People have always said that sports are so great for anyone who struggle with drama filled lives, anxiety, depression and many more problems like this. They say this because sports occupies a portion of your time and and provide you with an escape you can’t find anywhere else. When you’re playing a sport, you’re so focused on what you need to do in the heat of competition that nothing else in the world seems important. Because of that experience, I couldn’t agree more with those people.
Tennis is my favorite sport. I started playing in the seventh grade. When I’m playing, the experience is what I love. I love everything about it… the fresh smell of new tennis balls when you pop open the can, the hype before matches that get’s the team
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Everyone has good days and bad, life is full of plot twists and the unknown is always there to hit you; however, when I’m playing I don’t worry about any of this. On that court, I’m only worried about me, my partner, and how we’re going to fight for the win.
Game day - Westfield
The team dressed up in our best dresses to school on this day. None of us knew much about Westfield, so my friends and I did some research. We learned more about the school than we did whatever was being taught in that class. Westfield, a 3A school is located close to Indianapolis. Our thoughts were ‘they’re a big city school, they’re most likely very good’ in other words, we knew we were already done for.
It was after school and we all made our way to the locker room to get ready, and prepare; actually meaning mess around. The atmosphere was like always, fun and vibrant, you could instantly feel the energy as soon as you walk in. We changed into our uniforms, put on our tennis shoes and talked about this unfamiliar school. None of us were too worried because of the fact that we were county champs, conference champs, sectional champs and overall a good, hard team to beat. After a while our bus had arrived and we all exited the locker room and some of us stopped to fill up our waters. Excited and jumpy we all made our way in and loud chatter soon filled the bus. If you were to get on the busses with us to away games, you’d think we’re all crazy; we’re out of out seats, standing up
Management of performance and competitive anxiety can be challenging. The first strategy would be to consult with a clinical psychologist, who will often suggest a behavioural approach. These approaches have been found to be the optimal coping strategy for sport-related anxiety, specifically Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (Patel et
For some athletes, sports can be a good way to cope with stress. When they hit the court or the field, they feel as if all of their worries from that day vanish. But for others, sports can be how a person identifies his or herself and where they derive most of their self-esteem. So that moment when you realize something in your body or your mind isn’t right, you push through it and tell yourself it will go away. But sometimes the pain gets worse. So you have two
There are a great variety of sports all throughout the world, but the most popular worldwide are: Futbol, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Track, Bicycle, etc… One of the advantages of playing sports is that you get healthier as you play and have fun. Also you get more social skills, and so it could help fight depression or anxiety. Sports use more math than you may think. For example all the averages in Basketball, or
The beneficial aspects of participating in sports are often noted but there is another side that cannot be ignored. Mental health issues among elite athletes is a topic of increasing interest and public awareness. Sport-related factors such as injury, overtraining and failure in competition are showing to influence the prevalence of mental health issues in elite athletes. Whatever the cause or reason mental health issues and concerns cannot be ignored. High performance athletes need to be provided with mental health support, despite the negative stigma of mental health issues and the concept of mental toughness in athletes. In the past, there has been a “widespread assumption has existed within the sporting world that only emotionally and mentally strong athletes are able to complete at the highest levels. Psychological disorders, such as depression, were thought to infrequently occur among elite athletes” (Hammond et al, 2013, pg.276) There may actually be an increased risk for mental health issues in athletes as they are less likely to; seek treatment, reveal symptoms, are more accustomed to work through pain, fear of showing signs of weakness and may not have developed healthy coping mechanisms to deal with failure. In addition, many athletes have not developed their identity outside of being an athlete and therefore if this role is threatened by injury or illness, they may experience a significant sense of loss. Treating a psychological ailment in athletes should be given as much importance as treating a physical
The first thing on the agenda of my visit was my official tour of the school. As I walked around the main campus I began to picture myself as part of the pack. With each new building I saw, the more I fell in love with the school. Everything from the glowing red-bricked education buildings to the exquisite student building, Talley Student Union. After I had walked the magnificent campus, it was time for my meeting with the head coach, Bryan Bunn. I had never met Coach Bunn or even talked to him, only email. When I stepped into his office with my mom every one of my senses was heightened. I could hear my heart beating out of my chest. I could hear every pipe that had water running through
Because of these factors student athletes can be at a higher risk of anxiety and depression.
It was a brisk fall evening, and my seventh grade youth football team and I had traveled to Aberdeen to play the undefeated Chiefs. We had worked harder and longer than we ever had that week to show that we were a threat in the league and ascend from our third place ranking. We knew it was not going to be easy; the Chiefs’ team had the fastest running back in our division, and they had scored more total points per game than any other team in the Southeast Idaho Youth Football League. The field was neater and greener than we had expected in this town. It was a great day for football, and I was with all of my best friends. I knew going in that it was going to be a learning experience whether we won or lost that night because the Chiefs were
I have always loved sports ever since I was a little kid. Some of my earliest memories are of playing soccer with my friends on a wet, cold spring day or hitting a ball off of a tee and feeling like it went a mile, when in reality it only went about fifty feet. Even to this day I still can never get enough of sports. I get about four weeks off out of the entire year where I’m not technically in a sport, but I’m still always practicing and trying to get better because that’s the only way I know. I love everything about sports: the friendships, the competition, the passion, the atmosphere, the unity. Sports are one of my true loves and they consume my life. It is this strong desire that I have for sports that has driven me to want to pursue a
Balancing that ratio is one of the most difficult aspects of being a student athlete, as it can add stress to an already stressful time in people’s lives, but Christianson said sports can also help relieve stress.
It was 7:00 in the morning when we arrived at the Johnston City High School. Once everyone arrived at the high school, we got on the bus and headed off to Benton. As we stepped foot on the bus, we all sat there quietly, nervous about the results of this game. This was the game that determined whether or not we went on to state. Coach Simon and Coach Shane gave us one of their what we like to call "before the game warm-up talks". We were all nervous of course, but we were all determined to win this game. We had been looking forwards to winning regionals and going to state the whole season and that day was the day that we gave us the opportunity to go to state. After the thirty minute bus ride, we finally got to Benton and once we got there,
Dear coaches of the Amery School District: Each side believes that competitive sports are bad or good. This issue is important because it focuses on mood which can lead to stress or depression. A study says that sports can lead to improvements on focusing but can also lead to stress. It is clear that competitive sports are bad because one, multiple deaths have been related to children playing sports and two, sports have led to stress in adolescents.
Playing sports is a great way to help with mental health. When students don't have the option of playing sports it can lead to, “...too much screen time and not enough hands on activity,” (“Play is Important”). Many studies have recently exhibited citing the risk of excessive screen time for developing brains, everything from socialization, concentration, speech and writing skills can all be studied. The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that children in America spend a gargantuan amount of time looking at electronic devices, approximately seven hours a day. If sports were no longer available for children to participate in, the average amount of hours spent on electronics would be increased. Other statistics reveal that kids the age of two regularly play iPad games and have toys in their bedroom that involve touch screens. Getting out the house is a good way to stay healthy and “...Exercise can help reduce depression and anxiety,”(Carson Barrett, “How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?”). For many kids in middle school, the need to have perfect grades causes many of them to have anxiety. Many families have younger children that have to deal with deaths and having to deal with a loss can be a main trigger to depression. If those kids were taken away from the opportunity to play sports, the anxiety and depression would most likely increase. Sleep is a big factor of mental health; and being active by participating in sports can increase the amount of sleep children get. Sports “...do this by helping you fall asleep faster and deepening your sleep,”(Kathryn Watson, “The Top 7 Mental Benefits of Sports”). When children come home from a sport, most of the time, their exhausted which would lead to a more reparative sleep, allowing the brain and muscles to rehabilitate more thoroughly. Getting a good amount of sleep can improve your mental outlook and mood the
For High Performance athletes, there can be a lot riding on their results and performance in competition. If athletes develop an over-reliance on sporting success as a source of self-worth and identity, it can lead to serious emotional issues if things do not go as desired. Athletes often identify their self-worth with their ability to perform, and performance failure has been significantly associated with depression (Taylor, 2015 pg.11; Troijan, 2016, pg. 137) Athletes face many struggles and when something goes wrong it can leave them not knowing where to turn for help. They can be left with they feelings that they are nothing, undeserving, and alone. This may also exacerbate their feelings of seclusion, depression, or grief. Most athletes
The ability for high school sports to give athletes a break from the classroom allows them to clear their minds. Students have the chance to forget about the things that may be bothering them as well as allowing them to have fun for a bit. Research shows that the movement of the brain’s physiology has an effect on the way that a person does things throughout their life. In fact, a study shows that people who have been physically activity or have participated in sports when they were younger are happier because they have been releasing endorphins which releases stress. Stress is the leading cause of depression in the United States and by exercising, the rate of stress in which a person has can be lowered. High school sports does not just benefit a person's mental health but also a person's physical health.
We passed all the security guards who all wished us good luck in our game. We finally arrived to our locker room where we all picked out a spot according to our position that we played. Our coach told us that all the defense and goalies should sit together and all the forwards should sit close. The second the team opened up their bags the raunchy stench of body odor filled the room. I set the stereo up and started playing the Rocky song that we would always listen to before every big game. The players were all dressed in our uniforms when the coach told us that he had a surprise for us. He yanked a box form the hallway and pulled out our new jerseys that he ordered for the great accomplishment. This reward reminded everyone of our unbelievable journey to the state game. Coach handed the jerseys out telling us the pride we should feel as we slip the sweater on. We had twenty minutes until the challenge when our coach ordered everyone to be quiet for his pre-game speech. He started out telling us how proud he was to be our coach and whatever happens in the next two hours he commends us. The rest of the speech was the strategy he wanted to use if we encounter any problems. In his final words the horn rang telling both the teams that it was time to take the ice.