Youth Sports and Character Development Essay Example for Free

Youth Sports and Character Development EssayCharacter development is non something that can be ex wizrateed or developed over night. Character development is the multiple spiritedness skills that an various(prenominal) builds indoors themself end-to-end their lifespan. When a soul develops goodly showcase in their early old age of life, they pull up stakes benefit in the long run beca handling they used the life skills they gained and put them to use, becoming a productive unrivalled-on-one in all aspects of life. Thither is one thing for certain in this world, everyone wants to accomplish something in life and we want to recognize our full potential. In order to do this we must sport some skills, and in this case its life skills.Life skills are a range of pieceistics we express such as communication, commitment, hard control, setting tendencys, etc. If an respective(prenominal) wants to excel at a job, a sport or any discipline, that mortal must chequer an d master particular skills. Retaining life skills that you have developed allows an individual to deal with lifes difficulties and struggles more than effectively. People do not top this, exclusively when a person develops essential life skills and are open to acquire them for their own uses when they want, that individual has more control over their life and are thence are happier and more productive in life.Participation in sports at a young age helps provide good character development within an individual. Sports are one of the most influential ways for a person to develop good character development because sports involve all aspects of character development. As a sports musician you will gain life skills, perseverance, and honour suitable decision-making skills. Perseverance is a characteristic that is eventful for any individual to gain and being agile in a sport will help you develop the feeling of perseverance and understand its importance.Perseverance a in the fles h(predicate) character development where an individual learns the importance of working hard until they reach their goal, and the feeling of success that individual experiences displays through perseverance is the importance of hard work knowing that success doesnt go far easy. siret let the fear of striking out carry on you from playing the game. This famous quote may seem unsubdivided to figure out and its firmificance for an individual notwithstanding dont let the simple context of its meaning throw you off this quote has a strong motivational meaning that relates to perseverance and is useful for any individual to be undefeated in life.From my perspective, this quote reinforces the idea of not giving up on personal accomplishment. Whether your goal is as simple as making a base hit or something coarse as wanting to cave in up your own business accomplishments in life arent handed to us. Some goals may come easier for others, they could try two times and obtain their goa l or it may take up to 20 times the eventful matter is how they handle their failures. In baseball/softball a musician is allowed terzetto strikes until they are called out. As a thespian, being called out at the plate is a tough call to mentally accept.Its essential for a player to develop the importance of not giving up because mentally it can change a players perspective on the importance of perseverance. Dont let three strikes keep you from hitting the ball next time your up to bat shake it off and tell yourself, Ill charter it next time, develop the feeling off determination. This strategy is relatable for anyone who has goals they want to accomplish. You never know when you will reach your goals in life. Things may not work out the first time you go after it but, it doesnt mean you have completely failed, you must keep playing the game.When an individual reaches their goal and becomes make the feeling they will experience is unexplainable and different for everyone. Its no wonder why this quote and the development of perseverance play such an important role in an individuals life and when a person develops this part of character development at a young age, it helps them become successful at an earlier stage in their life. Ethical decision-making skills are important in our everyday lives because we are constantly making decisions on something, whether its decision making on what you will do on a day-to-day basis or if its relations with a situation that must be resolved.Having the office to affectively make the best decision possible for any situation by gaining ethical decision skills and putting them to use are essential for everyone. When a person is involved with sports, they are constantly learning and practicing ethical decision-making skills because there are invariably decisions that must be made. Whether the situation is between two squadmates or dealing with calls in game situations, there are always decisions being made. Being a par ticipant in sports, an individual obtains personal and companionable values and carriages.This is where an individual builds close relationships through the experience of being apart of a aggroup. Within the building of close relationships in sports, a person learns how to work effectively in-group settings. Individuals gain and learn the importance of handling different situations and viewing them in a strategic way when resolving a conflict. Other features of an individual having good character are honesty, integrity and ethical behavior. These characteristics are brought approximately through being a participant of a sport because when an athlete recognizes they are in the pervert during game play, they develop the importance of honesty. i. e.In baseball/softball a runner makes contact with the ball, the player runs to first base but realizes they didnt march the bag when the ump calls the player safe. That player is honest with the ump and says they missed the bag, then go es back to the dugout. ) This action of honesty a player displays transitions into ethical behavior because they knew they were in the wrong when the call on the play was made so they displayed ethical behavior by walking back to the dug out. It says a drawing card about a player if they are willing to risk the team an out/point by being honest and acting in an ethical manner.Another ethical behavior that has developed is the notion of helping others. This is effective because a player learns to respect the opponent, and if an opponent is injured in the middle of a game they put those their ethical behavior by helping the opponent off the field or helping them back up from the ground. This action becomes important in an individuals life because it is one of the things that makes a person have good character. If they learn how to help their teammates or their opponents in a sports atmosphere, as they grow onetime(a) they will use this characteristic in their everyday lives.Another characteristic that falls into honesty and ethical behavior is integrity. In sports its always about teamwork and playing by the rules, and by practicing these ethical behaviors an individual develops the meaning of integrity and the importance it plays in our day-to-day lives. Over time an athlete has the experience of always having to total the rules, and this will continue into the future when dealing with society. Developing integrity is not only limited to side by side(p) rules but also is related to an individuals donnish success.As a student athlete, in order for a player to participate in a sport, they are obligated to sign an academic integrity policy. This form requires an athlete must obtain, and keep, a certain grade point average that is set by the school or rail. This typecast of discipline is important because it demonstrates hard work, determination and maintaining to the responsibilities you agreed to. Academic integrity is a great tool for a person to obtain b ecause it follows in with following the rules and if an individual wants to be successful in life they must follow the rules and maintain their obligations they agreed to.From experience, academic integrity has impacted my academic success end-to-end my school years. I never have had the chance to slack on a homework assignment or get away with not studying. It is a simple concept if I wanted to participate on a team I must keep my grades up or I simply would not be able to be apart of a team. I have been asked how I am able to do it and how do I go to school, work, and play softball. My answer is simple, I just got used to it and having the responsibility of keeping my grades up is helpful and has been a great discipline strategy for me.A sports participant also is able to develop the concept of balancing different commitments such as school, work, and a sport. This is important because as we grow older we become supple with work and our family life. We must learn how to balance between our activities so we become responsible, successful individuals in all aspects of life. Integrity doesnt stop there. It follows an individual for the breathe of their lives. The impact of participation in sports and the baffle it has on academics transitions into career outcomes.If a young athlete grows up practicing academic integrity, they use their motivation and are able to visualize how important success is and are more likely to further their education beyond a tall school degree. When I interviewed my jitney from western hemisphere Virginia, he said, academic success is important to me and as a coach. I want my girls to be successful college athletes on and off the field. My hopes are that when each one leaves and moves on with their life that they use all the life skills they developed here to be successful wherever they go.Softball is important for me but whats more important is that my girls are staying on top of their schoolwork and getting good grades. Even t hough my girls are here on scholarship, they are also here for a college degree and I think its important the girls and myself dont loose sight of whats more important. I stick to my academic policy each girl must have a grade point average of 3. 0 or higher. If anyone is struggling I make authoritative they regularly meet with a tutor even if it means they miss practice or a game.If they fall under my expectations I must follow up with my word and as hard as it is I have to suspend the player until they improve their grades. My coaches aspect on academics is what has helped me develop good academic skills and will be useful for me as I move towards graduating from college and start working in a field of my degree. I found it informative when my coach was knowledgeable on character values and how they are broken up into two parts. As participantion in sports an individual develops two types of character values societal and moral.When an athlete gains social values, they are devel oping loyalty, dedication, sacrifice, teamwork and good citizenship, while moral values include the development of honesty, fairness, fair play, justice and responsibility. I wanted to inquiry the two types of character values and understand them in a more in-depth understanding. at that place was an online article my coach referred me to that said, Social values, which are highly esteemed in our society, are about the real world and how society views the importance of social character.Moral values are first principles, meaning that they stand by themselves if we bump any one of these, we violate people directly. Social values are affirmative assets but must be tempered by moral values. A person who has strong social character may have smaller or no moral character. An individual can be highly sacred and loyal to an immoral cause. Because sport may foster social values, character development through sport should help athletes learn to weigh a social value against a moral value and then act on that moral value (Beller, December).All of these characteristics play an important aspect in a players character development, which become successful tools throughout life. Referring back to the development of perseverance, participating in a sport teaches you to reach for something higher that you have never imagined helping you set life goals. This character development alone gives an individual the opportunity to be successful in life. When a person reaches their life story goal, they then use the other tools they developed in order to keep their lifetime goal successful. (i. e. n individual applies for a job and is hired.This person uses their social and moral development skills along with other good character skills they developed to be a successful worker who makes a difference for the company. Having a well-rounded development of good character is what makes an individual stand out from others, especially in a work setting. ) As an athlete you learn the imp ortance of The half dozen Ws Work Will Win When Wishing Wont. It takes hard work when achieving anything in life, nothing comes easy and it especially does not come by wishing for it.As a participant in sports I learned the meaning of the six Ws through my experience of coach and playing sports my entire life. I would not be where I am today if it wasnt for the meshing in athletics and the impact it has played throughout my life All of the different character development aspects I just discussed have contributed to the development of my individual character, academic success and achieving my personal goal. As a young girl, since the day I could walk, I have been committed in the involvement of sports. Dance and pee wee baseball were the first two activities I became involved with.Throughout my middle and high school years I participated in dance, softball, volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and cheer courseing. As I progressed into my junior and sr. year of high school, I dec ided it was time to start focusing more on my lifetime intake. I was in third grade when I went from playing peewee baseball to playing slow pitch softball, later advancing into fast pitch softball. This when I decided I wanted to be the cumulation on any softball team I will play for. My goal didnt stop there though I wanted to take my dream farther, my goal was that one-day I would get paid to play softball.Third grade was when I decided that one day I was handout to be the pitcher for a division one or division two college or university. For 15 years I dedicated myself to pitching, and what people do not realize is the fact that most pitchers, such as me, spend an hour at least four to five times a week outside of team practice working on our pitching skills. All year I practiced pitching whether it was my dad catching me or the brick wall, outside in the eye-popping sun or the pouring rain, inside a gym or on concrete, there was always a way to do drills and pitch no excuse sIt was my freshman year when I got moved up to the varsity softball team, and it was my junior and senior year when I outstandingly succeeded. Ill never stop beating Fort Hill High School, ending their undefeated record, all the no-hitters and one-hitters I threw, and all the recognition I got for throwing such excellent games. I was able to recognize the importance of teamwork, knowing I would not have been able to throw such excellent games if it were not for their excellent defense.Just like the saying, Theres No I In Team. Throughout those years I developed all the essential life skills, knowing I wouldnt have been able to develop these skills if it was not for my involvement in sports. My character development through sports did not stop with my senior year of high school. It was my senior year of high school when colleges were scouting me and I realized how much my hard work had paid off. A few division three universities in Pennsylvania wanted me to sign with them and be ap art of their team.Although that amazing opportunity was there, I wasnt satisfied because my dream was to get paid and I was find out to reach that goal. I ended up visiting a few division two colleges where the coachs final decision was not to enter me. It became mentally difficult for me to accept without becoming discouraged and not wanting to give up on softball altogether. My pitching coach Staci and Wes who is the head coach of Frostburg invoke University, was one of the biggest impacts on my mental development when it came to perseverance.They taught me the importance of hard work and the role of a pitcher on a team, which was a big part of my character development. It allowed me to not to let the denial of a few colleges stop me, so I decided to advance my goal a little farther and took into consideration the thought of playing out of state. It was May of 2008 when I signed my letter of intent to play division two softball for Potomac State College of West Virginia Univers ity. A DII softball team chose to recruit me and pay me to play softball for them.Even though it was an unexplainable feeling, I want to focus on the development aspect of the experience itself. Within my two year contract with Potomac State we were the East and West Pennsylvania state champs both years, undefeated in our conference one year, had high winning records both years, and placed in the tournament we played in down south. These were all great achievements each player will remember for the rest of our lives, but it is the character development we learned that makes each and every one of us successful now and in our future. subsequently those two years I decided to move down to a division three college or university where I could focus more on my degree. later on contemplating between a few, in fall 2010 I took the opportunity to play for Coach Caldwell at Penn State Altoona, where I would finish my last two years of softball. Unfortunately last spring in 2011, I was pitchi ng a game when I got line drive straight back to my pitching hand, cover on the bone. Luckily nothing was fractured but the doctors said there is a chance of permanent tightness or tendonitis that could develop.Of course with my developed life skills of perseverance, hard work and determination, I was not going to let the brand keep me from playing softball. It was this past fall, 2011, when I started into my fourth year of college softball. I was dictated to be able to pitch the same way I did back in high school I felt fresh and ready to go. A few weeks went by before the end of the season when my mind was telling me one thing and by body another. It was a combination of overusing my arm, the wrist injury and school, which helped me realize that maybe it was time to end my softball career.It was a tough decision but I think it was time to face the facts if I keep pushing myself then eventually I will tear myself apart to the point I can not even coach. I do not jut out on adva ncing to the pros and plus I had to view the biggest picture of it all my goal was to get paid to play softball and I well-behaved that part of my life. I figured it was okay to move on, advancing my life experience by putting my develop life skills and character development to use so I can live a successful and rewarding life.The coming spring of 2013 will be the first time in 15 years that I wont be participating in softball. Im not sure what to expect, but I know it is going to be difficult for me but I think as long as I stay focused on the importance of my future and the positive impact sports has had on my life, I will be satisfied with my decision. It was not just the feeling of accomplishment that has helped me develop a positive character development, but all the experiences within each year that helped me gain a well-rounded development of good character and essential life skills.All the developments I gained has made me successful in my work and school settings. My trans ition from involvement in sports at a young age to the college level gave me the skills and character development that lead to coaching young girls. Coaching is something I never imagined doing but when the opportunity came my way in 2009 I was speechless. For me, coaching is a personal reward because I am able to give back to what has been a positive part of my life. It is not something anyone can do, a coach must have the essential skills mentally and physically in order to be an effective coach.When I got recognized I was specifically asked if I would be interested in giving personal pitching lessons for 20 dollars and hour. Today, I am still coaching young girls back home in the area and one day I plan to be apart of a high school or middle school softball team as their pitching coach. It is obvious to see the influence sports have on an individuals character development. If a child starts participating at a young age and stays committed throughout high school, they are more lik ely to become successful in their future.Altogether with the experience of my participation and having the opportunity to coach, I wouldnt be the person I am today if it was not for the essential life skills, ethical decision-making skills and character development I gained through being a sports participant. I will use my essential tools when dealing with a future situation that may deal with friends, family, a work setting or just my day-today activities. My communication, leadership and team building skills will allow me to work with others in any atmosphere.The determination and hard work ethics will help me become successful one day when use my college degree to apply for a job. I will be able to successfully balance my life activities on a occasional basis staying committed. My honesty and integrity development has made me an individual who is reliable and trustworthy. I have gained all aspects of character development, and I owe it all to the involvement of sports and the co aches who influenced these essential life skills that produced my good character development.In conclusion, through my involvement in sports, my different observations through coaching, an interview with my coach and the surveys, youth sports have a positive impact on the development of good character. Sport programs have the influence to promote the development of sports-man-like behaviors, ethical decision-making skills, and an overall curriculum for moral character development. The experience of being apart of a team also provides an individual with a social environment to acquire personal and social values and behaviors modify to good character and good citizenship that is used throughout an individuals life.