Athletics and those who
participate in them are a large part of our society. Athletes do this to stay
in shape, better themselves, and promote community in their local area. The
community of athletics is dedicated to healthy competition and a healthy
lifestyle.
An athlete is someone who
participates in a sport or physical activity whether through competition or
training. It’s important to remember that not all activities are a competition
with other people. Weight lifting, body building, and distance running are
forms of training that don’t compete against other people. These activities
don’t require leagues or registrations to be a part of. Sports that include
teams’ competing against other teams can include basketball, football, and
cheerleading. These teams will use teamwork and individual skill to win against
the other team in competition. These teams can be formed with formal
registrations or in simple meet ups between teammates.
Training and competition
often go hand in hand. The most successful teams have intense practice sessions
and individual workouts to become tougher, faster, and stronger. Between the
professional level and the beginner there are many different levels of
commitment. Speaking to a recreational style of training, Ed. K. Lee Lerner and
Brenda Wilmoth Lerner put it as:
Recreational sports are those activities where the
primary purpose of the activity is participation, with the related goals of
improved physical fitness, fun, and social involvement often prominent ports are
usually perceived as being less stressful, both physically and mentally, on the
participants. There are lower expectations regarding both performance and
commitment to the sport in the recreational sphere (563-564).
Some people in this
community play sports professionally or collegiately. Playing collegiately
opens doors to play professionally and make a career out of a sport. They will
compete on large scales against other professionals, individually or on a team
and be paid based upon demand and skill level. This picture is of the
University of Kentucky football team at their stadium from this season. Professional
athletes are the leaders of the sports communities. Whether a body builder,
basketball player, or gymnast there are other amateur athletes trying to copy
what the professionals do. This promotes the growth of members and the acquiring
of new ones. Professionals drive the community to be better at what they do and
to help it grow.
Whether
professional or amateur all must train or participate regularly. Gyms and fitness centers are an easy and cheap
way to practice and train. Utilizing these centers will improve an athletes
abilities. Gyms offer a wide assortment of tools to meet the needs of athletes.
This picture is of the Johnson Center on the University of Kentucky’s campus.
From this picture you can tell it offers weight machines, treadmills, and ellipticals.
Competitions can happen on a variety of settings. A recreational competition
will happen in a gym or common area similar to where training happens.
Athletes in this
community have one real setback that they experience. During competition or
training people can get hurt. Injuries are a normal fact of being an athlete.
Training breaks down the body to make it stronger again, but it doesn’t always
go as planned. Whether it is a small problem like a sprain or a severe issue
such as blowing out a knee, injuries can be a nightmare to deal with. This
picture is of a concussion that I suffered during high school. This injury
caused me to miss my junior year of school and made it hard to read. I suffered
the effects of this for almost two years. Most injuries are not this serious
and usually involve a week to a month of recovery time. Science makes advances every
year in the rehabilitation and prevention of injury. Injuries can come to
people of all ages so safety is taught during all competition or practice.
Athletic events are a
lens to show a microcosm of society. A particular instance of this comes in
patterns of racism. The prominent pattern is term racial stacking which means
the over or under representation of one particular race of people in certain
positions in the sports world. Black and white people are given very different
roles in sports. For example, there are significantly fewer black coaches compared
to white and the opportunity for rehiring of a black coach is considerably
lower. Black players throughout sports are placed in roles where pure athletic
ability is critical while white players are given leadership positions or a
role that requires more mental ability. This pattern of race relations is
similar to gender inequalities in sports. Women coaches are given less of a budget
in college and high school and the salary is far less than that of a male coach
(Ed. William A. Darity, Jr, 64-65).
Becoming a part of the
community is simple. There are several opportunities on this campus to get
involved in athletic activities. Joining an intermural team and attending a gym
regularly is the easiest way to do it. Most things come with little to no cost
and have lenient time requirements.
Being an athlete is very
rewarding. Athletics are a way to stay in shape because all athletics will
improve the general fitness or people. The athletic community continues to grow
and promote healthy living for all people. These athletes share a desire to
better themselves and encourage each other to be successful as they train. This
community is a great group to get plugged in to.
908
words
"Recreational
Sports." World of Sports Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 563-565. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
"Sports." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed.
William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 8. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.
63-65. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
