Athletes Classification Research Paper

In high school, I was involved in volleyball, basketball, and softball. Throughout my whole venture, I had this one coach who followed me through every sport. Her name was Coach Lolly Arevalo. She was five feet tall, dark skinned, big green eyes, and a little muscular body, she had a masculine voice that terrified all the athletes every time she scolded us. “Do not stop till I blow this whistle,” those words motivated each and every one of us not to stop. The very first game I had my freshmen year in volleyball was a big, extraordinary moment in my life. When we walked into the gym that night to warm up before the other team arrived, butterflies began to flourish in my stomach as the excitement began to kick in. The bleachers were filled with people wearing red and white shirts, friends holding fan signs with your name, and family members who wanted to see you play the game you love. The excitement I was developing become even more known when the other team arrived. The girls looked as though they wanted to smash your face

When a coach focuses on favorites instead of the good of the entire team, it really will set a bad vibe through the gym. I never kissed butt to get where I wanted to be. My parents did not pay loads of money for me to play on clubs so they could pay for my playing time. I came to work, but that was never good enough. I was working in overdrive to get my playing time, but again, the coach focused on the favorites and the girls who

I played volleyball pretty much my whole high school career. I did a winter club. I went to morning workouts. I did everything that my coach told me to do. But then the dreaded two day, five hour tryouts came. I gave everything I had. But my coach still decided to cut me, along

My career continued on to playing at the elite level at a very young age. Because of my athletic talent, being on an older team wasn’t something new to me. Learning to love the challenge was something that I was fond over. Being able to compete with the collegiate athletes was something that inspired me to continue trying to be the best I could be. When it comes to the sport of volleyball, sacrificing my body for anything and everything was something I was known for. Everyone told me that I have two speeds. It’s all or nothing. Injury is another common thing that runs in my family and sadly somehow some way I’m always the one to be getting sent to the ER. Injuries started rolling in like

While preparing for tryouts, I was expected to condition for two hours every day, playing and exercising vigorously. Once tryouts came along, I was in my best shape physically, but mentally, I still feared I wasn't good enough. Luckily, I was wrong to doubt myself because I made the team. All three teams spent hours practicing together, which made me nervous because most of the girls were more experienced. Even though I made more mistakes than the varsity players, they always encouraged me. Because of this, I became a better player and person. As the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu stated, “If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.” By allowing me to make mistakes without making me feel like a complete failure, the varsity players set a good example of leadership. Since they were understanding and did not assume an attitude of superiority, I was inspired to be humble and compassionate toward others. Honestly, I am glad I persevered through the tough times because it has taught me the necessary lessons to be a great role model. I hope I can motivate girls to not only play volleyball but to also express the importance of transferring the life lessons learned from the game to their everyday

Even with migraines, I challenged myself to be athletic and played a vast amount of sports like basketball, tennis, soccer, track, etc. Conversely, in my sophomore year of high school, I was filled with self-doubt when it came to trying out for the JV volleyball team. Being that my schedule consisted of: Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and honors classes made playing a sport non recommendable by counselors and teachers. In addition, I was not the typical height of the average volleyball player, which made others much more critical of my actions. Being told that I have too much on my plate or “not the look” to be a volleyball player, filled me with self-doubt and made me second guess my choices. Luckily, I did not let others make decisions for me. Little did I know, I was opening the gym doors for tryouts in no time. The floors were freshly waxed and the clean white net stood tall in the middle of the gym, dividing the court evenly. I stood nervously with a smooth leather ball in hand, reciting drills and methods I learned off the court in my head. The thrill rushed through my nerves the next day when I went through those same gym doors officially on the junior varsity volleyball team. A passion arose in me when something that I was close to not trying at all, was a part of my everyday activity. The fact that the negativity I encountered about trying for

Ever since I was young, I had always dreamed of playing college volleyball. After playing volleyball for 10 years college letters were finally beginning to flood my mailbox everyday and college coaches were sending emails to me left and right. This all began in January of last year. At my first tournament of the year in Columbus, college coaches were swarming the courts. They were like worker bees after the first bloom of spring. I remember crossing paths with one coach, in particular. That coach was Pete Hoyer of North Carolina State University (NCSU). I vividly remember greeting Pete with a smile and a simple hello. Pete Hoyer did not return the greeting.

Being on the varsity basketball, soccer, and softball team all three years has been quite a journey. Learning how to manage the little free time I have being a student-athlete is a thing that ties directly into responsibility. I believe I am an exceptionally responsible adolescent for the reason that I always am able to create time for my academics. Although it may be at 11 P.M on the bus ride home, I know that my education is my first priority. My softball coach, Shane Jordan, always re enforces the saying, “You are a student before you are an athlete.” This will stick with me throughout the rest of my high school career. Being a part of many unique teams has taught me great amounts about unity as well. Caring about and being there for my teammates on and off the court/field is something I do

Volleyball season had started, and that means six o’clock practices bright and early. Practice was two hours long before school. I could feel the anxiety in the gym that day; everyone was nervous, thinking about what was to come. We did not play the best that day, to say the least. We kept seeing people walking past the gym, wishing they were anywhere else. The whole team was waiting for the clock to read eight so we could rush upstairs to change. At last, Coach let us take down the nets and go get ready. Our excitement led us to break record time taking down the nets.

Athletes who want to win and love the game demonstrate it by trying their hardest every play and through every practice as well. Athletes who do not always try their hardest or skip practice frequently do not deserve to play and should be benched. Playing time is unequal, but anybody who proves himself will receive more playing time. Varsity sports are also not about pleasing people, they play to win and compete to their fullest, so athletes should have to earn the right to play. Having respect for coaches and teammates also plays a significant role in earning the right to play varsity. Through my own experiences, I have noticed coaches are much more likely to play someone who respects what they say. For example, an athlete on my baseball team last year, who talked back to the coach and frequently skipped practice, lost his starting position on varsity. After our coach had enough of his behavior and lack of effort towards the team, he found a replacement who had earned the right to play by proving himself and respecting everyone around him. The original starter was decent but did not deserve to play at all, and once he realized that, it was too late. The replacement shined on the diamond the first time he played, and ever since, has kept proving to coach why he was the best option for the team. This incident really displayed how even though someone may be adequate, he should never be entitled to play over another athlete who is more deserving of that

What these players fail to realize is that some kids can't handle the gaze of the crowd that watches the game, and that these kids can't focus on the game. Instead, these players focus on the gazes of the people and the comments the crowd makes; this can cause players to become extremely nervous and more likely to do nothing, and end up playing poorly. In an article written by Mark Hyman and Nathan Pitcock, writers for the New York Times, they state “More than a third said they had been yelled at or teased by fans; fifteen percent said their parents get angry when they play poorly" (Pitcock, Hymen 1). This quote shows that the player’s fear of preforming poorly, and how others may react to their performance, can cause young athletes to feel bad about themselves. Fans comments can affect the player’s confidence and their performance when they get worked up over what coaches and parents say. The pressure put on these young athletes can be too much and overwhelm them, which takes the joy out of the

It goes without saying that coaches and many of their student-athletes are highly competitive individuals. I know from my time as a student-athlete, along with eleven years as a coach, that on game days I was a little bit edgy, tunnel-visioned, and ready to compete. Competition, after all, is what makes sports exciting; it keeps the games fun for the players & coaches and exhilarating for the fans. However, there is a balancing act that all coaches and athletes face between having a ferocious will to win, while also displaying appropriate body language, speaking the right words, and being a part of a positive team culture.

We start with the stretches. The seniors move to the middle in order for the younger volleyball prospects to see the exercises clearly. To teach them about Union’s school spirit early on, we chant U-N-I-O-N twice for every exercise. Then we lace up and hit the track. Run a lap, get low, run a lap, high knees, run a lap, butt kicks, run a lap, karaoke, then sprint for the finish. After our brief water break, we head up to the bleachers and a sense of dread fills the group of one hundred and fifty girls. “How many will they make us run today?” we ask each other. Three, four, five? It always fluctuates, so it is good to guess. As usual, the seniors start up the bleachers first and we shout out our names as we step a single foot on the first bleacher. By the end of the first round of bleaches, I am sweating profusely in the unforgiving August heat and praying for mercy. I look in the faces of other prospectivevolleyball players and share a look of exhaustion, while the sweat drips off my forehead and down my back. After the bleacher exercises are finished, we head into the gym and start tryouts. That is how it has been for the last

For most athletes making it to the professional level is a dream, the NBA, NFL or even NHL. Some realize that dream, while others never get the chance, but for all it starts from a very young age and usually culminates at the college level.

Here comes high school. My friends and I from middle school all went to the same high school, and played volleyball once again. The only difference between us was when I was on the B team they were on the A-team, and when I was sitting on the bench they were playing. We got to high school and things didn’t change, they were on JV as a freshman, and little old me was still on the freshman team. I decided that for the next year they weren’t going to be better than I am. I worked so hard the summer going to my 10th grade year.