What sports have taught me

I have always seen sports as more than just games. To me, they inspire, create community, and teach important life lessons. From the multitude, basketball and baseball are both my favorites, each providing a unique experience of perseverance, teamwork, and enjoying the process.

Basketball

Basketball is a sport that augments quick decision-making and collaboration with others. When a team works to move the ball, set plays, feed off of each other’s shots in rhythm, it highlights that success isn’t just through one individual but rather by all working together.

Basketball to me is a reminder that life moves quickly too, you need to react to stressful situations, talk each other through it, and trust the people around you to get to the goal. 

Baseball

It is slower, it is strategic, and it is a game of patience to some degree. I love the way every pitch and every at-bat feels like its own battle, a mental game as much as a physical game. Baseball taught me that progress takes time and sometimes you have to be patient to wait for the right opportunity. Baseball is a lesson in discipline and perseverance.

More Than Just Games

Basketball and baseball connect people, above and beyond the context of the game itself. Whether its cheering on a local favorite, going out to play pickup games with friends, or visiting the ballpark with family, sports evoke memories and facilitate bonding. They have been, and continue to be, a way for me to be active, connect with others, and extract lessons much more expansive than lessons on the court or field. Ultimately, that is why I continue to participate in sports – because they are fun, I like to be challenged, and they always reinforce the values of sportsmanship, patience, and community

What sports have taught me