Tennis Club Ethnography

In our society sports are a very important social construction. As sports continue to grow, they are becoming more integrated into the major spheres of social life. Sports have become an entity, due to the fact that they not only create entertainment and jobs; sports have become a huge platform for various causes. Sports are extremely important to our society and have very powerful influences. Though experiences vary from person to person, most people have some sort of experience with sports. I personally have experienced sports more from the spectator and participant stance, and have been impacted from each perspective a great deal. Compared to sophomore safety, Jamal Adams my sports experience has been very different from impact and perspective.

While looking through the three lenses of family, biogenetic, sociolegal, and role lens, it is very hard to limit yourself to only agree with one. However, while studying these three ideas I have come to the consensus that the most prominent and practical lens to look through is the sociolegal lens. Although one cannot discredit the family values of others, throughout my lifetime I have experienced sociolegal family lifestyles. An area in my life that I have seen this lens play a huge role is throughout my tennis career. A unique experience that I have been able to be apart of throughout my college adventure revolves around Mizzou athletics. Playing tennis here at the University has been one of the most rewarding

Writing a similar topic, Gabrielle Longo, a graduate of Johnson &Wales University, writes about her success, "Without tennis, I would never have succeeded as much as I have at Johnson & Wales, and would not have been able to graduate early...playing a sport has helped with my time management and organizational skills. I have learned about teamwork and have developed my leadership skills through my time as

The topic that I chose for this ethnographic interview was sports in American culture. Sports are popular in America, and are a big part of the culture in America. I would say most people in America have played sports, whether they played as kids, in high school, at the collegiate level, or even professional. A great deal of people also enjoy watching sporting events. The following were the questions asked during the interview. How have sports affected your life? Why do you think sports are so popular in America’s culture? How are sports a part of the culture in America? What do you think about the amount of money spent on spectator sports?

I worked at the Champions club at Faith Church in New Milford. It is a place designed for

Sociology is the study of the social worlds that people create, maintain and change through their relationships with each other. Sports in American society have a major impact on these social worlds and culture throughout the past century. Sports have an impact on social interaction, social structure and the shared ways of life and shared understandings that people develop as they live together. Compared to other forms of physical activities, sports are defined as “well established, officially governed competitive physical activities in which participants are motivated by internal and external rewards.” A critical sociological look into an individual’s development through sport is defined as a Sportography. Darion Scott, born and raised in Compton, California showed me through an interview of his sports history, how sports influenced his life in a positive way and provided a window into his culture and society.

For most of my life (about 14 years), I have been an avid tennis player. I have great admiration for the sport because it facilitates the development of leadership, self-discipline and problem-solving skills. When I am on the tennis court, it

When one wishes to gain an insider understanding of a culture from a hands-on perspective they more than normally should be recommended to conduct a form of field-work known as ethnography. According to Merriam-Webster ethnography is a study of a human culture or subculture. Ethnography is a participant observer type methodology where one does not only gain information about a culture but also gains an unambiguous paradigm through which the anthropologist can see. The ethnographer is able to interview the people of the culture along with play vital roles in the rituals and other ways of their everyday life. At first many ethnographers were doing field work in undeveloped countries such as Asia, Africa, and South America. Today however, they are moving towards the post-industrialized cultures and subcultures. I decided to conduct ethnography about the life of a collegiate level student-athlete. It is an American culture where high school graduate gains free admission to a college education in turn for service in a particular sport. These sports include baseball, soccer, softball, basketball, tennis, track and field and golf. I decided to study the life of a student-athlete who participates in the football program. During my participation of collegiate leveled sports and education I have been awarded the opportunity to delve deep into the facets of acquiring and maintaining a free postsecondary education, engaging in a highly competitive athletic lifestyle, while managing the

As I became in touch with the sport, I fell in love with it. I met new people and scatch sight of a sport that is filled with passion and competition. I was able to find a new hobby that affected me personally and improved myself mentally and physically. Seeing that I lived near a Tennis court, I was able to invite the friends that I have created through this sport and progress beyond practice hours to improve. Having that single court in my environment has opened numerous options in my life by providing myself a hobby that was able to help me become social with others, active, and

We tend to think that bowling is a very simple and boring sport played by only older men. I did my fieldwork at a bowling alley during two different leagues to explore the different social interactions among bowlers. I learned that bowling is not limited to one specific age group or gender. I also discovered there is a unique hierarchy among the bowlers that is not determined by their age or gender. This social status is dependent upon their bowling average, type of ball used, and the weight of their balls. I found there were many other social interactions that occurred between smaller groups of bowlers such as teammates.

When I first started to contemplate my position on this topic I hadn’t really realized the magnitude or the amount of controversy that surrounds animal research and testing. When I started to search for content to include in my paper I read many articles on the subject and I was amazed to find that being involved in this field can be a dangerous job. In an article titled Defending Animal Research I was shocked to read that some extremist groups are willing to harm property and human beings in order to get their point across. It was noted that since 1990-2012 that there have been 220 attacks on individual’s who participate in animal research studies. This number has increased from 9% to 46% over this time period. I understand and respect the

First, I would like to share with all of you what tennis is and what it’s like for the professionals and high school teams, to

While my talent for tennis allowed me to win many games, there was another valuable accomplishment that I’m very grateful to have assimilated and experienced: improved social skills. From an inconsequential “Hi,” to diverse and meaningful conversations, I learned to establish a unique bond with my peers. In retrospect, the action of joining tennis has been a very profitable decision on my part, from social networking to character development, which significantly improved my perspective on life. Although everyone may have a different style of playing tennis, we retain our original development of personal values. Thus, grasping the fundamental understanding of others has helped me to incorporate moral and ethical values. Not only to my peers, but everyone around me. Slowly, I realized I loved tennis for it allowed me to approach others and as a recreational exercise. My focus on tennis has offered a life-changing possibility for me to step out of the comfort zone and take the initiative in defining relationships. As I integrate new profound social skills, my mind became much more diverse and innovative through other’s

When trying to understand the phases of the moon, it is easy to be confused by all of the different shadows and angles making the phases we see from the surface of the Earth. At first you might think the phases must be caused by Earth's shadow obstructing light to the surface of the Moon. But that isn't the case at all. The phases of the Moon are caused by its position relative to the Sun.

Figueroa’s Framework is a tool used in examining the sociocultural factors influencing equity and access to sport and physical activity. It is made up of five levels – individual, interpersonal, institutional, structural, and cultural. These levels relate back to the idea of access and equity to sport – the ability to play and the access to the same opportunities (Amezdroz, et al., 2010). I will discuss the impact that the individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels have had on my experiences and performances in tennis this term and make recommendations on how to maintain or improve my experiences and performances in tennis.