Sports are a big thing; fans are known to go to extremes, coaches might stay up all night after games, and players often prioritize nothing in front of the game that they love. Sports implement characteristics in kids at a young age that nothing else can and supply athletes with tools they can use for the rest of their lives. Leadership, teamwork, and work ethic are a few of the many characteristics brought out in athletes through sports.

Every team has at least one leader; who teammates go to for help, coaches depend on, and will do whatever it takes to win games. Leadership is something that people are born with, but sports bring out the leadership in players. In practices and games, someone has to be the one to step up and lead the team; to push the team harder or motivate players when they are having doubts, or talk to teammates when they aren’t working hard enough. Athletes learn leadership skills through sports that can be advantageous to them in many occupations. Sports are where the kid that might not be the smartest or most popular student gets to be good at playing the game they love and be the leader on the field. I have always felt that it was my responsibility to motivate and push my teammates; to be the leader. And I think that is how sports simply bring out the leader in people.

Sports aren’t just about each individual player’s importance, it’s about the many players that make a team coming together to win games. When someone is a part of a team, it is a special thing. So many bonds are made in teams; bonds that often make the best memories of people’s lives. My middle school coach, Coach Shana Beaty, really taught us Fillys what being on a team was all about. When we would be running lines in the gym and thinking that the workout might really be the death of all of us, she taught us that to get through it and be a successful team we had to support and push each other. She created a bond with us that made us feel like more like sisters than teammates, and taught us how to make each other better so that the entire team could be better. Athletes hear “teamwork, teamwork, teamwork,” but it really does make the dream work. Just in the basics of any sports game, players have to work together and communicate efficiently. Working well with others often becomes natural for athletes, and this can be very beneficial for them in their careers later in life. Being able to work with peers or coworkers like a TEAM is one of many things that athletes learn to do through sports.

Young athletes just starting to participate in sports learn something that will help them be successful throughout their life. Athletes learn that to be the best, make a team, or get playing time, they have to work for it. In sports, success is earned and not given, just like everything in life. Athletes who realize this will put in hours and hours improving their game. This, is work ethic. Athletes realize that one can make oneself better, beyond others’ expectations, if they just work for it. This attitude should carry over in life to an athlete’s school and career. I personally learned work ethic through sports when I was young. I wanted to be able to hit as hard as I could, do dribbling tricks, and throw as accurate as I could; I had this drive before I had even started attending school. My dad always told me that if I wanted to be great at something, I could be, but I had to put in the work to get there. When athletes come to realize that nothing is impossible when it comes to their own success, they can see finishing first in their class, going to college or getting a promotion as just a challenge that they can work to meet. Athletes come to understand the importance of work ethic, and I think that that is the best life lesson that sports teaches players.

While some might say that sports are only about practices and games, any player or coach can personally attest that sports offer much more. Even if the championships and wins don’t matter, the lessons, bonds, memories, and life skills are what make sports so important to athletes’ lives. Some might also say that sports are nothing more than recreation and a distraction to students from their education. Statistics are just numbers, but a study done over high schools in North Carolina compared students who play sports and students who do not. And not to my surprise, student athletes put up big numbers. According to benefitsofyouthsports.com, the mean GPA was 2.98 for student athletes and 2.17 for non-student athletes. Also, the average days a student athlete missed was 6.3 days, and non-student athletes missed 11.9 days. The dropout rate was also 9.72% higher for non-student athletes. Sometimes, athletics is an athlete’s motivation to pass classes and be at school so that they can play.

I know that sports aren’t the absolute most important thing in the world, although some would argue that it is, but I do know how it can bring out greatness in people, and that is important. Athletics has taught me to work hard, given me the opportunity to lead my team, and given me the best memories of my life. Sports are an opportunity for kids to forget their life at home or school and put commitment into something they can excel in. While athletes put in hours of work into the sport they are passionate about, they take out numerous benefits that they can use for the rest of their life.