Cue the marching band, start shaking your pom poms, practice your touchdown dance because we’re bringing back the fun in sports. That’s why sports were invented. Sports were not invented to make money… to get famous… to show who is the all-time-most-superior being. Unfortunately, sports have become these things and who is suffering the most??? The kids who just want to have fun.
The Pressures of Organized Sports
A lot of kids do not want to join sports teams because organized sports have become way too serious. Unfortunately this makes sports stressful and over-competitive. Too much stress eventually leads to poor performance, which ultimately leads to angry coaches, embarrassed parents, teasing by teammates, and humiliated athletes. This is a vicious cycle that makes us play sports worse and worse, so it’s important that we are aware of it, so we can make the appropriate changes.
The next time you notice that the sport you’re playing is not fun, it’s important to express yourself. Here are some tips of what you can do:
Embrace Losing
No one likes to lose, but there is a benefit to losing that athletes often overlook… learning from your mistakes. Losing can make you better if you take it the right way. If you embrace the mistakes you make on the playing field, talk about them with your teammates, practice solutions with your coach… you’re going to get better. Often players take losing the wrong way and things only get worse when they don’t accept to lose.
Encouragement
Make sure to be positive on the playing field. If your team is losing and/or playing poorly, any negative attitude is only going to make things worse. If someone in particular is playing bad, it’s important to try and cheer him or her up. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.
Communication
Your coach, parents, and teammates might not know how you feel about the pressure you feel which is causing you to stress out. It’s important to talk about it. The best way to talk about it starts with a private conversation with your coach. Tell your coach how you feel. It is the coach’s responsibility to make sure everyone on the team is happy. A good coach will listen to you and then try to fix any problems.
Freedom
If things get to the point where encouraging other players and communicating with the coach doesn’t work, you have the freedom to decide whether or not you want to play. We live in a very free country, and no matter what people might say to you, it’s important to realize that you are free to make your own decisions in life.
Stress is a dangerous thing in life. It is a disease that can make you sick and cause other diseases. If something like sports is making you stressed out, it’s important to make changes because sports should never make someone feel that way. Sports were designed to make people fit and have fun… let’s keep it that way!
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