Essay Sample: Hard Work in Sports Culture

Sports plays an important role in the lives of many people today. Different sports have come up over the years and developed to attract massive followings from different parts of the country. The sports industry has also developed into a multimillion industry, creating a lot of employment opportunities for players, trainers, pundits, and coaches amongst others (Yiannakis, and Melnick 28). The development of sports over the years helped to create a unique culture or subculture in the country and by extension in the world. Sports teams have their unique values, beliefs, and attitudes that differentiate the competition in sports from any other kind of competition. For example, sports teams tend to focus on issues such as team spirit (for team sports), fun, winning, or mastery.

Sports has grown over the years form being part-time social activities into reputable careers. Players and sports people have occupied a special place in there society today with many of the being influential celebrities with global status. Throughout this transformation of different sports and the place of sportspeople in the society, one factor has always remained constant. This is the sports fans (O'Riordan, Ian). The success of any sporting activity is based on the sizes of the fans that rally behind the different sports, games, teams, or individual players. To some extent, the sports fans can be considered passive players who can influence the direction of the match of the competition based on their support to the teams or individual players (Yiannakis, and Melnick 33). Of interest, therefore, is the relationship that fans have with their valuable players and teams and the level of support they give to the people and teams they cherish and follow ardently.

The need to succeed in sports is deeply entrenched in the broader American culture, which revolves around the concept of the American dream. The American Dream is applied in various contexts to imply success, freedom, hard work, individualism, and the ability to follow ones dream. Within this broad culture are several subcultures and counter cultures that all make up the larger identity of Americans (O'Riordan, Ian). Subcultures include smaller cultural groups within the American society that share the same values, aspirations, and beliefs as the wider culture. On the other hand, the counter cultures are those subgroups whose value systems, beliefs, and aspirations are different from those shared by the majority of the people within the broader American culture. Sports is one of the most important aspects of the American culture (Issitt 37). Many Americans follow deferent sports competitions including baseball, American football, athletics, and basketball, all of which can be considered national sports competitions (Yiannakis, and Melnick 28). Therefore, sports can be considered a subculture because of its role in promoting unity among the American people, creating employment, and allowing people to express themselves.

Unity is one of the most important aspects of the American culture that holds the fabric of the society together. The Americans unity is embedded in many shared values among the population across all states. Therefore, since sports helps to bring people from different backgrounds together to support various players, teams, or follow certain competitions, it can be considered to share the same value of unity as the wider American culture (Yiannakis, and Melnick 58). The ability for one to achieve success in the society through employment or entrepreneurship is considered an important part of the American dream, and therefore, the American culture (Issitt 39). Through sports, many people have been able to achieve this success by using their talents to play in the sports they enjoy (O'Riordan, Ian). Sportsmen are among some of the most successful people in the American society. Therefore, sports can be considered a subculture since it shares the same value of promoting success with the broader American culture.

The American culture is also based on the ability for people to express themselves freely through whatever means they like (O'Riordan, Ian). Sporting activities are some of the forms that people can use to express themselves by using their talents to let people know what they are good at. As such, sports can be considered a subculture in the American culture because it does not contradict the values and beliefs if the wider culture.

Being a top athlete takes a lot of effort besides talent. There are many talented individuals who can be great athletes in popular sports such as baseball, but they have not been able to live to their potential due to their inability to keep themselves motivated, focused, and consistently performing at the highest level; possible (Issitt 41). For example, in high school, many of the talented students rarely get to flourish when they turn professionals. This shows that there is more to just talent when it comes to having a successful career as an athlete. As one of the hardest sports in the country, Baseball requires a lot of dedication, professionalism, discipline, and consistency (van de Looij, Mauro). To achieve these traits, one must be willing to work hard and practice consistently on a regular basis. For instance, one must work at drills on a regular basis regardless of whether the drills are boring, difficult, or fun. This allows the player to be in the right mind frame as well as in the perfect physical conditions when playing a match (O'Riordan, Ian). Therefore, hard work is an indispensable aspect of preparation and training for sports professionals.

Hard work in professional sports such as baseball goes hand in hand with other character traits and qualities such as patience. Becoming a top professional player takes time. Therefore, one must never give up after a few moments of trying. Hard work demands that one maintains high levels of dedication and motivation (van de Looij, Mauro). The game must become part and parcel of the players life. Hence, dedication and motivation are essential aspects of embracing hard work in professional sports, particularly in physically demanding games like baseball. In order for a young player to become a good professional, hard work must become the backbone of their training. In most cases, a devoted player will remain behind after team practice to practice on their own and sharpen their drills.

One can practice hope to make the runs and hit the ball every day after training. Team training is usually mandatory for team members and may not be effective in bringing the best out of every player because it is mostly based on the needs of the team as opposed to individuals (van de Looij, Mauro). Therefore, anyone who wants to develop themselves into exceptional players must be willing to put in more work after them training and at any other time available at their disposal.

Baseball players have also emerged as a new crop of celebrities in the society due to their lavish lifestyles and influence they have on younger children in the society. As a result, many small children dream to become football players at some point in their futures. This, together with the fact that there have been significant improvements in the quality of the game, has made football attractive for many people willing to join the sport (van de Looij, Mauro). Coincidentally, the modern game has placed significant emphasis on development of professional players right from a very young age in order to ensure that there is continuity as the older players retire from the game. Thus, most of the established teams have youth structures that focus on training young professionals and identifying young talents from as low as seven years of age.

The modern game is very demanding in terms of its physicality and running. Players have to cover several miles on the pitch chasing the ball, coming into contact with other senior and stronger players throughout the match. High Resistance Strength training is one of the most widely practiced forms of physical activity, which is used to enhance athletic performance, augment muscular-skeletal health and alter body aesthetics. Chronic exposure to this type of activity produces marked increases in muscular strength, which are attributed to a range of neurological and morphological adaptations. Some of the most popular models include use of distinct movement patterns such as weight lifting, use of strength training loads, changing direction, sprinting and jumping among others.

Training methods used in strength training involve the use of combined exercise modes such as plyometric training, weight training and sport specific actions. This allows for optimization of power that is brought about by the morphological and neural adaptations that are associated with radical training (O'Riordan, Ian). Consequently, the fundamental features of soccer activities cannot be understated, especially the ones that highlight the significance of the specificity in muscle and strength power training.

In conclusion, sports occupies a very special place in the hearts of some fans, who would do anything to attend a match, competition, or be in the company of their best athletes and sportspeople. However, it is important appreciating that not all sports fans love or express the same level of enthusiasm in the game. Sporting activities can be very captivating to many people. However, not everybody is enthusiastic about sports. Therefore, those who do not follow any sport religiously may not comprehend the nature of sports fans from around the world. For most people who do not follow or support any sports team or sports personality, there is not a single difference between one fan and the other. Thus, from this external perspective, all sports fans share the same qualities, traits, or behaviors. However, from amongst fans themselves, the view is completely different. Fans recognize that there are different types of people, whose devotion, and commitment to the game varies from ne to the other.

Works Cited

Issitt, Micah L. Hippies: A Guide to an American Subculture. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print.

O'Riordan, Ian. "Sporting Talent Is Nothing Without Hard Work." The Irish Times, 2017, https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/sporting-talent-is-nothing-without-hard-work-1.3206130.

van de Looij, Mauro. "A Tool To Work Hard Everyday The UK's Leading Sports Psychology Website." Believeperform.Com, 2017, http://believeperform.com/performance/a-tool-to-work-hard-everyday/.

Yiannakis, Andrew, and Merrill J. Melnick. Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001. Print.