Sport as a Platform for Development and Empowerment
Sport is a competitive activity in which individuals engage in a competitive game or physical activity through a well-organized participation forum with the goal of developing abilities, ensuring physical fitness, and having fun. Sport does not always require a person to engage in physical action; it can simply be played through computer games. A sport includes spectators, two competing teams, and a judge (referee) who ensures that all rules and regulations are observed and is in charge of determining the winner. Depending on the sort of game, there may be numerous or only one participant. Sporting is recognized as a form of athleticism or physical fitness maintenance. Sport is a platform that brings people together and to create awareness to empower different social groups of people and also fighting immorality such as drug abuse. Development of sporting abilities starts at early ages where children engage in various games and this later advance to the national and international level. At that particular level, sports can be used as a potent tool to unite people and also build successful careers. However, development of sporting abilities is very challenging and requires special techniques and methods to nurture and motivate people with different talents. The content of this paper examines how a sport is used to construct, confirm, maintain, and or display individual or group identity.
Construction through Sports
For the case of construction, sports have all the advantages that you can ever think of towards the modeling of an individual. To efficiently apply games in the society, it comes with a series of challenges which are sometimes difficult to evade. Sports can be practiced in the childhood with the aim of enjoyment, but when taken with a lot of seriousness and positive approach, it becomes a potent tool especially in the career field (Papaioannou et al, 98). Some sports like chess and swimming require a lot a lot of coordination and critical thinking to realize winning. Through various mistakes that are made in sports, the critical thinking of an individual develops with a more significant percentage. It is not only useful in the sporting career but also in the class. An individual improves the ability to think critically especially in cases of problem-solving approaches.
The Importance of Discipline and Hard Work
Becoming a winner or talented in a particular sport comes with a lot of discipline, research, accepting mistakes, hard work, persistence, desire to learn and also the willingness to coordinate with other people. Sport is a way of modeling an individual and teaching them life skills and way to approach life issues. Sport is considered as a class of dignity where the teachers involved come from different platforms (Mahony et al., 18). Discipline comes where one has to follow the required rules of the game. No matter if there is a coach or not, one develops self-control to get better in the future times. That is accompanied by virtues of hard work and confidence. One cannot just get better in a specific sport within the first days. There is a long journey that entails interacting with different people and getting to learn what is required to get better in that sport. One has no option rather than adjusting to all the teachings and rules necessary to excel in a particular sporting game.
Persistence and a Winning Perspective in Sports
Sport also laid a basis for persistence and a better perspective to approach life. Through the difficulties that one passes, one acquires a lot of knowledge and skills on better ways to approach life. For example, if a particular sport is dominated by many people and there is need to be the best, the one has to deduce unique and new techniques to cater for the competition and become the best in future. The desire and wish to win are what keeps people motivated to get better. It is challenging to have a situation where a sports person gives up since on each day; there is hope that one day there will become the most successful sportsmen in the world (Wheaton & Belinda 268). Additionally, the sport is a way of raising an individual and changing any negative attitude towards life. For example, if one is depressed due to family matters and maybe cases of poverty, sports refreshes and individual and gives them the hope of being and embarking on better activities in life.
The Relationship between Sports and Fitness
Since sport is a long journey that entails strength and power to conquer any competition, individuals tend to get fit from now and then. Through that, heart attack and related diseases are done away. Therefore when one is engaging in games, it doesn’t mean that they develop their mentality and character, but they also get fit. Due to the time and commitment required for sports, immorality like drug abuse among the youth is solved. One will always think of going for a match of competition rather than staying behind to take hard drugs (Stewart et al., 212). Such motivation and positive attitude towards sports are developed by the active support of different governments and sports federations. It is also motivated by the celebrity and lovely life that is displayed by successful sportsmen. Sports can also construct a group of sportsmen. If they had a negative attitude or hatred towards one another, in the end, they have to cooperate to handle and win sports. They eventually learn that there is a need for coordination and working with one another. The spirit of sports is later transferred to the daily activities that are vital in developing the community both socially, economically and politically (Pearson et al., 280).
Confirmation through Sports
Sport is also a tool for confirming an individual. We have aspects that measure how hard an individual or a group of people can work towards achieving a specific goal. For a given sport, there is the need for coordination, hard work, and perseverance, ability to learn and accept mistakes (Wheaton & Belinda 271). Once an individual engages in a sporting activity and obtains all the success and medals, there that can be considered as a measure of intelligence, and it is confirmed that the person can work under the stipulated rules and any forms of pressure. It is a measure that one can work under some pressure or environments that require a lot of coordination. Through recognition, awards and the words of encouragement, a group or individual athletes will struggle to set a better example in the future (Mahony et al., 21). The media and friend confirmation is what motivates one towards facing more challenges to become a better sportsman. Additionally, when one manages to get through all the problems without giving up, then it is confirmed that one can ensure in life and it is a symbol of becoming a successful sports personality in the future.
Confirmation of Group Identity
It can also be used to confirm how a group of people work. For example, if a football team manages to perform better, then it is concluded that the group of individuals have the potential to work together in realizing better goals. It takes a lot of unity and problem-solving skills for a group of sportsmen to excel and give satisfactory results. Psychologists state that for better sporting, it is easier to train a person than a group of people (Funk et al., 41). That is because everyone has a different approach on how to become better and therefore coordination becomes a critical problem. Despite the gender, social or age factors, excelling in certain fields shows that the group of people can comfortably work together and implement better techniques of bringing change not only in games but other activities in the society. Through the struggle and setting up goals which can be achieved or sometimes they fail, it confirms that those people are dedicated through all techniques to ensure that they exhibit change and portray a sense of satisfied sports career.
Identity and Sports
By applying techniques for instance in the class; perspective, you may not be in a position to identify the abilities of a person. It is because sometimes people may not pay so much attention to the school activities than what they do in sports. Furthermore, there may be no pressure from the public. In sports, the daily occurrence and performance are not only recorded by the coach or the individual himself, but there are fans of that particular team or game who believe that the athlete has to perform better in the coming games (Stewart et al., 209). That motivates the sportsman for fear of disappointing their followers. It keeps the person confirmed that they have to work harder and introduce new working skills if the old ones do not seem to function.
Maintaining Identity through Sports
When one is in sports, they have the duty of maintaining their identity. As an athlete, they ask themselves so many questions like for example, “Who am I? What do I have to accomplish to protect and safeguard my brand?” It comes with a lot of things that one has to do to maintain being relevant in the sporting world. Every individual has his or her own identity in which they have to protect depending on the roles or activities they do. For example, the language that one uses is very vital in the sporting career. Like when one says “I am a runner” and “I enjoy running” (Funk et al., 37). The two are different words, and they have a lot to signify on how one takes their careers. The sporting language is critical as it motivates one towards protecting their identity. There are two types of character, and they include public and private identity. The individual identity is how we see ourselves and how serious we take our lives, but it is never shown to the public. It happens as an inner motivation through the rewards and how people make our careers. On the other side, the public motivation is when the sport entails different personalities. It is not a choice, but it becomes a must for an individual to struggle and match what the other groups expect.
Maintaining Individual and Group Identity
It takes a lot of courage and time to maintain and individual and group identity. For an individual, there is a need for techniques that are unique and not used by other people. One has to show seriousness in whatever they do, and they have to show the impact to the sports that they play. It happens when one has a positive reputation, and people say, “I want to be a successful athlete like somebody” (Papaioannou et al., 116). Sports enable someone to struggle and maintain a unique follow up to ensure that they continue being successful in sports. Like for example if one takes it as a career, they have to develop admirable characteristics, and that is what makes them motivated since other people will always look upon onto them. The fans also have a great interest in sports people who seem to be winning and have a bright future. Therefore the urge to remain dedicated is what helps athletes display their identity characteristics (Raedeke & Thomas 401). For the case of a group, they have to deduce and maintain a unique slogan that is articulated to success. They will always be old onto one another to ensure that the team continues to achieve the set goals.
Identity Displayed through Sports
A group or an individual displays identity in various ways. The ability to carry out sporting activities displays who one is and whatever potentials they have in life. The most celebrated sportsmen started as just ordinary people but due to the passion and love displayed for whatever game they play, they are recognized by potential sponsors who give them the opportunity to show the world what they can provide, and this turns to be a way of earning income (Sheard et al., 189). It shows that such an athlete had the time and planned on how to protect their identity. At some time, the reputation may not be so good towards the public, but the dream has to remain. Sports motivate one towards that set goal, and they have no agenda rather than achieving what is desired. The culture of sports is so intense and addictive that when one loses in a particular game, they can do all that it takes to restore and protect their name.
Sports and Transformation
In given circumstance, most of the sportsmen can provide testimonies that they were once in drug abuse and immoral behaviors, but after incorporating sports in their life, the mind became so busy and occupied that they can never think of any drugs. Sports help to display an excellent example of the society. Maybe a group of youths who were unable to get school fees to continue with studies but games later made them famous (Papaioannou et al., 101). It shows the identity that one may have been immoral in the past, but it was not their choice since after being introduced to games, they change and become better people. It is an indication that games have a lot of advantages to offer not just the career and physical fitness. If a group of athletes gives testimony that games have taken them to far places, then it has to be understood that games can be the light of a community and the entire world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sports have a lot of benefits to offer. As shown in the discussion above, sports can be used to construct, confirm, maintain, and or display individual or group identity. With the various activities carried out in any sporting activity, its outcome can be connected to the general development and nurture of more talents for the participants. Sports entails confidence, hard work, dedication, ability to learn from mistakes made and also desire to learn from others. These are not only responsible for maintaining identification, but they are also life skills that can be applied in studies or even career skills and problem-solving activities. Therefore every society should understand that sports are quite helpful and they should never be taken for granted. If someone develops interest and shows that he or she can do well in a specific sport, they should be given all the support that they require. Also when people are engaging and getting better opportunities to be in different activities, they should be ready to face challenges to grow stronger. In return, they should return the knowledge and experience in the society by helping others identify and develop their abilities in sports.
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