sports related injuries. In 2006 the CDC reported that high school students accounted for an estimated 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctors visits, and 30,000 hospitalizations. This number has surely risen from three years ago. Injured athletes not only have to worry about recovery and rehabilitation from their injuries, but the emotional and mental impact injuries can have. I believe that social support from teammates and coaches will eliminate the self-doubt, self-worth, and any other mental concerns athletes may worry about during injury rehabilitation.
This issue is very important to me as former high school athlete. I have been playing soccer since I was seven years old and continued playing soccer all the way into my high school years. The first year of my high school season was cut short after I tore my anterior crucial ligament (ACL) in my knee, which required surgery and nine months of physical therapy. During those months of rehabilitation, my coach contacted me one time to see when I would be ready to play and I did not see any of my teammates until I came back the next season. During many of my physical therapy sessions I began to question my importance and role on the team. I had the best freshman season in school hi...
... middle of paper ...
... are away from their team long enough for self-worth and self-doubt to set in. These athletes are at a higher risk to have prolonged recovery times and to return to their teams unhappy and concerned. Coaches and teammates can eliminate these feelings and speed up the recovery process by just encouraging the injured athlete and making sure the athlete knows that they are a vital part of the team. My personal experience allows me to identify with all the feelings injured athletes go through and the lack of social support from my coaches and teammates reinforces opinion that they have a major impact on injury rehabilitation. Providing social support to injured players should be a top priority for coaches because they not only owe it to that player who has trained and played hard for the team but to build and maintain positive, trusting relationships with their players.
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
At the snap of the ball a whole players world could come crashing down. The game of football holds a whooping 47% of all concussions reported in the world, while ice hockey and soccer trail behind. Football is America’s sport and its athletes become the world’s pride and joy, but what happens when an athlete is injured and is struggling to mentally get better. This topic hits close to home for me because it was the one sport my family praised and adored. My older brother who is now twenty five, played highschool football for the Laconia Sachems. Just the name Sachems is enough to make me get the chills. In 2007 the Laconia Sachems the only undefeated team to go on to win the New Hampshire state championship saw success, but my brother went
Athletic Trainers play a crucial part in today’s professional sports. They also help on lower levels of sports in high school, and college level teams. The job of an athletic trainer is simple yet very important, they are charged with treating, and preventing injuries. A trainer does this by developing therapies to reduce pain, and improve mobility (“Athletic Trainer Salaries”). They have to stand for long periods of time, work well with athletes of different sizes, move or carry equipment around, good mobility and communication skills to give instructions (“Athletic Trainer, Healthcare Program”). These trainers serve as a crucial part of an athlete getting back into their sport. Athletic trainers usually work under the direction of a physician, so they are like the Doctor’s healing hands in action.
In 2014 I was determined to make the high school soccer team. Every day at 8 am at the beginning of a dreadfully hot August morning, I would get to the turf fields for 4 hours and participate in “hell week”. After a long week, I made the JV team. I was never put into the game and felt like my hard work was put to no use. My sophomore year rolled around and I tried extra hard to impress the coaches. Anything and everything was a competition to make it to the top. By the end of the week, we all gathered around the paper that had names of the players who made it. I didn’t make the team. After tears and telling myself to move on, I went to the field hockey tryouts. I knew nothing about the sport and was terrified that soccer wasn’t my go-to
Athletic Training plays a big role in the world today. Many people are on the go whether it is for sports or every day activities. Athletic Trainers can help with athletes of any age or industrial workers performing physical tasks or even an average citizen in recreational athletics. They help prevent injuries and help recognize injuries and treat them. They also help rehabilitate injuries that result from physical activity (Athletic Training Association). They are usually first on the scene of an injury (Campus Explorer). Athletic Trainers are health care professionals that work along the side of certified physicians. They also work for other health care professionals, coaches, or parents (Athletic Training Association). While working full time for a sports team, they are faced with tough decisions that could affect the players’ health or career. They must also be able to make fast decisions under pressure. A trainer working for a team can advance their job by switching teams or even becoming an Athletic Training director (Campus Explorer). Athletic Trainers are certified in prevention, clinical evaluation and diagnosis, immediate care, treatment, rehab and reconditioning, organization and administration and professional responsibility (Athletic Training Association). They help athletes prepare for practices, competit...
From a young age, my parents have always focused on teaching me to be the best person I can possibly be. Life skills, discipline, and good morals highlighted the long list of qualities my parents believed I should practice and aim to perfect. However, the most important thing to realize and accept, according to my parents, is that life will not always go how you want it to go, and that one can never dwell on the past. Being a football player, I had always heard that high school football was politically based, that the coach's favorite players would be given more opportunities than others. Upon hearing such assertions, I had trouble believing this to be true, that the best player deserves to start regardless of the popularity of the athlete. Despite my initial perspective, when I finally worked my way to a spot on the varsity football team, I realized that high school football was not what I thought it was,
Many kids dream of being collegiate athletes, though one must wonder if all the work is worth the risk. Student athletes all around the world are having fun doing what they love and receiving a free education in exchange for their God-given talent, however many don't realize that they’re all at the same risk to be injured and forced to pay for their medical expenses on their own. Not only would they be forced to pay for their medical expense, but also there is a great chance that they would lose their scholarship and all that they have worked for their whole entire life. Countless athletes lose their scholarships due to injuries. These “Students” are required to miss nearly 4 days of school to prepare for a game in one week. These athletes
Youth sports can cause multiple problems for young athletes, but the solutions are simple. I have never played sports but I have many classmates who have, I can’t talk from experience but I can talk from hearing their painful stories. One of my friends had to stop playing sports because if she got hurt one more time it would be really really hard to even walk again. According to Scope magazine articles, “Playing with Pain” and “Travel Team Heartbreak” youth sports have become less fun and more dangerous. In “Playing with Pain” (12-15) Michelle Crouch reports that “Playing through pain is considered heroic, and winning is everything.” (14) She says that most teens live by that saying. They ignore the pain and it gets worse. The solution is
Participation in sports has proven to increase self-discipline and self-esteem, and can teach athletes to learn from their mistakes and move on (Issitt). Athletes playing team sports also develop the ability to work well with others and use teamwork in their everyday lives. Teammates form relationships that are strengthened over a common passion and goal. These relationships can last long after high school is over (Chen). These social skills translate into better communication used with an athlete’s family, peers, and in the community. Likewise, “A 2006 study in Maryland found that student athletes are 15 percent more likely than non athletes to be involved in their communities and to take the time for civic engagements, including participating in voting and volunteer activities” (Issitt). The same study also concluded that athletes are far more likely to be comfortable with public speaking than non-athletes. This study provides concrete evidence that high school sports can help to gain mental and social skills that will be used later in life
Being part of a team creates a bond between teammates that can last a lifetime. Also, enduring the criticism of the coaches distills proper direction and discipline that you would likely not learn off the field. In “The Real New York Giants”, the author, Rick Reilly, writes about how a football team of firefighters loses many teammates and friends due to the attacks on September 11th, 2001 on the twin towers, and how the bonds and closeness of that group helped them to keep playing football and honor their fallen friends whom they became so close with through the sport (**insert beginning pg #). While in this certain circumstance, the importance of sports did not affect
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).
Jeff Kemp, a retired professional NFL quarterback, once stated, “Sports teach positive lessons that enrich America even while revealing its flaws” (Kemp). Athletics offer so much more than the joy of game day and the thrill of a win. Being involved in sports holds the key to a world filled with passion, excitement, and once in a lifetime opportunities. There is nothing better than seeing the student section arrive in full force or hearing the school fight song chanted before kickoff. However, when life moves on and leaves sports behind, the lessons it has instilled in athletes never disappears. The play calls may be foggy and the jersey will be too tight, but what was innocently learned in the jersey shines out at an older age. Although life lessons can be learned through everyday activities, lessons such as teamwork, self-confidence, and dealing with failure are only truly learned through sports by young athletes.
Millions of sports fans anxiously anticipate tuning in to view their favorite sporting events each season. Whether it 's the Super Bowl, NBA Championship, or The World Series, fans are treated to a performance by some of the most talented athletes in the world. These athletes have trained vigorously in order to make their dream of playing in their major sports championship a reality. Many of these athletes began developing their skills by playing competitive sports at a young age. In addition to gaining extraordinary skills, these children and others who participate in competitive sports acquire knowledge that is beneficial to everyday life. My knowledge and experiences with competitive sports began at the age of five. Through my exposer with competitive sports, I gained good communication skills, self esteem, and learned the value of work ethics.
The personal relationships in a sport context like athlete-partner, coach-athlete or athlete-family, are very different from most of other types of work due to the particularity of athletes. Generally, they have to get alone closely with partner and coach in most of the time every day in order to build up tight relationships and sync the minds to strive toward the goal. Among these relationships, the coach-athlete partnership is considered the most crucial one on affecting performance in terms of the field of psychology (Serpa, 1999). This relationship can be represented as a complex coaching process that, if it is effectively establish, provides the means for coaches and athletes to express and fulfil their needs
During the semester, I learned a lot on how to deal with psychological distress and how as an athletic trainer I should deal with athletes to overcome their situation and be there for them. Throughout my time as an athletic training student, I always liked to observe my preceptors on how they deal with athletics that are having psychological distress after injuries, and how as an athletic trainer I should handle these situations in a professional manner. There is one situation in particular that occurred during the King’s College football season that I would like to discuss.