College Admissions Essay: Success In Sports And In Life

During my childhood, I played many sports I absolutely adored, and those sports taught me many lessons I will never forget. Sports were how I made the most of my friends and how I relieved most of my stress. I believe sports can have noteworthy influence in other areas of life. In Kevin Kniffin’s article, “High School Athletes Gain Lifetime Benefits”, Kniffin explains how research shows people who played sports go on to get better jobs and better pay by using the life lessons they were taught from sports.

I began wrestling since my freshman year of high school, as I have always wanted to wrestle. I did not necessarily at the sport, but I enjoyed it. I earned medals and won tournaments, and for a time I even saw myself wrestling in college. I thought that I had my future planned until I dislocated my knee. I first viewed the incident as a freak accident, but it soon happened frequently. It reached to the point where I required invasive surgery. Mulling over my surgery and repeated injuries, I concluded that wrestling became too dangerous. But I committed myself to wrestling; I had no idea what else to do. Desperate to find an activity to fill the void that athletics left behind, I decided to try something outside of my comfort zone. As a result,

Ten years ago I saw my first soccer game and up until recently I wanted to be a soccer player ahead of my second passion which is computers. Like most kids, all I ever dreamed of is being a pro athlete. I played soccer all 4 years of High school. I went to the camps and training sessions of many colleges. I even went to the extent of trying out for many professional teams. On March 29th of this year I went to Score Indoor, an indoor soccer arena in Fairburn, to play a small scrimmage game. Something in my head told me that I shouldn’t play but I shrugged it off. 20 minutes into the game I was tackled hard and long story short, I tore my acl. Tearing my acl crippled so many of my plans. In June I had probably the most important tryout of my life. I was going to try out for 3 of the biggest teams in Mexico. At the time I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. All I ever thought about was going pro.

The football season had just ended in Orem Utah and my coach was an assistant wrestling coach. People had been telling me things about wrestling the whole football season to the point where I actually considered it. I went to open mats one day and decided that I was going to wrestle. There were two other first year freshmen in my weight class and I beat both of them. In my first year of wrestling I was already varsity. The whole year I got pounded on over and over again by kids who had been wrestling for years. I kind of just accepted the fact that I was going to lose most of my matches. Our very last dual of the season was against Orem High School who were our mortal enemies. The dual started off at the 120 pound weight class. Me being in the 113 pound weight class meant I would be the last one to wrestle. The dual was incredibly close and by the time I was up Orem was winning the dual by one point. My coach told me to go out there and keep it simple. I went out, took him down, and pinned him in just fourteen seconds. The crowd exploded. Everybody started chanting my name. The captains picked me up and put me on their shoulders as they carried me around the gym. This event was important to my life because it gave me confidence that I needed, it kept me wrestling because I was on the verge of quitting, and it was a moment that I’ll never forget my entire life.

As a child, I was taught that with hard work and determination I could achieve anything. Unfortunately, this is a myth, and limitations are a part of being human. I was forced to accept this reality during my junior year of high school. Ever since I was a little girl, I looked forward to playing varsity basketball on the orange and black court at Dalton High School. Finally, during my third year of high school, I was given the chance to start as point guard on the girls’ varsity basketball team. Suddenly, my dream turned into a nightmare, and I was sitting on the bench watching other girls play the game I loved. Gretchen Wald, a teammate, was experiencing the same problem. Luckily, she remained by my side throughout the experience. Together,

Some people think cheer is not a sport, to me it is my life. There is school cheer and competitive cheer, some prefer one over the other or they do both. School cheer is the yippie, go, go, go sideline chants. Competitive cheer is when a team of five or more create a two and half minute routine and compete against other teams on the same level. Both sports take huge dedication to the coaches and teammates.

A high school athlete waiting to become a college athlete should be prepared for the best thing about participating in college sport to happen, new college athletes should be prepared to gain a second family. Playing on a team in college brings that group of teammates closer than any incoming freshman can imagine. An athlete’s team contains a number of boys/girls that are going through the same thing as them. Teammates are truly the only ones that are being put through the same trials as all of the other teammates. Teammates are the only ones who understand what it is like to be a student athlete in college.

The coach screams, “There’s three seconds left of the game Val, SCORE!” running so fast trying not to trip over myself; I swing the stick and hit the ball past the goaltender and shoot to assemble the score 8-7. “RING!” the scoreboard goes as the time ran out. I felicitate the other team and celebrate the victory with my teammates. Active is a great adjective to describe me: I’ve played sports my entire life. Can you imagine me being born with a field hockey stick in one hand and a basketball in the other? Can you spot a future Olympian coming out of the womb? I can. Wanting to be an athlete that succeeds and wanting to continue learning how to become an improving player can leave a legacy. How will people remember me, being the considerably

Did you know that one simple decision can change your entire life!Sports are a wonderful thing right?They will help shape you into who you are going to be.How good you are at something and so much more.In my opinion sports can change lives and they can shape you into who you are.That can change all of your life events.Sports have made me into who I am today by changing my mindset,introducing me to my friend group and even bringing me closer to my family.Sports has made me who I am and for that I am thankful.

Yet another thing sports can do is teach a player many life lessons. According to Scope Magazine's Tim O'Shei, sports teaches perseverance, team spirit, and fun. Many sports coaches will not allow players to participate in a game if the player's homework is not done on time. Some studies even show that some grades may drop after the season is over because of the lack of motive in a student. A student could also learn how to be a good sport by congratulating his or her team even if they lose. They should learn to be a good sport because whether the team wins or loses, the good spirit of the team would remain. A good team spirit could also make it fun and motivational for everyone else. The perseverance, team spirit, and fun in a team player could make both a good role model and a fun person to be around.

At a young age, my parents put me in sports: teaching me how to skate at age three, playing football my first year eligible and playing t-ball a year early. Sports can teach a child more than just how to throw a football or shoot a puck, sports have the power to teach a child how to become an adult. Children who are involved in sports at a young age are taught many necessary traits in life. Sports can impact their life and teach them competition, respect and responsibility. Three very valuable traits any man or woman will need in their life. Without sports, children miss out on a valuable experience to learn lifelong traits at a young age.

I have been active in sports all my life, and I’d be a completely different person if I hadn’t. Neither my confidence or self-esteem would be near what they are today. I wouldn’t be as disciplined, resilient, social, or have any leadership skills. Sports have taught me many lessons, and I truly believe that I have better character because of them. School sports create opportunities for learning, meeting new people, and taking a break from stressful high school life.

More Than Just a Game Participating in three sports throughout high school has not only taught me how to become a better person on the court, but off the court as well. Sports have influenced me to always try my hardest, be a leader, have responsibility, work with others, and be mentally strong. These are traits that I can take with me wherever I go in life. I have faced and overcome many challenges due to sports, and that has helped prepare me for the future.

My guiding question was formed from my personal experience and passion regarding sports. Throughout my youth years leading into my senior year of high school, I have played the sports of football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and wrestling as well. I had gone through countless failures, successes, and experiences that have altered my character and identity, contributing to the person I am today. Failures notably consist of playing poorly during a game, leading to letting my teammates down or failing to win a wrestling match. Successes notably included winning football games, making a great play or and winning a wrestling tournament. With those successes and failures, came with experiences that shaped me to become resilient and wiser in life. Coaches and teammates that I have played with and for, have taught and guided me to become a better athlete and student than I was before. I was very fortunate in my life to be named the captain of my wrestling and football teams, and a coach/mentor for my town's youth football and wrestling programs as well. My perspective is vast, from actually playing in countless games on the court, field, to looking from the outside as a coach or part of the crowd. Upon high school graduation, my tenure of playing sports came to an end, which gave me an opportunity to reflect on my character in the past, to the present. At this point in my life, I can fully understand how sports have positively influenced me through all aspects of my life.

As long as I can remember, I have been involved with sports. Either it was watching them or playing them, sports were and are a huge part of my life. Before I could even walk or talk, football was a part of my life. More specifically, watching it. My dad is a huge Giants fan, so I grew up worshipping them. To this day, I religiously watch their games with my family and friends. I have also grown up watching hockey. Whenever hockey and football are in season, those are the best times. My dad was also into baseball, so I watched a lot of that too. It was not until about kindergarten when I was 4 that I started to actively be involved in sports. That sport was soccer. From kindergarten to third grade, it was not anything competitive. Just the typical town recreational teams. I got started playing competitively because one of my neighbors was coaching a higher-level team and need some extra players. From then until my junior year of high school, I played competitive soccer. I tried some other sports such as gymnastics, lacrosse, and cheer, but none of the stuck with me as well as soccer did. The older I got, the more competitive I got. I was constantly playing and practicing. There would be times that I would be playing in three different leagues; my age group, the men’s league, and the division above my age. I lived for competition. When it came to high school, that need for competition stayed with me. My out of school team never really proclaimed captains, but everyone looked