Sports Benefits

Introduction

Ever since I was a little kid and able to run around on my own I have been participating in sports. Whether it was playing soccer at the local YMCA in my home town or playing baseball here at Lenoir-Rhyne. Sports have been the main focus of my life. Never knowing all the benefits I was gaining while playing, I just did it for the fun of playing and being around friends. Now as a freshman in college, I realize the true value that I received. I formed friendships, learned how hard work pays off, and became closer to my parents.

The reason why I chose this topic is mainly because I experienced it myself and still am by playing baseball here at Lenoir Rhyne. It is very personal to me and I feel I can provide information on this topic. The amount of physical activity is a great upside in the sports world. Sadly kids and even adults neglect the necessary physical input they should attain on a daily basis. By participating in a sport this problem would be solved. Your body would be in excellent condition, so you can perform to the best of your ability. Running is the biggest factor in physical conditioning for sports, because in most sports you play running is involved. This will help your body be physically fit and healthy. Also people can do weight lifting and other conditioning exercises. You also have the benefit of forming friendships. Being on a team is a special experience. You gain the sense of a second family that leads to lifelong friendships, I personally have experienced this myself.For an example I am still friends with players on the baseball team I played on when I was six years old.

Another very important benefit is the bond you will form with your parents. The ones that drives you to every practice and sits through every game no matter what the weather. The people who support you and believe in you even when you do not believe in yourself. The relationship that an athlete has with parents is definitely strengthened. Just by the amount of time spent with them. Plus there is always a common topic that can be discussed, like the latest practice or game. These are just the few benefits that I have chosen to put down.

The bibliography that follows includes articles such as “Adolescents Participation in Sport Activities” that shows relationships between athletes and parents. “The Benefits of Competitive Athletic Sports Competition in Today’s Sports Climate” breaks down three benefits of playing sports. Then also “The Benefits of School-Based Sports” that describes the upside of playing sports for your school.

Annotated Bibliography

Suky, Saulius.”Adolescents’ Participation In Sport Activities And    Attachment To Parents And Peers.” Social Behavior & Personality: An  International Journal 43.9 (2015): 1507-1517. Academic Search Premier. Web.    17 Nov. 2015.

In this article parents and athletes participated in a survey. It showed the relationships formed between parents and kids who play sports. The people involved were kids ages twelve through sixteen. Some of them played sports while others did not. Then also their parents. The survey was based on trust and communication. The results showed that the kids who participate in sports were shown to have a higher attachment level and stronger relationship with their parents. 

The reason being that the athletes showed a stronger relationship was the amount of time spent with their parents. Also they were shown to have a better understanding of each other’s likes or dislikes. Allowing them to bond and perform other activities more easily together.

 

Mango, Kirk. “Sports: The Benefits of Competitive Athletic Sports      Participation in Today’s Sports Climate.” Sports: The Benefits of Competitive  Athletic Sports Participation in Today’s Sports Climate. 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 18  Nov. 2015.

This article breaks down the benefits in three distinct groups. The first being the physical aspect, the second being the mental side and lastly the social upside you receive.  The author describes the physical benefit from his version of once being a physical educator. Stating it is impossible to cover the benefits gained from sports participation without mentioning fitness. A person can improve and gain achievement through training and participating in athletic activities. In a society where obesity has become a major health issue the physical fitness advantages simply cannot be denied.

While the mental upside is very strong to. Athletes have to be mentally strong just as much as physically. Which will help in school and in life. Then also socially where athletes learn how to cooperate and use teamwork. By learning theses two skills athletes will succeed in life and in the workplace. 

 

Runyan, Robin. “Benefits of School-Based Sports – Global Sports  Development.” Global Sports Development. 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Nov.  2015.

The article here summarizes and shows information that describes the benefits of sports. School based sports programs can bring out noticeable positive reactions and behaviors.The clearest benefits of school based sports programs can be seen in the overall physical health of teenagers. Over the past twenty years, many studies have looked at the correlation between the rising rates of obesity and the declining funding for physical activity. Either gym class or a after school sport. People generally get less physical activity the older they get. Although if they stay involved in sports programs, they are more likely to gain the physical benefits they need.

Certainly this will help get rid of one of the factors that can lead to obesity.The social benefits can also lead to academic benefits. Physical activity is shown to lead to better academic performance. When your team is performing better on the court you are more likely to try harder in class. Participating on a team or as an individual can also help young people improve problem solving skills. This will translate to a better academic performance.

Real World Zombies

In Chuck Klosterman’s New York Times article “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead”  he compares surviving a  zombie apocalypse to surviving in the real world. Klosterman who is part of the Lenoir-Rhyne visiting writers series http://visitingwriters.lr.edu/the-authors states that killing a zombie is far from a complex chain of events. It is much like reading and deleting four hundred work emails on a Monday morning, or filling out paperwork that ultimately leads to more paperwork. The battle against zombies or the battle of life is a never ending process. Klosterman is trying to explain to his readers that the battle of life is not against a undead man eating zombie, but something much more scarier such as the internet and social media. People can win if they stop and do not fall into the everyday gossip that’s floating around and can delete what is in front of them. Its very possible but not always the easiest thing to do. Also the author refers to the fact that zombies are replacing vampires for the most popular monster position. Klosterman is convinced that this is false and that zombies have always been on top. Vampires have only gained attention recently due to the popular ” Twilight” series, which he claims is not even on true vampirism . Most of the attention is from the attractive cast members the movies display. I agree with the idea that life can be very much like surviving a zombie apocalypse. The technology today that kids or even adults have access to is unbelievable. It is simply to easy for a person to create a social media account and put anything they want to on it. There is TV shows just on fake social media accounts that have hurt people emotionally and eventually physically. So needless to say that the key to survival is to keep your finger on the trigger and kill zombie after zombie.To apply this to the real world keep your finger on the the delete button and do not be consumed keep fighting.

The Interview with Jeff Hobbs

The summer reading for Lenoir Rhyne University was a book written by Jeff Hobbs. The title of the book was ‘ The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace”. He wrote this book after his college roommate Robert Peace was killed very sadly in a drug shooting. I was lucky enough to attend the interview that Jeff Hobbs had Friday morning in the Belk Centrum. I learned that at first Hobbs did not intend to make a book out of his friends death, but started with personal memoirs that came from his reaction of the event. As time went on Hobbs started to interview friends and family members of Rob’s, such as Rob’s mother, high school friends, and many different girls in Rob’s life. He gained information that he did not know about his buddy and decided to write a book about Rob’s life. During this process Hobbs added dialog and tried to be as accurate as possible while writing the book to as I quote “make the reader feel like they grew up with Rob” ( Jeff Hobbs). By being the author of the book Hobbs describe to us during the interview that he tried his best to keep himself out of the story until he could not avoid it because he was Roberts roommate during their time at Yale. He found out about Rob’s death through an old friend on Facebook and said he spent many hours on the phone informing old college buddies about this tragic news. Jeff told us that Rob was a big brother figure to him and since his death that he has became very close to Rob’s mother Jackie Peace. Hobbs described the conservation that Jackie and him would have after the interview about how there are so many people interested in knowing Roberts life. Then he told us that Jackie has yet to read the book, but is willing to some day down the road. I myself enjoyed the book and the interview with Jeff Hobbs. I am looking forward to reading many Jeff Hobbs books in the future.

Unit 1 Paper: The New Term Paper

In a 2012 New York Times article, Matt Richtel reported on the issue between term papers and blog assignments. Some college professors believe that the quarterly term paper is outdated and want to assign their students to blogs instead. Many professors feel that an active blog enables students to ideas and opinions to an active audience, such as classmates. Others however claim that by having blogs less substance and less reading is required on the students part. I was honestly amazed when I first heard about colleges assigning blogs over the feared term paper. At first I was thinking I hope my college does this because it sounds a lot easier. It made me think back on my high school experience with term papers, having to write an eight-page paper my junior year as the first part of my senior project. The high school I attended required all juniors to write a paper of a length determined by your English class level. Thinking back, I am glad my high school required this because it taught me how to write a long paper with research and to meet certain requirements. Making students work hard and spend hours doing research is not always a bad thing. The point of attending school and working hard is to prepare yourself for the real world. The part of life when you are on your own and you need to think and take care of yourself. I understand personally that spending long hours doing a paper may not seem important, but it is necessary. A blog would be an easier assignment, but the term paper will better prepare you for the real world . As stated by William H. Fitzhugh the study author and founder of The Concord Review ” Writing is being murdered. But the solution isn’t blogs, the solution is more reading.” I agree with what Mr. Fitzhugh is saying, that why would the answer be less work? Students need to read more and gain knowledge while typing papers and showing what they have acquired through research. Not just express their opinion. This will help students honestly. For an example, say you are at your job and your boss presents you with a problem. Are you going to work hard and search for solutions to try to solve this as quickly as possible to impress your boss, or are you going to do the minimum and say you do not have the time. Maybe you will ask a coworker to do it? Hopefully you chose the first choice and put some effect towards it like anything else that is important to you in life. The same theory applies to school and all the things that go with it. The best answer is not always the easiest one. Also with technology today there is no excuse for not doing research and being able to type a term paper. The access students have via the the internet is ridiculous, you never have to go to the library and check out a book. All you have to do is use an online search engine and you have every answer you need. Also a blog requires you to be on the internet or computer. There are a lot of distractions on the internet. It would be easier for a student to become side tracked and put off a blog assignment. before you know hours have passed and you have not got any work done. Plus a blog is a more opinion based type of writing. It is good for expressing yourself and receiving feedback more quickly by your fellow peers. The purpose of a term paper is to allow students to show they know how to obtain information and form a paper based on what they have learned. I do not see how a five hundred to a thousand word blog will ever present or show this. Yet there is many colleges and college professors who want their students to have a blog. Such as English Professor Cathy Davidson from Duke University. As I expressed my opinion on this issue the blog is becoming a very popular assignment throughout schools across the country according to this New York Times article. The following statement from Douglas B. Reeves a columnist for American School Board shows the debate that is still going on today. ” Writing term papers is a dying art, but those who write them have a dramatic leg up in terms of critical thinking, argumentation and the sort of expression required not only in college but in the job market.”

Richtel, Matt. “Blogs vs. Term Papers.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Sep. 2015

Jaki Shelton Green Presentation

Jaki Shelton Green’s presentation was the first of the Lenoir-Rhyne Visiting Writers Series found at http://visitingwriters.lr.edu/the-authors and it was very interesting. She read some of her very motivation work. As I sat there in the Belk Centrum and listened I honestly enjoyed it. She spoke in a way that made you pay attention and want to know what word she was going to say next. A lot of her worked in a way either involved herself or something she has been through in life. Jaki opened up to the audience and shared some personal information with us. For instance that her Grandmothers Grandmother was a slave. That she learned to read and write, which later on got her beaten and sold. As her Grandmothers Grandmother was being taken away her mother ran after the wagon that she was being transported in. A nail fell from this wagon and the mother picked it up and kept it. This nail has been passed down through Jaki’s family for generations. I wonder though why she uses dialogue or writes in a way that is hard to comprehend? I’m guessing she wants the reader to analysis and truly know the meaning of her writings. Jaki’s presentation was a very in-depth and interesting showing that I wish everyone could have attended. It was fascinating to watch and listen to a very well polished speaker and writer.