The learning involved is irreplaceable.
If you are an athlete or former athlete, consider yourself blessed. Competing requires commitment and perseverance, and those traits serve us well throughout our lives.
There’s also the important matter of doing your job with the public watching. Everybody sees you do your job, and there’s no hiding in sports.
That experience helps many athletes excel in their life work because they are used to the pressure, primarily when an important task is assigned or a public presentation is required.
And the most essential experience may be team play–learning how to be a teammate and what it means to play on and for a team, not just as a team but also as a team representative of a school and a city.
From my perspective, there’s no substitute for learning from being an athlete and playing sports. Memories of both make for a very Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.
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About Matthew Paris
I grew up an avid Houston sports fan. After graduating from Texas Tech University in Theater and English Literature I worked as a marketing rep and coach for I9 Sports, coaching baseball, flag football, soccer, and basketball. I’m currently with Austin Sports Academy as a marketing coordinator, baseball and football coach, and coordinator of middle school and high school open play nights. I’ve written three short films for Looknow Productions and have also written articles on film marketing, producing, and directing. I really enjoy writing about sports and being an active contributor to The Sports Column.
