There is no doubt that my family is the most important thing in the world to me- after all, they have shaped me into the person I am today. But there is something else that I am going to write about that I think is one of the most important things for the development of a person: playing team sports.
I started playing ringette when I was only four years old and played until I was eighteen. I started a year ahead of most girls did. My step-sisters played ringette and my brothers both played hockey so I when the day finally came when it was my turn, I nearly ran onto the ice without my skates laced up.
As I got older, I started getting better and was playing at a pretty high level. I even got the chance to go to the Canadian Ringette Championships in Winnipeg, where my team won the gold medal for Quebec- the first time in 15 years that Quebec had won.
Not only did playing on a team give me the chance to travel to different part of Canada, but it taught me about commitment, teamwork, discipline and hard work.
Commitment is vital when you play on a team sport. If you are a tennis player and you decide to pull out of a match because you are too tired or you don’t want to miss the party that night, the only person you are letting down is yourself. But when you play on a team, you have people counting on you. Not only do you have to be there, you also have to be ready to perform at the same level as the rest of your team. It’s obvious to everyone when a team member strolls in to the dressing room 10 minutes before a game with a sleepy look on her face that she is not going to be ready to play. Also, with the commitment of being on a team comes the commitment to punctuality. Being part of a team requires you to be on time, whether it is two hours before game or 20 minutes.
Discipline becomes really important as you get into high level competition, especially when you are facing teenage pressures. I competed in tournaments when I was 16 and 17 years old and there were times that I wished I could stay out late the night before a game. But I knew that if I did I would not perform to my full potential the next day and I would be letting my team down. There was also the consequence that if my coach found out I was drinking the night before a game I would be benched or suspended from playing. Without those consequences it would have been a lot harder to say no.
Where teamwork comes in is obvious- a team is only as strong as its weakest link. This means that if one person is not performing to their full potential, the whole team is not performing to its full potential. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and a team needs to learn how to best utilize everyone’s strengths and pick up slack for each other’s weaknesses. Everyone has a role, whether you’re the superstar goal scorer or the toughest defenseman.
Finally, there is hard work. When you play on a team it is obvious when someone is not pulling their weight or not playing as hard as they can. This type of behaviour does not go over well with fellow teammates or coaches. The pressure that is put on a player is healthy- it pushes you to do better.
These qualities continue to apply to real life situations in both work and school, which is why I am thankful that I started learning them at the age of four.
No comments:
Post a Comment