Summary: The Sports Gene

How much of what happens in our lives do we actually control? This is a question that mankind has been pondering for thousands of years. There are two different articles that could answer the question. David Epstein, the author of “The Sports Gene”, writes about a true story of fate, in which an amateur high jumper makes it to the top due to his god-given gift of a large Achille’s tendon. Malcom Gladwell argues in his piece, “Outliers,” that success depends on one’s willingness to practice or try again. Using extensive research and solid evidence, Malcom Gladwell creates a better argument that success is a result of hard work and dedication, and therefore better answers the question, “How much of what happens in our lives do we actually control?”

According to the sports Gene article the athlete Holms is a 7 foot high jumper in a track and field event. Epstein discusses how genes give you the success in sports. But in the reality it all depends on your determination and what you are capable of doing. According to Epstein he says that “Thomas long legs relative to his height and also gifted with a giants achilles tendon.” Holms was studied by scientists by comparing

Some people believe that humans do not control their own destiny, and success is due to natural causes. Others believe that humans do control their own destiny, and success is due to hard work. The Sports Gene, written by Daniel Epstein, is about a young man named Donald Thomas who discovered his natural talent for high jumping through a friendly bet. Outliers: The Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell, explains that hard work is more important than natural talent. Through thorough explanation, Gladwell produces a more convincing argument supporting hard work over natural talent for controlling what happens in our lives.

How much of our lives do we actually control ? Everyone has and will always have different outlooks on this question that can’t possibly be proven, we can solely try to persuade and convince each other otherwise.For example two authors had two different viewpoints on this controversial question.David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene, argues that physical ability formed at birth out ways hard work and success achieved through years of practice.The opposing author William Ernest Henley wrote a poem called Invictus that is strong and powerful to anyone that reads it, claiming that you are the master of your own destiny. These are both reasonable claims but I believe William Ernest Henry has a more convincing argument therefore he better answers the question, How much of our lives do we actually control ?

Sports and intelligence don't typically mix, but when it comes to academics all athletics help. First of all, being active keeps your mind moving allowing academics to be easier. Being active keeps the brain moving, which makes many things easier to understand.When practicing basketball or soccer and running through the plays helps memory. Memory is helpful in order to understand equations. Being active keeps the brain moving, which makes many things easier to

The author's purpose in writing ​​the sports gene​ is to show the readers the difference between being born with a natural talent/gift and have years of hard work and practice to master that one subject/sport. In this case, Donald Thomas was the example of being born with a natural gift. On the other hand, we have Stefan Holm who had 25 years of practice and experience. During the competition, Donald Thomas didn't know the techniques and struggled at the beginning. While Holm had years of experience and time to perfect the techniques. Holm did not struggle, he easily passed all the bars without having to repeat them. Thomas came in 4th place and took a year to practice. "He slowed down so drastically as h approached the bar that it seemed

I have goals and to achieve them, I will put plan to practice until I do them well. It is not important how long I practice, the point is I never give up. According to the article, “The Sport Gene”, Epstein (2013), says that “In essence, they concluded that what might have been confused with innate musical talent was actually years of practice”. This mean people who decided to achieve their goals have been practicing many years. The main point in practice is to never quit, and they should keep practicing. I agree because I should have patience and not care about time. I want to achieve my goals, but not just achieve them,

Sport psychology is a unique bridge between the discipline of psychology and the world of sport science. Since sport psychology is such a unique discipline there are not many individuals that can claim the title of sport psychologist. But what makes sports psychology unique? Sports psychologist are required to have an advanced degree in psychology and an advanced degree in sports, which means more education, time and money needed to obtain the title of a sport psychologist. However extra education, devotion of time, and money are not the only reason that there is a to limited number of individuals that are entering the field of sports psychology.

13-year-old girl Marta shows exceptional athletic ability in basketball. Her coach believes she has good genes. Genes play a significant role in Marta’s ability, Marta might have good genes to be a champion and a successful athlete, but if she does not have proper nutrition and training, she is unlikely to achieve her goal . Other factors that contribute and play a role in developing Marta’s advance ability are nature vs. nurture. However, someone who does not have genetics potential can find another way to succeed in the sport. According to O’Donnell et al., (2016, p. 188), a coaching duty is to find ways to work with students who have a different level and help them acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to achieve their goal. However, genes can work in combination, and other elements can contribute to Marta’s athletic ability, (e.g., nutrition or environment, parent, coach, culture).

I was stretching when I heard an overenthusiastic mother gloating on behalf of her daughter stating that her daughter was smart and capable of becoming an elite figure skater when one coach explained, “She doesn’t have the right body.” Followed by the unmistakable whimpering of a little girl crying and an arguing parent, it was clear the little girl did not meet the standard of flexibility and body composition to reach the upper echelon of figure skating that her mother expected and she wanted. Flexibility is a necessity in figure skating in order to execute technique well, while a low percentage of body fat is important for aerobic power and jump height (Winter et al. 317). Angrily storming out, the mother made it clear to the coach that

Several gaps in the current body of knowledge have been indentified including, among others: small sample size of most athletic cohorts, lack of corroboration with replication cohorts of different ethnic backgrounds (particularly, made up of non-Caucasian athletes), the need of research accounting for the potential role of epigenetics in elite athletic performance, and also the need for future models that take into account the association between athletic status and complex gene gene and gene environment

Have you ever wondered if you can control your destiny or fate? Tony Robbins said, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped(Robbins, T).” A good deal of people disagree with this statement because they say you can’t shape or form your own destiny. However, I believe that you can control your own destiny. The two stories that prove this are Invictus and the

A child that has the genetic traits to be sporty and outgoing, such as good hand eye coordination or reflexes, will have a tendency to gravitate towards the type of environment where they can prosper, such as baseball.

Has gene therapy really become the new trend that has frightened the world of sports? It is a scary prospect, but also a very real and current issue within the last 10 years. Gene therapy can be used to heal severe sport injuries, which may force athletes into eliminating sports. In gene therapy, genetic material is transferred to incorrect or damaged cells to treat human disease 11. In this method, a healthy gene in a vector is inserted into a malformed cell and allows the healthy gene to compensate for an abnormal gene13. Gene therapy is linked with sports with the outcome leading to overexpression of a particular gene and enhanced performance. In this article, the genetic modification of genes on the outcome of metabolic activity in sports will be outlined; alongside the biochemical pathway

The vast number of genes that have been found to be associated with athletic performance continues to grow; across the genome, genetic loci influence athleticism. Therefore, due to the loci being spread all around, and in vast numbers, it is highly unlikely athletic ability is just racially dependent. Each contributing gene can only contribute for a small portion of known individual differences (Beunen & Thomis, 2006); as a result, it can be concluded that various factors influence athletic ability, such as genetic and environment factors. In terms of environmental factors, one very important point Graves (2013) makes is that “athletic performance related philological traits are subject to the law of non-concordant human variation.”. This means athleticism is mixed throughout human populations based on natural selection adaptations that helped the regions ancestors survive their environment. For example, Ethiopians have high hemoglobin and lung volume levels due to the adaptations made by their ancestors to survive living at high altitudes. Graves also speaks about Bergmann’s rule, as well as Allen’s rule. Bergmann’s rule states that bodies that are in cooler climates will be larger than those that are found in warmer climates (Graves