History of Badminton
Many Americans play baseball, basketball, soccer, or tennis. Many of them watch these sports on TV, and many buy tickets to their games and matches. But the average American has never even heard of competitive badminton, let alone gone to see a match. As a player myself, I can assure you that the common misconception that badminton is merely a backyard sport couldn’t be farther from the truth. Badminton began as a leisurely backyard sport and evolved to competitive sport ranging to Olympic levels.
Badminton originated thousands of years ago in India, before many of the other sports were commercialized. It is believed to have evolved from a children’s game known as battledore and shuttlecock, the battledore being a paddle and the shuttlecock a small-feathered cork, now called a “bird” or “birdie.” The objective was simply to keep the bird in the air for as long as possible. Eventually a net was added and the game became a competitive sport called “poona.” In the 1860’s it was adopted by British army officers stationed in India and was brought back to ...
Basketball has been around for a long while. It was first established in 1891 by James Naismith. James Naismith was once the basketball coach at Kansas University. When he invented the sport he used a peach basket as the goal. When it first originated every time they would score they’d be required to call the janitor out with a ladder to get the ball down. After a few months they cut the bottoms of the basket out.
In the 1940’s a man named Joseph G. Sobek got tired of how hard handball was on his hands. He was dissatisfied with the indoor sports. He worked at a rubber factory in Bridgeport, CT when he decided to start a new sport. He lived in Greenwich, CT and was professional tennis player and a pro squash and handball player.
It is more common to see men’s football or baseball games on TV rather than seeing women’s games. In fact, Desbordes explains, “in the world’s major sports such as soccer, NFL, basketball, baseball, gulf, rugby and cricket, it is men’s code that has mass exposure and indeed un many cases there are no professional leagues for women,” which is a proof that American society, in general, does not fully appreciate female athletes and underestimate their capacity (1). Also, spectatorship is more expected in male games rather than in women ones and therefore gains are expected to be higher for business when they sponsor men athletes. In “Women See Lack of Respect, Parity in Sports Coverage” Gibbons explains that the “lack of strength” as well as the prejudice of female athletes’ poor performance contribute to the idea that their events are not worthy (3). Nevertheless, women can be as capable as men of achieving great results in their sports. One of the examples are the Williams sisters, both professional tennis players who have showed an excellent condition and technique at this sport rising the standards for other players. Certainly, the belief of men superiority at sports persists in American society and it is discouraging prospective female
Lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America, having been played by Native American tribes long before any European had even set foot on the continent. A century after European missionaries discovered the game played by Native Americans, they began to play it themselves, starting in the 18th century. From there, it evolved and grew in popularity from a very savage game that resembled war, into what it is today, a recreational sport played widely in America and other countries. As U.S. Lacrosse literature aptly puts it "Lacrosse is a game born of the North American Indian, christened by the French, adopted and raised by the Canadians, and later dominated by the Americans.”
A young African-American boy walks onto some rundown tennis courts at a local park with his father in Richmond, VA. Armed with an old wooden racket and a can of white tennis balls, his father begins to feed him some different shots and tells his son everything he knows about tennis. Being an African-American, this young boy did not have many friends that were as interested in tennis as he was. Since tennis is a predominantly white sport, Arthur Ashe’s desire to play was not encouraged by either race, but instead of giving up on the sport he loved, he continued playing to the dismay of many. Little did Ashe know, however, that his persistence would change the game forever. His efforts opened doors for many of the popular African-American tennis players, such as Serena and Venus Williams, MaliVai Washington, and Bryan Shelton. The class that he brought to the game of tennis and the bravery he showed by changing a sport dominated by whites made Arthur Ashe a legend in his own time.
Basketball originated in 1891 when future Presbyterian minister named James Naismith (1861-1939) was assigned to teach a P.E. class at Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. The class had been noted for being disorderly, and Naismith was told to invent a new game to keep the young men occupied. Since it was winter and very cold outside, the game had to be played indoors was desirable. Naismith had a flashback to his childhood in Canada, where he and his friends had played "duck on a rock,”. The game involved trying to knock a large rock off a boulder by throwing smaller rocks at it. He also recalled watching rugby players toss a ball into a box in a gym. He had the idea to nail up boxes and the players would attempt to throw a ball. When he couldn't find boxes he used peach baskets. According to Alexander Wolff, in his book 100 Years of Hoops, Naismith drew up the rules for the new game in "about an hour." Most of them still apply in some form of todays. Basketball was a simple game that could be played indoors during winter. Naismith spread the rules freely, and there was a need for Naismith's legacy included the first great college basketball coach, Forrest "Phog" Allen (1885-1974), who played for Naismith at the University of Kansas and went on to win 771 games as a coa...
Basketball has become an international sport. People all around the world enjoy playing it with friends, or even competing for a championship. But haven’t you always wondered where it all began, who were the first people to play it, and who thought of something as simple as putting a ball through a hoop?
The game of basketball is a highly recognized and widely known sport. Basketball was first heard of in the winter of 1891 when a man by the name of James Naismith was told to instruct a physical education class at the Young Men’s Christian Association in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith was instructed to put together a game for young men to enjoy while they were at the YMCA. While trying to come up with a brilliant and fun game for these young men, Naismith reminisced back on his childhood in Canada. He remembered a game his friends and him had played all the time: “Duck on a Rock”, which involved trying to knock a large rock off a boulder by throwing smaller rocks at it. Naismith also remembered watching a game of rugby going on in the gymnasium. The game of Rugby involved tossing a ball into a box. After a very short time of trying to make up a game for these young men, Naismith came up with a brilliant idea. Little did he know the game that he came up with just so happened to be one of he most renowned sports in American history. Naismith’s idea pertained to nailing up raised boxes so that players could attempt to throw a ball in the basket. When there were no boxes too be found, he used peach baskets. Supposedly, Naismith came up with all the rules for this game in no more than “about an hour”, according to Alexander Wolff. Shortly after Naismith had invented the game of basketball, graduates of the YMCA traveled internationally which is the main reason as to why this sport is so widely known. The impact basketball has made on the lives of many Americans is incredible in the sense that it has given people the ability to ...
Volleyball is a very popular sport around the world. It is especially popular in the U.S., which is where is originated (NCVA). It was created just two years after the game basketball was invented (Hartwell).To create this game, Morgan mixed different things from the sports Tennis, Handball, Baseball, and Basketball (NCVA). “Morgan used the bladder of a basketball to provide a lighter ball with a more lively bounce,” (Hartwell).
Tennis is a sport that many people love to play. It is not the hardest sport in the world to learn. When playing against someone, it is called a match. Tennis can be played one on one or a doubles match. The main object of the game is to hit the ball over the net, inside of the lines so that the opponent can't get to it. There are two lines about two feet parallel to each other that outline the court. In a singles match, the inner line is the out of bound line, while the outer line is out of bounds in a doubles match. If you want to play, take a look at my two favorite tennis players because they are masters at serving and scoring, a few key aspects of the game.
Hearing the loud “thump” as the ball hits the racket is extremely satisfying, especially if your life now revolves around this fast-paced and exhilarating sport. Tennis is an outdoor game played by two individuals or pairs of players on a clay or grass court that’s divided by a low net. Each game is played with tennis rackets and small, yellow elastic balls. Tennis was first introduced in Wales and the United Kingdom in 1873 by “Major Walter Wingfield” (tennistheme.com). While most sports are easy to pick up, tennis takes extreme dedication to learn how to play the game, to perfect the amount of technique it takes, as well as its great impact on one’s personal life.
Peer relationships, obeying authority, and looking up to a role model, are all character traits that are learned through the practice of athletics. During a normal match of tennis, many mistakes will be made. However, these mistakes will be able to tell you the flaws in your swing and the ability to fix them and continue competing without getting frustrated. Tennis teaches the ability to handle mistakes and to use them to your advantages. Tennis teaches many positive characteristics that benefit the athlete in many areas of
The actual playing of basketball originated in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith when he had to come up with an “athletic distraction” for the students attending YMCA International Training School. Denying the idea of going outside to play sports like soccer, football, etc. Dr. James Naismith thought back to his childhood days, recalling a game called “duck on a rock”. The concept of this old game was one player was required to defend an object called the “duck” while players on the opposite team threw small rocks to knock it down. How Dr. James Naismith was able to forge a well-known sport from that type of a game will forever be a mystery, yet he set off to work using two peach baskets nailed around 10 feet high. Since the sport he created wasn’t a real sport yet, they were forced to use a soccer ball, aiming to get the ball into the peach basketball while resisting the opposite team trying to defend their basket. The goals, being baskets, presented a problem, when a team eventually scored they had to come up with a way to get the ball out of peach baskets. In order to do so they used a long pole and pushed against the bottom of the basket to be able to get the ball out of there. By creating this game, Dr. James Naismith has been able to bring countries together by eventually bringing this spo...
Although technically beach volleyball isn’t the most dominant sport throughout the world, it is a sport available for all ages, it has progressively grown throughout the years, and has many different theories of its past. Several rules, people, and questions, have led to the discovery of more facts about beach volleyball from previous years. Uncovering each part of the history of beach volleyball shows more and more reasons why it is a tremendous sport to learn and research about.
The first category of sports is individual sports, in which a person can play alone if he/she does not have any partner. For example, auto racing, tent pegging, golf, fishing, skating, skiing, swimming, martial arts and cycling. These are the sports that a person can play alone and maintain his/her fitness while enjoying the game. Unlike team sports, individual sports focus more on personal growth and accomplishment. In indivi...